Seed Ceremonies - Sakoieta Widrick (Part 1)

The seasons come and then just as suredly continue on in their yearly cycle of life. To Indigenous people’s this is how we mark time. Not by calendars but by the changing of the seasons and watching the natural world. Everything we need to survive is there in the created order if we just choose to work with it, learn from it, respect it and follow that cycle. Ceremonies that we follow and take part in are the ways we show our thanks for this continuing bounty that nature provides to us. A short time ago we gathered in our Longhouses to "put" the seeds through. This is a ceremony where we all bring our seeds that will be used in planting our gardens into the Longhouse. Inside we sit with our clans and a speaker is chosen to put forward the first words of Thanksgiving to the natural world and it’s Creator. In this Thanksgiving address the speaker will offer thanks first to the people that they still continue to strive to live in peace and to care for each other. He will then continue to offer thanks for all living life forms as he offers the words of thanksgiving that these life forms still provide for us as they were instructed to do so long ago and that even today they are helping us have life. He will thank our Mother Earth, then the grasses, the medicine plants, the waters, the fish, the bushes, the insects, the Three Sister’s (corn, bean, squash and all the food plants), the trees, the birds, the animals, the winds, the thunder, the sun, the moon, the stars, the Four Protecting Spirits that guard the earth, the Enlightened Teachers, and then the Creator. The words may go for an hour or less depending on the speaker. He speaks and addresses all of these life forms personally because of our belief that all things need to be appreciated in order to continue to be happy and function following original instructions they were given since the time of creation.