bridging our cultural assumptions
TRANSCRIPT
Bridging Our Cultural Assumptions
PresenterE Gordon McGillivary
Tataskweyak Cree Nation
"I See a Time of Seven Generations When All the
Colors of Mankind Will Gather Underthe Sacred Tree of Life and the Whole
Earth Will Become One Circle Again“
~ Tashunka Witko (Crazy Horse) ~
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English Name: Split Lake, Manitoba
Tataskweyak means “split on top of the tall trees”
Population: 3,500
Main Spiritual Base: Anglican, Pentecostal, Native Spirituality.
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1. Connect all the dots with four straight lines
2. Your pen/pencil must not leave the paper
MY ETHNIC ORIGINS
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ELVIS GORDON MCGILLIVARY
CREE ANCESTRY SCOTTISH GERMAN
Original Clan: Mhic Gillebrath• Scottish Gaelic• William, Thomas and Francis
McGillivary 1630’s (brothers)• Came across as early as 15th century
Cree Ancestry: Opasweyak Cree Nation• Traditional healers on both sides• World War Veterans• Mother’s biological father: German
Some Name Variations: McGillivray, MacGillavery, MacIllovary, McGilvery, etc.
Group Introduction
Find a partner and sit comfortably facing each other.
Share your ethic and cultural background with each other for 3 minutes each.
Come back into the large group.
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Belief Systems & Culture
Belief Systems: a shared system of beliefs and values that systematically define a way of
perceiving the social, cultural, physical and psychological world. all cultures develop a system of values that are applied to meet a culture's
needs.
Culture: is a set of learned beliefs, values and behaviors, and way of life shared by
the members of a society. is demonstrated by the beliefs, customs, values, laws, arts, technology and
artifacts people generate and use as they interpret meaning from their world.
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Ladder of Inference(* ‘the process of arriving at some conclusion…’)
Gathering of information from what we see, hear, and feel
Pay attention to select or certain data
Interpret & give meaning to the information and data
* Beliefs, Values, Attitudes,* Culture and Life Experiences
Take actions based on Information
SELF & OTHERS
Adapted from Chris Argyris’ Ladder of Inference Model
How Do We Interpret Symbols?Is Our Interpretation Accurate?
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Swastika symbol has been used in many cultures as a positive sign of good luck, well-being, birth, fertility, four seasons, sun, creation.
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Symbolism – Representation & Meaning
To symbolize means to express, illustrate, mean, personify, represent.
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Turtle IslandBirth of ChristEarly Missionaries
20,000 yrs
2000 yrs
500yrs
• Birth of Christ• Early Scriptures•
Crusades/Conversion
• Early missionaries bring the teachings of the Bible to Turtle Island
• Government in partnership with the churches introduce the Residential School system
What were our spiritual and cultural beliefs before early contact?
What was our relationship to Mother Earth? Land? Animals? Water?
Did we have our own tribal and political systems?
What did our tribal ancestors do for 19,500 years before early contact on Turtle Island?
Archeological Artifact; Pipe Bowl
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• Cree language: “ospawagun”• Archeological find at Gull Lake in our traditional lands in 2001.• Carbon dated at approximately 2,000 yrs old.• Many other artifacts found as well; arrowheads, tools, etc. over the
years by local trappers.
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Dreams? Guidance and Direction?
West
• Waterfall• Mountain
s• Sunset
1982 1985
“Ospawa-gun-a-kap-moot-ta-hat”
“He Who Carries The Pipe”
AA
1987
UNDERSTANDING THE MEDICINE WHEEL
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+ MENTAL –Human World
+ SPIRITUAL –
Mineral World
+ PHYSICAL –
Animal World
+ EMOTIONAL –
Plant World
MEDICINE
WHEEL
YOUR GREATEST STRENGTH IS YOUR GREATEST WEAKNESS,AND YOUR GREATEST WEAKNESS IS YOUR GREATEST
STRENGTH
• Power of Choice
• Volition (Will)
• Positive / Negative
• Red / Black Road
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Spirituality - Animism Animism (from Latin anima “soul, life”) is a
philosophical, religious or spiritual idea that souls or spirits exist not only in humans but also in other animals, plants, rocks, natural phenomena such as thunder, geographic features such as mountains or rivers, or other entities of the natural environment. - Wikipedia
Aboriginal spiritual beliefs are “animistic”. The recognition and acknowledgement of spirit in all things.
Everything in Mother Earth and Father Sky is Inter-related, Inter-dependent, and Inter-connected.
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Vibration & FrequencySTATE-LEVEL Brain Wave Frequency Associated with
BETA 14 to 21 cycles per second (cps)
Waking state, using the five senses
ALPHA 7 to 14 cycles per second (cps)
Light sleep, meditation, intuition, relaxation…
THETA 4 to 7 cycles per second (cps)
Deeper sleep, meditation…
DELTA 0 to 4 cycles per second (cps)
Deep sleep, unconsciousness…
Mother Earth’s natural frequency is 7.8• The Sundance, Sweatlodge, and Pipe Ceremonies are about “right-brain” phenomena,
• In ceremony, we connect to all things on Mother Earth and Father Sky,• Kakenow Okimakanak (All my Relations)
WESTERN WORLDVIEW vs ABORIGINAL WORLDVIEW
https://mettahu.wordpress.com/2013/07/17/worldview/
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LEFT BRAIN RIGHT BRAIN
ANALYTICALSEQUENTIAL
LOGICALLINEAR
CATEGORIZE
*Writing, Science, Math
*Seeing, Hearing, Smell,Taste, Touch
SPIRITUALEMOTIONSINTUITIONWHOLISTICDREAMS
Art, Music, DanceAbstract Thinking,Guided Imagery
90%
JUNGIAN
CHART
2020
Hierarchical vs. Cyclical
Hearing
FeelingSeeing
Hearing
Seeing Feeling
Learn by DoingHands on Learning
Sensory Learning StylesAuditory 30%Visual 60%
Kinesthetic 10%
90%
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LEFT BRAIN RIGHT BRAINANALYTICAL
SEQUENTIALLOGICAL
LINEARCATEGORIZE
SPIRITUALEMOTIONSINTUITIONWHOLISTI
CDREAMS
90%
JUNGIAN
CHART
Hierarchical Systems Cyclical Systems
English Language Aboriginal Language
Tree of Knowledge Tree of Life
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LEFT BRAIN RIGHT BRAIN
ANALYTICALSEQUENTIAL
LOGICALLINEAR
CATEGORIZE
SPIRITUALEMOTIONSINTUITIONWHOLISTICDREAMS90
%
JUNGIAN
CHART
English Language Aboriginal Language
Objective Subjective
Nouns Verbs
Cree is a musical language that has complicated verbs with many parts. (excerpt from Native Languages of the Americas)
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Points of Interest Our way of thinking developed more with the left
brain functions than the right side. (logic and linear thinking, etc.)
Education system focused mainly with auditory and visual sensory learning styles.
The Bible is a ‘left-brain’ attempt to explain ‘right-brain’ phenomena; (Dr Allan “Chuck” Ross, Lakota Sioux Educator)
Aboriginal spiritual ceremonies (sweatlodge and sundance ceremonies,etc.) are about ‘right-brain’ phenomena.
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Tree List1. Tree2. Light switch3. Stool4. Car5. Glove6. Gun7. Dice8. Skate9. Cat10. Bowling Ball
11. Goalpost12. Eggs13. Witch14. Ring15. Cheque16. Candy17. Magazine18. Voting Booth19. Golf Club20. Cigarettes
Memory Learning System from Silva Method.
THE BASIC PHILOSOPHYOF TAOISM
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YING YANGEARTHFEMININEFEELINGINTUITIONPASSIVESTILLNESS
HEAVENMASCULINETHINKINGREASONAGGRESSIVEMOVEMENT
EACH FORCE COMPLEMENTS THE OTHER AND THE BALANCE OF THE TWO BRINGS HARMONY
The Path or The Way, refers to a power which envelopes, surrounds, and flows through all things, living and non-living. The TAO regulates natural
processes and nourishes balance in the Universe. It embodies the harmony of opposites.
TAOISM
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YING YANGBinary Arithmetic• EVEN NUMBERS
Geometry• SPACE• CAUSE• FINITE
Celestial• MOON• PLANET
Binary Arithmetic• ODD NUMBERS
Geometry• TIME• EFFECT• INFINITE
Celestial• SUN• STARS
TAOISM
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Feminine vs. MasculineFor centuries the male (masculine)
energy was dominant in most systems and cultures. (Family, Social, Political, Leadership roles, etc.)
Female (feminine) energy is now common amongst most systems. (Family, Social, Political, Leadership Roles, etc.)
Mother Earth (Ying) and Father Sky (Yang) will eventually find balance and harmony in all energies and vibrations.
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Aboriginal Worldview-Western Worldview and Eastern Worldview (Taoism)
MENTAL
PHYSICAL
SPIRITUAL
EMOTIONAL
ANALYTICALSEQUENTIALLOGICALLINEAR
INTUITIONEMOTIONSSPIRITUALWHOLISTIC
MASCULINEHEAVENTHINKINGREASONAGGRESSIVE
FEMININEEARTHFEELINGINTUITIONPASSIVE
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Question & Answer Period
Contact InformationE.Gordon McGillivary
P.O. Box 143
Tataskweyak Cree Nation
Split Lake, Manitoba, Canada R0B 1P0
1+ (204) 342-2792 ext 2280
1+ (431) 274-3143 cell