That was beautiful Amy. 'Braiding Sweetgrass' is also my all time favourite books. I love the Haudenosaunee story of the Pliaedes. In Australia, the Pleiades star story is one of the most widespread stories connected to many different First Nations through song lines right across the country. In these stories, the Pleiades are seven sisters who are running away from the unwanted advances of a man or group of men who are the wrong 'skin'.
My great-grandmother seven generations past was taken prisoner by the Mohawk (part of the great Iroquois Confederacy) after the Lachine Massacre in Montreal. She was with them for seven years before being returned in a prisoner exchange through the peace treaty that ended the beaver wars. The Mohawk are matriarchal and matrilinear and also had strong laws about the treatment of prisoners. Children were adopted into Mohawk families. As my great grandmother was of childbearing age, she may have married/partnered with a Mohawk and bore children, which she would have left behind when returning to her husband (my great-grandfather x7).
I always wondered how she felt and what she learned. She most certainly heard the beautiful Pleiades story and I'm so glad to hear it now. Thank you so much for sharing!
Thank you Genevieve! That Haudenosaunee story is so striking, right? The affluence, the lack of gratitude, kids only playing with their own household, the lack of value for the old ways all feel like they are now. It is amazing how many of these stories are about the sisters being chased by someone across cultures, I'll have to check out the Australian stories those are one of the few Aveni didn't include in this chapter. Wow, your great grandmother's story is so beautiful and complicated. Do you know if she had children before she was taken prisoner that she was separated from? I think stories like yours remind us what a source of strength and guidance our ancestors can be.
You're right about our modern predicament, we've got so much to learn from our First Nations!!!! Thank goodness there seems to be a shift in public opinion on the value of First Nations knowledge and wisdom. In Australia its due in no small part to our First Nations fire practices. Australia is a continent shaped by fire and the lack of cool burns with cultural knowledge/wisdom means that Australia is a fire keg, especially as the climate warms. There is much more interest in and acceptance of Australian First Nations fire and land practices now.
Grand-mère Marie-Madelaine's story is so fascinating, I wish I could have met her. She was 16 and married for six months when she was taken prisoner. Her husband, Grand-père Pierre was posted away from her at one of the outposts when the Lachine Massacre and hostage-taking happened. No children were recorded for before then until her return to her husband, which was actually 11 years later so she would have been 27 years old. She went on to have 7 children. Her first was born within the year she returned to her husband. I'm not sure if she was pregnant with her child when she returned or she conceived soon after. It's highly likely that she had children while she was with the Mohawk. I can't imagine her sadness at having to choose between returning to her husband without her children or staying with the people who might have adopted her but who were responsible for the death of her family (not even taking into account the background issues with colonisation). Or maybe she didn't have a choice. Life was so hard in those days even without all the turmoil in her life!
An amazing and complex story. I'm so glad that story has been carried forward in your family. I know some stories of my great great grandparents, but no further, it feels like a loss to be disconnected from those stories of where we come from, to understand we are make of victim, rescuer, and perpetrator.
That's very true. Although Marie-Madeleine did not actively participate in events that led to the Lachine Massacre, she was the daughter and wife of soldiers that participated in or at the very least allowed some pretty horrible actions again the First Nations. Colonisation was a brutal, violent affair. That being said, the family legend says that they had a close connection to local tribes and farmed their land peacefully after Pierre left the French marines. It's so conflicting for our stories to be entwined with the history of colonisation, both in Canada and for me now living in Australia.
A beautiful piece of writing, Amy, and I share your conclusions. I'm currently re-reading "Braiding Sweetgrass" for probably the 10th time, both because I need it for the essay I'm currently writing, and because it's such a soul-nourishing book that I keep returning to. Thank you 🌱
Thank you Ramona! I agree when I was thumbing through for the anecdote I included here, I realized I need to be reading these essays on a regular basis, like a second gospel for me. Mmm, now I want to do lectio divina with Braiding Sweetgrass:)
This was lovely. And fascinating about Pleides. Here in New Zealand the constellation is called Matariki. For a time, Matariki is not visible in the night sky, and when it reappears at dawn in the winter sky (Late June/Early July) that is the time of celebration, remembrance, and the new year. It is a public holiday, and the date changes each year to align with when Matariki appears.
Thank you Sam! Haha, for a minute I forgot about the Southern Hemisphere, and I was like “Oh, how interesting new year in the summer!” Oops! I love how this re-emergence is important across places and cultures.
We are used to being forgotten about down here! We also have 'official' new year in the middle of summer one 1st January like everyone else. I always find that completely not useful, as my real year is always split across the calendar because new year should be in winter! My garden and chicken breeding notes are always labeled 23/24 season etc.
I loved this post, Amy. Especially the final paragraph, where you write:
"We have been caught in stories of separation, but our reality is one of connection. We can become part of the story again by listening to the old human stories and re-learning to listen to the more than human stories. Once we carry those stories we can begin to rebuild those relationships, show respect and make proper use of the world around us. When we carry those stories, we let go of domination and shame."
Thank you, as well, for the recommendation for Kimmerer's "Braiding Sweetgrass," which I had never heard of before. I looked for it yesterday on the Amazon UK site, ordered it, and it arrived here in Ireland this morning. I am now immersed in reading it, with tears in my eyes.
Thank you Clarice! I feel so good that I could bring this book into your life :) I first read it when I was pregnant with my oldest daughter and it felt like the best parenting book I could read. I have been surprised how much that last paragraph has resonated with people, I wasn't sure I was landing the plane :)
That was beautiful Amy. 'Braiding Sweetgrass' is also my all time favourite books. I love the Haudenosaunee story of the Pliaedes. In Australia, the Pleiades star story is one of the most widespread stories connected to many different First Nations through song lines right across the country. In these stories, the Pleiades are seven sisters who are running away from the unwanted advances of a man or group of men who are the wrong 'skin'.
My great-grandmother seven generations past was taken prisoner by the Mohawk (part of the great Iroquois Confederacy) after the Lachine Massacre in Montreal. She was with them for seven years before being returned in a prisoner exchange through the peace treaty that ended the beaver wars. The Mohawk are matriarchal and matrilinear and also had strong laws about the treatment of prisoners. Children were adopted into Mohawk families. As my great grandmother was of childbearing age, she may have married/partnered with a Mohawk and bore children, which she would have left behind when returning to her husband (my great-grandfather x7).
I always wondered how she felt and what she learned. She most certainly heard the beautiful Pleiades story and I'm so glad to hear it now. Thank you so much for sharing!
Thank you Genevieve! That Haudenosaunee story is so striking, right? The affluence, the lack of gratitude, kids only playing with their own household, the lack of value for the old ways all feel like they are now. It is amazing how many of these stories are about the sisters being chased by someone across cultures, I'll have to check out the Australian stories those are one of the few Aveni didn't include in this chapter. Wow, your great grandmother's story is so beautiful and complicated. Do you know if she had children before she was taken prisoner that she was separated from? I think stories like yours remind us what a source of strength and guidance our ancestors can be.
You're right about our modern predicament, we've got so much to learn from our First Nations!!!! Thank goodness there seems to be a shift in public opinion on the value of First Nations knowledge and wisdom. In Australia its due in no small part to our First Nations fire practices. Australia is a continent shaped by fire and the lack of cool burns with cultural knowledge/wisdom means that Australia is a fire keg, especially as the climate warms. There is much more interest in and acceptance of Australian First Nations fire and land practices now.
Grand-mère Marie-Madelaine's story is so fascinating, I wish I could have met her. She was 16 and married for six months when she was taken prisoner. Her husband, Grand-père Pierre was posted away from her at one of the outposts when the Lachine Massacre and hostage-taking happened. No children were recorded for before then until her return to her husband, which was actually 11 years later so she would have been 27 years old. She went on to have 7 children. Her first was born within the year she returned to her husband. I'm not sure if she was pregnant with her child when she returned or she conceived soon after. It's highly likely that she had children while she was with the Mohawk. I can't imagine her sadness at having to choose between returning to her husband without her children or staying with the people who might have adopted her but who were responsible for the death of her family (not even taking into account the background issues with colonisation). Or maybe she didn't have a choice. Life was so hard in those days even without all the turmoil in her life!
An amazing and complex story. I'm so glad that story has been carried forward in your family. I know some stories of my great great grandparents, but no further, it feels like a loss to be disconnected from those stories of where we come from, to understand we are make of victim, rescuer, and perpetrator.
That's very true. Although Marie-Madeleine did not actively participate in events that led to the Lachine Massacre, she was the daughter and wife of soldiers that participated in or at the very least allowed some pretty horrible actions again the First Nations. Colonisation was a brutal, violent affair. That being said, the family legend says that they had a close connection to local tribes and farmed their land peacefully after Pierre left the French marines. It's so conflicting for our stories to be entwined with the history of colonisation, both in Canada and for me now living in Australia.
What a fascinating story. I wish there were some way to learn more about her life--with the Mohawk and with Pierre.
Me too Clarice!
A beautiful piece of writing, Amy, and I share your conclusions. I'm currently re-reading "Braiding Sweetgrass" for probably the 10th time, both because I need it for the essay I'm currently writing, and because it's such a soul-nourishing book that I keep returning to. Thank you 🌱
Thank you Ramona! I agree when I was thumbing through for the anecdote I included here, I realized I need to be reading these essays on a regular basis, like a second gospel for me. Mmm, now I want to do lectio divina with Braiding Sweetgrass:)
This was lovely. And fascinating about Pleides. Here in New Zealand the constellation is called Matariki. For a time, Matariki is not visible in the night sky, and when it reappears at dawn in the winter sky (Late June/Early July) that is the time of celebration, remembrance, and the new year. It is a public holiday, and the date changes each year to align with when Matariki appears.
Thank you Sam! Haha, for a minute I forgot about the Southern Hemisphere, and I was like “Oh, how interesting new year in the summer!” Oops! I love how this re-emergence is important across places and cultures.
We are used to being forgotten about down here! We also have 'official' new year in the middle of summer one 1st January like everyone else. I always find that completely not useful, as my real year is always split across the calendar because new year should be in winter! My garden and chicken breeding notes are always labeled 23/24 season etc.
I loved this post, Amy. Especially the final paragraph, where you write:
"We have been caught in stories of separation, but our reality is one of connection. We can become part of the story again by listening to the old human stories and re-learning to listen to the more than human stories. Once we carry those stories we can begin to rebuild those relationships, show respect and make proper use of the world around us. When we carry those stories, we let go of domination and shame."
Thank you, as well, for the recommendation for Kimmerer's "Braiding Sweetgrass," which I had never heard of before. I looked for it yesterday on the Amazon UK site, ordered it, and it arrived here in Ireland this morning. I am now immersed in reading it, with tears in my eyes.
Thank you Clarice! I feel so good that I could bring this book into your life :) I first read it when I was pregnant with my oldest daughter and it felt like the best parenting book I could read. I have been surprised how much that last paragraph has resonated with people, I wasn't sure I was landing the plane :)
I ♥️ this
Thanks so much! I think I’m going to have to dig more into the practical applications of myths, super interesting!(To me anyway)