Revisiting the 13 Grandmother Moons

In this post I will reflect on my winter count symbols as a synthesized whole, to story my holistic inquiry throughout this past year.

Wow. Here they are all together, a group picture of the 64 winter count symbols I have created over these past moons as I learned from the land and wisdom teachings offered by Kehteya Bob Cardinal and Dr. Dwayne Donald. It was challenging to get a picture of the symbols all together, as when arranged in a circle on the same level they almost did not fit in one picture! As you can see below, 64 peg dolls can take up quite a bit of room. They look like villagers gathering for a potluck!

To make better sense of the winter count symbols and my learning, I have selected just one peg doll to represent each of the past 13 moons. In this way, the symbols can become more clear. First is a view from above, then a front view to see their faces.

In the course, we learned wisdom teachings about holistic four directions inquiry, and how to call on the Bear (East), the Grandmother (South), and the Thunderbird (West), and the Buffalo (North) to guide and give us strength. The Bear is a healer, who knows where the medicine is. The Bear is very human-like, and represents kinship. Throughout the course and my land-based learnings, I have felt a kinship with the land, and recognized the healing elements of the earth, water, wind, and sun, as represented by some of the winter count symbols above. Berries are another form of medicine offered by the land, which are depicted here.

The Grandmother represents sacred old ladies and kinship. To me, the Grandmother also represents wisdom and intergenerational teachings. I have felt blessed through this course to reflect on teachings from my own parents about gathering berries and recognizing plants and animals, and to have that knowledge deepened by Indigenous thought systems shared throughout the course. All generations, young and old, are represented by these peg doll winter count symbols, reflecting that children along with older people can offer some of the richest teachings.

The Thunderbird represents water, life, and renewal, along with gratefulness for water. Recognizing the water in all its forms has been a constant through these past 13 moons. I have become known to snow, rain, mist, ice, puddles, and the creek in many forms, and have grown to better know these forms of water as the seasons shift. Though water is most clearly represented by the four peg dolls on the left of the above picture, it is an essential element in creating the plants and berries represented throughout the winter count symbols.

The Buffalo has had the strongest influence on me through the course, and is the direction I have leaned on or been held up by the most. Over this past year, I have had intense struggles in multiple realms of my life. While the peace, serenity, and calm offered by the land have grounded and relaxed me, envisioning the Buffalo has been a driving force that keeps me going. The Buffalo represents courage, and facing trouble head-on rather that running from challenge. If there's a threat, Buffalo energy empowers you to go straight toward it. Channeling Buffalo courage propelled me to moving through grief, visiting the land in pain with a broken toe or in blistering cold, and forging my way through a week-long, 14-hour a day comprehensive examination for my PhD. I think the solid cores of the peg dolls, and the rocks I used for my most recent winter count symbols, best represent Buffalo energy.

To be truthful, I do not know how to end these posts. I am not sure how to close this journey - because my journey isn't over. Learning is lifelong, and I have made a lifetime commitment to kinship relationality and being known on the land. This journey is not ending.

I also want to end with a mystery. Kehteya Bob speaks often of keeping things a mystery, and letting that sit without trying to figure it out. I want this mystery to flow. I am also reminded that if you keep the mystery, it will come to you when you need guidance. This is how you grow, when you keep the mystery to yourself. If I remember correctly, when you try to seek clarity or figure out a mystery before its time, you can miss the truth. So, not knowing what the future will hold or how to close these posts that have kept me going over the past year, I will end with a quote from Keytaya Bob Cardinal:

"It's going to work out. Trust me, my friends - it's gonna work out."

Thank you for joining me on this journey of land-based learning, holistic wellbeing, and balance!