Text: Psalm 104 paraphrase by Nan Merrill
I keep crossing paths with Robin Wall Kimmerer these days. Things she has written keep falling into my lap … all of them refreshingly beautiful for the way she sees with such reverence the whole creation. Robin is a mother, a scientist, a botanist, a professor of Environmental Biology, a citizen of the Potawatomi Nation, living in New York State.
In one of the pieces I came upon last week, she writes about receiving a phone call from her daughter’s 6th grade teacher, letting her know that her daughter is refusing to stand with her class for the Pledge of Allegiance at the beginning of the school day. It not that she was being disruptive … just not joining in. The teacher thought Robin might like to know.
A few hills and valleys to the west of Robin’s home, lies the reserve of the Onondaga Nation. There the school week begins and ends not with the Pledge of Allegiance but with the Thanksgiving Address, “a river of words,” as Robin describes it …“a river of words as old as the people themselves, known more accurately in the Onondaga language as the Words That Come Before All Else … in which gratitude is directed straight to the ones who share their gifts with the world. … All the classes stand together in the atrium, and one grade each week has responsibility for the recitation. … It is said that people were instructed to stand and offer these words whenever they gathered, no matter how many or how few, before anything else was done.”
As I went on to read this Thanksgiving Address, it occurred to me, what could be more fitting for us today than to share in it ourselves … that instead of talking about gratitude we would offer our gratitude which is what the address invites us to do again and again and again.
You’ll notice it unfolds in a patterned way … as each element of the ecosystem is named and its role described. It takes time to move through this great inventory of the natural world!
And as Robin remarks, part of its power rests in the length of time it takes to send greetings and thanks to so many. We are part of and sustained by a truly rich and wondrous web of life! Of course our mids could wander and the words and the time fly by … but each call returns our focus, asking us to bring our minds together, even to see in our mind’s eye whatever element the speaker is bringing to us.
So let us share in these words that have been translated in 40 languages -- a gift to the world from the Haudenosaunee people-- as we hear again and again the call to offer our gratitude …
THANKSGIVING ADDRESS
Today we have gathered and when we look upon the faces around us we see that the cycles of life continue. We have been given the duty to live in balance and harmony with each other and all living things. So now let us bring our minds together as one as we give greetings and thanks to each other as People. Now our minds are one.
We are thankful to our Mother the Earth, for she gives us everything that we need for life. She supports our feet as we walk about upon her. It gives us joy that she still continues to care for us, just as she has from the beginning of time. To our Mother, we send thanksgiving, love, and respect. Now our minds are one.
We give thanks to all of the waters of the world for quenching our thirst, for providing strength and nurturing life for all beings. We know its power in many forms – waterfalls and rain, mists and streams, rivers and oceans, snow and ice. We are grateful that the waters are still here and meeting their responsibility to the rest of Creation. Can we agree that water is important to our lives and bring our minds together as one to send greetings and thanks to the Water? Now our minds are one.
We turn our thoughts to all of the Fish life in the water. They were instructed to cleans and purify the water. They also give themselves to us as food. We are grateful that they continue to do their duties and we send to the Fish our greetings and our thanks. Now our minds are one.
Now we turn toward the vast fields of Plant life. As far as the eye can see, the plants grow, working many wonders. They sustain many life forms. With our minds gathered together, we give thanks and look forward to seeing Plant life for many generations to come. Now our minds are one.
When we look about us, we see that the berries are still here, providing us with delicious foods. The leader of the berries is the strawberry, the first to ripen in the spring. Can we agree that we are grateful that the berries are with us in the world and send our thanksgiving, love and respect to the berries? Now our minds are one.
With one mind, we honour and thank all the Food Plants we harvest from the garden, especially the Three Sisters who feed the people with such abundance. Since the beginning of time, the grains, vegetables, beans and fruit have helped the people survive. Many other living things draw strength from them as well. We gather together in our minds all the plant foods and send them a greeting and thanks. Now our minds are one.
Now we turn to the Medicine Herbs of the world. From the beginning they were instructed to take away sickness. They are always waiting and ready to heal us. We are so happy that there are still among us those special few who remember how to use the plants for healing. With one mind, we send thanksgiving, love, and respect to the Medicines and the keepers of the Medicines. Now our minds are one.
Standing around us we see all the Trees. The Earth has many families of trees who each have their own instructions and uses. Some provide shelter and shade, others fruit and beauty and many useful gifts. The Maple is the leader of the trees, to recognize its gift of sugar when the People need it most. Many peoples of the world recognize a Tree as a symbol of peace and strength. With one mind we greet and thank the Tree life. Now our minds are one.
We gather our minds together to send our greetings and thanks to all the beautiful animal life of the world, who walk about with us. They have many things to teach us as people. We are grateful that they continue to share their lives with us and hope that it will always be so. Let us put our minds together as one and send our thanks to the Animals. Now our minds are one.
We put our minds together as one and thank all the birds who move and fly about over our heads. The creator gave them the gift of beautiful songs. Each morning they greet the day and with their songs reminds us to enjoy and appreciate life. The Eagle was chosen to be their leader and to watch over the world. To all the Birds, from the smallest to the largest, we send our joyful greetings and thanks. Now our minds are one.
We are all thankful for the powers we know as the Four Winds. We hear their voices in the moving air as they refresh us and purify the air we breathe. They help to bring the change of seasons. From the four directions they come, bringing as messages and giving us strength. With one mind we send our greetings and thanks to the Four Winds. Now our minds are one
Now we turn to the west where our grandfathers, the Thunder Beings live. With lightning and thundering voices they bring with them the water that renews life. We bring our minds together as one to send greetings and thanks to our Grandfathers, the Thunderers.
We now send greetings and thanks to our eldest brother, the Sun. Each day without fail he travels the sky from east to west, bringing the light of a new day. He is the source of all the fires of life. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to our Brother, the Sun. Now our minds are one.
We put our minds together and give thanks to our oldest Grandmother, the Moon, who lights the nighttime sky. She is the leader of women all over the world and she governs the movement of the ocean tides. By her changing face we measure time and it is the Moon who watches over the arrival of children here on Earth. Let us gather our thanks for Grandmother Moon together in a pile, layer upon layer of gratitude, and then joyfully fling that pile of thanks high into the night sky that she will know. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to our Grandmother, the Moon.
We give thanks to the Stars who are spread across the sky like jewellery. We see them at night, helping the Moon to light the darkness and bringing dew to the gardens and growing things. When we travel at night, they guide us home. With our minds gathered as one, we send greetings and thanks to all the Stars. Now our minds are one
We gather our minds to greet and thank the enlightened Teachers who have come to help throughout the ages. When we forget how to live in harmony, they remind us of the way we were instructed to live as people. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to these caring Teachers. Now our minds are one.
We now turn our thoughts to the Creator, or Great Spirit, and send greetings and thanks for all the gifts of Creation. Everything we need to live a good life is here on Mother Earth. For all the love that is still around us, we gather our minds together as one and send our choicest words of greetings and thanks to the Creator. Now our minds are one.
We have now arrived at the place where we end our words. Of all the things we have named, it is not our intention not leave anything out. If something was forgotten, we leave it to each individual to send such greetings and thanks in their own way. And now our minds are one.
~ ~ ~ ~
“Every day,” Robin says, “with these words, the people give thanks to the land. In the silence that falls at the end of those words I listen, longing for the day when we can hear the land give thanks for the people in return.”
Robin Wall Kimmerer, “Allegiance to Gratitude” in Braiding Sweetgrass--Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teaching of Plants, Milkweed Editions, Minneapolis, 2013
