Indigenize the World

First time I heard those words, I had a flash. They came from the music of Cody Coyote, another amazing young leader I’ll spend more time writing about a little later on. Like a connection had been re-established, like I had just been made to remember a solution to a problem I’ve been having for too long, I’d been offered a teaching of wisdom.

The Western world is failing and our value system as a society is shallow and destructive. Every day that goes by, we suffer the consequences of the terrible choices we’re making as a civilization. War, poverty, injustice, exclusion, hatred and the destruction of our environment. All in the name of profit and the enrichment of a powerful few who divide to conquer.

I am a son of the oppressor. An unwilling member of this broken system looking for better answers. I found many of them, on a personal level, in running and endurance. Through it, I’ve also been extremely fortunate to be welcomed in many Native circles, to be taught and guided by ancient knowledge. For a while, it felt like a personal, intimate journey and a privilege. I hope I’ve shown worthy of what I’ve been taught. But as time passes, I’ve been increasingly wondering what I can do, on a more global level, to bring change and hope for a better world.

Then I heard Cody sing “Indigenize the World”.

Here I was, always worried that my endeavor in Native knowledge and culture would be seen as appropriation. Tip-toeing in a new world, eager to share my excitement and discoveries, but shy and afraid of being inadequate, out of place, wrong. I had it backwards. I wasn’t taking anything from anyone, I was being generously given a gift. I was missing a concept. I was missing a word.

I am simply becoming indigenized. I am invited in circles and taught. I am being healed and rooted back into the culture of Nature and all living things. I am being made a witness to a living, breathing culture that has lived on from millennia until this very day, always following the same basic principles; Respect yourself and others. Share more, own less. Take care of the land, air and water. Respect and abide by the Circle of Life. Realize that we are all related.

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Like it happens every once in a while, I was invited last weekend to talk to a group of inspiring young people who’ve embarked on a great physical challenge; they will run a 250+ km relay between Montreal and Quebec cities, in May. So instead of having “the usual”, where we talk about adventures in endurance, motivation and the numerous benefits of tackling a challenge, I decided to share a bit of what I’ve learned over the past couple years.

From the Raramuri to the Hopi to the Navajo to the Cree and Northern Peoples, I spoke to these teens about the importance of sharing, the respect for water and all living things, humility, pacifism, openness to others, feminism and matriarchal societies, and the center concept of Kuira Ba, of being one.

I gave them examples of young leaders like Theland Kicknosway and spoke of their own leadership and dedication. I congratulated them on their efforts. I told them to stay aware and open to the signs life would bring along their journey. I told them the importance of having a dream, a vision, and to hold on to it.

I didn’t know if I made any sense, but I just let the words flow and I didn’t hide my emotions. It only took a few minutes after I was finished to see that the message had resonated with them, and the teachers, and the parents. It was a beautiful, powerful thing.

Our world needs healing. We, as Humans, need to get back to better, more sustainable values for the sake of our global future. Some of us, including a lot of young people, are ready to instill change and spread the word. We are many more than it seems. We need to grow the confidence to oppose the Western culture and to promote a humbler, healthier and happier lifestyle.

It's time to get back to our roots.

Time to get indigenized.

Ancient Memories

We are well aware of the world outside. It bustles, hums and swirls around us every day. But there’s another world, a little more secret, a little more hidden, within each one of us. A world that’s alive with our breath and blood, but also with our thoughts, our spirit and our soul.

Buried deep inside of us lies a true wonder. We are discovering that our cells, the very fabric of our beings, are coded, like an immense library describing what we are (living beings, animals, mammals of the human type), who we are (genes, biometrics) and where we came from (DNA). I believe this library holds much, much more.

There’s a reason why there are things we instinctively know. There’s an explanation for reflexes, for innate talents and for instant connections with unknown places or people. Science calls it evolution. I say it’s cellular memory.

No matter how you look at it, it seems that each individual in a lineage, over the course of time, changes and adapts. This is true for humans, as it is for plants, animals and all living beings. In order to do this, two things are required; the ability to modify one’s self and memory of what was before and of what is being carried on. If not, evolution would be nothing but an infinity of very short dead ends.

So what does that tell us? That we carry a treasure. That we contain not only organs and a spirit, but also knowledge of all that has happened before until this point. This, by the way, also means that we know a little less than our children and those who come after us.

This knowledge is written within for us to discover and explore, as we do with the outside world. Every time we go somewhere, meet someone or perform something and get that instantaneous feeling that all things are right and in order, that we are “in the zone”, that we follow the flow, we’re actually receiving a message from our own selves.

Then, since we have the ability to change, we make choices. We take action. We trigger things inside of us that influence our own body, our mind and, ultimately, our destiny. We are the vectors of our own evolution and of that of others as well. In the end, each and every one of us is a vector for the evolution of the world.

Discovering this great truth leads to a very important realization; we are all connected. From the pebble to the insect to the stars in the sky and everything in between, nothing is alone. Everything is together. We are a part of a complete, connected Whole, whose ancient memory is written within ourselves. And it is our goal to act as a part of this whole, in a humble, respectful, responsible, and constructive manner.

Each time my feet meet the ground and I feel the drum of my own rhythm inside my body as I run, I am reminded of this great, amazing truth and I am drawn ever more to open myself to Ancient Memory, to connect to others and to feel from every fiber of my being the most important thing there is to know in this world.

We Are One.