Remarks By Donna Dubie
Published June 2024
I am honoured for the introduction tonight, as not very long ago it was not a thing to do, to stand up and introduce yourself as a proud Mohawk woman, Haudenosaunee, from the Territory of Six Nations, Turtle Clan…. We have come a long way.
As Indigenous people we were given the responsibility and the looking after of Turtle Island and the caregiving of Mother Earth, which is a huge responsibility. I want you to know, we can’t do this alone.
The theme tonight is Take Courage, Take Care… and in doing that we ask all of you, those who are the dedicated courage people, for those who are the decision makers, to provide those good choices in taking care of our next Seven Generations.
- Decisions that effect our environment – fire, water, air, earth.
- Decisions that effect the people – white, yellow, red, and black.
- Decisions that effect our being – physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally.
- And decisions that effect the stages of life – starting with our babies, our children, our adults and our seniors.
If you see a theme, it is because the theme is the quadrants of our medicine wheel. What the medicine wheel teaches, and those teachings can last for hours and hours and take weeks and months and years to learn, because there are so many learnings attached to that medicine wheel.
There will be moments where you feel very overwhelmed. In your mind ask the creator, your god, or your greater power for the strength. In your asking for strength, the creator, god or your higher power, is very generous. In your asking the creator god gives you answers and other tasks.
Stop asking for strength. You’re already strong enough, you already have the will to continue to make those decisions. When you are ready, you will know that you are strong enough, and instead of asking for strength ask for direction, knowledge, understanding and acceptance.
In those teachings you will accept the understanding of the knowledge that you received and you will know what direction you need to take to make those important decisions.
Again, I am honoured to be here to gift you with some of those teachings, some of our teachings. I would ask that you consider those teachings as you make your decisions for our next seven generations.
Donna Dubie is Founder and Executive Director of The Healing of the Seven Generations, of the Mohawk Turtle Clan, Territory of the Grand River – sister, wife, mother, grandmother and community member.
