Dead Poets Society

First Nations Essay

Craig Hanna

Mr. Richmond

The first nations had a unique and traditional appreciation for there surroundings; they appreciated all of mother earth’s creatures and always used everything they could. This culture is one of the only cultures in the world to do this. They believed in 4 spirit chiefs, they worshiped in the land spirit chief; in the sky spirit chief; in the water spirit chief and beyond and below the horizon spirit chief. The last spirit chief is considered to be unattainable, unapproachable, unseable and unknowable. They also believed that everything around them had a spirit like the trees, the dirt, the animals even the clouds and rain and bugs this makes the first nations people the most earth conscious people the worlds has ever known or seen.

The animals that the first nations worshipped represented the first nations life in many ways, wolves were considered to be the professors and pathfinders. They believed the eagle was to express love, honor peace and friendship. Otters taught them balance and not to be to serious about life and just have some fun, mink were the animals that express selfishness and arrogance. Bears express loneliness, solitude and obviously enough strength. Octopus expressed shy ness but great strength in its own kingdom. And of course the whale was a big spiritual being in there minds, they kept record of everything that went on in the tribes and was a reporter to the spirit chiefs. The first nations people were very much in touch with their environment and respected it.

Every tribe on the west coast of Canada believed that the salmon was a supernatural being that lived in the sea in the form of sea people and that when they came to land they would to turn salmon people. This spawned many traditional ceremonies such as honoring the first salmon of the year by addressing the high chief with a satchel full of bones and then performing a salmon spirit dance and then returning the bones back into the sea.

The first nations people when they turned a certain age would go on a journey or a vision quest to find their guardian spirit, the guardian spirit that occurred in these vision quests usually took shape of an animal. Depending on what role the person played in their tribe they would usually have a spirit guardian that took some role in that job. For example canoe makers had woodpeckers as guardian spirits, fishermen had salmon, hunters had wolves, and shamans had mythical serpents

Thanksgiving ceremonies happen when people of the tribe join in ceremonies individually and in a group. A person gives thanks everyday to the Great Spirit chief and creator of all life. This happens individually by all members of the tribe a person rides at sunrise and gives thanks for a new day and gives thanks to mother earth for all that she has provided them with. In the group ceremonies the spirits of plants and animals that have been used for there clothing and other things are greatly thanked by the tribe. These ceremonies may happen many times within a year. There is another traditional ceremony for the first nations people its called the pipe ceremony to start it off the burn a braid of sweet grass to purify the area and the people that are on it.tobacco is used within the pipe as is a traditional mixture of bearberry and wild herbs and occasionally cannabis is used. They smoke the pipe so that they can send prayers and requests to the spirits. The pipe when done is carried by a single person called