"How do we learn to ask the right questions?" This was the remark that caught my attention as Dr. Ken Howard, renowned hydro geologist, addressed almost 100 people at Via Mede Conference Centre, July 24, 2016.
Members of the Friends of the Fraser Wetlands, on Stony Lake north of Peterborough, with other cottagers from the Kawartha resort area, and environmental protection supporters, listened carefully as Curve Lake First Nation Elders Doug Williams and Dorothy Taylor, and Archivist Anne Taylor, shared their teachings of the sacredness of the water which sustains all life on earth.
I have listened to these teachings for many years, but the past seven years, I was able to join the Anishinabe women of this territory as they walked around the lakes and rivers in this area, carrying the water - "the blood of Mother Earth" - blessing the water in the Four Directions, and teaching us the importance of protecting this life source for future generations.
It has also been my privilege to sit with the Sacred Water Circle, especially as they welcomed Spiritual Knowledge-Carriers and Elders from the Kogi People of South America who shared their knowledge of the power of water that gives life to all creation.
And I have listened to the teachings of the First Peoples Elders who share with us their knowledge, handed down through many generations of story-tellers who are the Indigenous Peoples "history books", of the need to protect the water so that it may continue to give life to the generations yet to come - "unto the Seventh Generation", as the Elders tell us.
This is the basis of what I have to come to understand as "Indigenous Knowledge", which is beginning to make its truth felt within the corridors of western academic learning. And this is the connection I make in my mind as western scientist Ken Howard tells us of his study of water, and then tells us to "learn to ask the right questions".
"Surface water" that we see flowing in lakes, rivers, streams, and oceans, is only a very small part of the earth's water content. By far the greatest part of the water in our planet is what we do not see, and it takes the "slow route" to move underground. It's known as "groundwater", and its movement is measured in thousands of years, unlike the surface water which we can see moving and flowing before our eyes.
Again, this is where I make a connection to Indigenous Knowledge. It seems to me that these teachings tell us that Indigenous Peoples, living in traditional ways, relying on the earth and the water over millenia of generations to provide their very survival, have endeavoured to pass on to future generations a respect for this knowledge so that they may also survive and thrive on this earth.
This was the message First Peoples Elder and environmentalist Danny Beaton, of the Mohawk Nation, shared with us through the words of his opening and closing prayers, uplifted by the haunting beauty of his melodious flute-playing.
And I dare to suggest that, while "western science", as it was uncovering the secrets of the universe over the past several hundred years, was exciting and beneficial, and I freely admit that in many ways I have benefited from that "success" physically, economically, socially, medically, - and in many other ways you can think of that I'm not listing here - nevertheless, I dare to ask whether there is perhaps one dimension of life on earth that we may be missing, and I dare to call that "spiritual". What do I mean by that?
Well, here's where so many of you, who are so much more learned than I, will begin to use words to complicate what I'm trying to say, and that's okay - I accept that. So much of our lives has now become so "technological" - and again we get caught up in words - and again I must admit that I am as much seduced by current technology as the next person, as witness my sharing my thoughts in this blog.
But I also ask myself whether we have missed something important, and I hear that in the teachings I receive from Indigenous Peoples. Because First Peoples spiritual leaders speak of the mystical energy and power of the Earth which we inhabit, which contains these secrets of groundwater and other elements which are so closely integrated to our survival, but which we seem to be able to ignore so blithely in our western science calculations.
In our desire to continue "development", are we planning projects based on the action of the water we can see, without giving adequate consideration to the water we can't see?
I value the skill of developers who offer the concept of improving our lives through projects that often amaze us with their design and construction from the work of architects, engineers, construction companies, and others, and again, I know I have benefited from much of that effort.
But how can they know that they have covered all the bases when they are planning projects that are to serve us for a hundred years? I know there are ways of working at that - consideration of various scenarios in the past 100 years and then planning to offer design and construction to reach at least the 75% level of safety within that length of time.
But does that kind of planning even apply to today's world when world-wide climate patterns seems to be changing so unpredictably? Have we already reached a place of no return in that kind of development?
Are these just a few of the questions we should be asking of one another, developer and citizen alike? For better, for worse, these are the kinds of questions I have been asking myself, and I will continue to share them with any of you who will listen, for as long as I am able. I do this for the water. I also do this for the welfare of my great-grandchidren, and generations yet unborn.
My thanks to the Friends of the Fraser Wetlands for offering us their Emerald Summit 2016. It was a valuable contribution to our communal life in this part of our fragile homeland
http://groundwater consultant.org/
https://friendsoffraserwetlands.com/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Nibi.Emosaawdamajig/
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