The Spirit Lives in the Mind: Omushkego Stories, Lives, and Dreams

by Bird, Louis; Gray, Susan Elaine

• ISBN13: 9780773532106
• ISBN10: 0773532102
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-03-01
• Publisher: McGill Queens Univ Pr

Summary

Louis Bird has spent the last three decades documenting Cree oral traditions and sharing his stories with audiences in Canada, the United States, and Europe. In The Spirit Lives in the Mind the renowned storyteller and historian of the Omushkego shares teachings and stories of the Swampy Cree people that have been passed down from generation to generation as part of a rich oral tradition. Cree spiritual beliefs revolve around the sacred places and rich landscape of the Hudson Bay lowlands. The beautiful narratives in The Spirit Lives in the Mind illuminate the meaning and value of spiritual maturity and power, the parallels between Omushkego morality and Roman Catholic teachings, and the importance of maintaining the traditional stories. Bird also offers explanations of shamanism and demonstrates how Catholicism affected Cree tradition.Bird collaborated with Susan Elaine Gray, who worked from many years of learning about and teaching Omushkegowak culture and traditions in compiling his narratives and personal testament for The Spirit Lives in the Mind. It is a remarkable evocation of aboriginal storytelling about the Cree peoples, their landscape, and their places in the sky

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xi
Acknowledgments	p. xxiii
Illustrations	p. xxv
Map	p. xxxii
Introduction	p. 3
Water, Earth and Skies	p. 6
The Land and the Spirit	p. 6
Mooshawow and Wabagamushusagagan	p. 8
The Shaman and the Narwhal Whisker	p. 10
Rocks and their Stories	p. 12
Places in the Skies	p. 15
Giant Spider and the First People	p. 15
Astronomy	p. 17
Moshegiishik (The Universe)	p. 19
Chakapesh	p. 23
Chakapesh Gets Swallowed by a Fish	p. 23
Chakapesh Snares the Sun	p. 29
Chakapesh in the Moon	p. 36
Mysteries in the Sky	p. 37
Intruders and Defenders	p. 39
Encounters on Mooshawow	p. 39
Ostigwan Nowakow (The Place of Skulls)	p. 43
A Mitew Attack with a Lightning Gun	p. 45
Ships, Mysterious and Real	p. 48
Pakaaskokan, An Ancient Legend and Mystery	p. 51
Values for Life and Survival	p. 59
Dreams and Gifts	p. 59
Christianity and Our Ways: Fear and Denial	p. 60
Conversions to Christianity	p. 62
Life after Death	p. 64
The Power of the Orphan - a Resurrection Story	p. 64
Healing and Faith	p. 66
A Mitew Healer	p. 66
Omushkego Individualism	p. 68
Condemnation by Christianity	p. 70
Relations with Animals	p. 71
Animal Powers	p. 71
Caribou Awareness	p. 72
Caribou Messages	p. 73
Code of Ethics: Dreams, Gifts, and Knowledge	p. 74
Sinning Against Animals	p. 76
Respect and Thanks for Animals	p. 77
Violations and Consequences: The Hunters and the White Fox	p. 78
Mitewiwin Heroes and Villains	p. 81
Mitewiwin: The Power of Dreams and the Mind	p. 82
Science and Mystery	p. 84
Dream Helpers	p. 86
Becoming a Mitew	p. 90
Dreaming the Elements	p. 92
Mind Power through Dreams	p. 94
Seasons and Places to Dream	p. 95
Mitew Fasting and Self-Discipline	p. 97
Healing	p. 99
Animals and Power	p. 102
Mitew Competitions	p. 103
Defence and Warfare: Mitew Powers and Their Limitations	p. 103
Mitew Duels and Insults	p. 104
Protection through Non-Belief	p. 106
Stories of Powerful Mitewak	p. 107
Enduring Practice and Belief	p. 108
Mitew Magical Travel - Not So Long Ago	p. 109
Mitew or Christian, One or the Other?	p. 111
Wihtigos and Cannibal Hearts	p. 112
Becoming a Wihtigo	p. 115
Burning Wihtigos	p. 115
Anway and the Cannibals	p. 116
The Mitew and the Cannibal Hearts	p. 122
Ice Hearts	p. 124
Ketastotinewan	p. 125
Women and Men	p. 127
Women	p. 127
Our Grandmothers' Powers	p. 128
Wilderness Woman	p. 129
Morning Star, a Love Story, and the Spread of the Cree Language	p. 132
Wife of Ketastotinewan	p. 140
A Woman, Her Dream Father, and a Wihtigo Duel	p. 141
Wihtigo, or the Consequences of Not Listening	p. 146
Story of a Woman Helping a Captive Man	p. 148
Story of a Captive Woman Conquering her Guard	p. 151
Personages	p. 153
The Defeat of the Giant Skunk	p. 153
The Legless Man and the Boys Who Disobeyed	p. 161
John Sakeny and Bernard Gull	p. 165
Amoe and Sheweephan	p. 167
Wisakaychak	p. 175
Wisakaychak the Rock Mover	p. 175
Wisakaychak and the Woman Who Played Dead	p. 178
Wisakaychak Pursues Women	p. 180
Wisakaychak Tricks the Birds	p. 184
Wisakaychak Cooks His Geese and Loses Them	p. 187
Wisakaychak Tricks a Bear and Loses His Feast	p. 190
Wisakaychak Goes West and Grants Two Wishes	p. 193
Recordings	p. 199
Notes	p. 203
Suggested Readings	p. 207
Index	p. 217
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