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Community Treatment | |
Grief & Loss Healing | |
Sacred Teachings |  |
Leaders |
Geronimo • Leonard George • Sequoyah • Sitting Bull
Tsleil-Waututh Band, North Vancouver
I call it learning to become a hunter of the city. Using the old philosophy of the hunter and forest, and the respect that he had, and using only what you need for that day, and taking it out, bringing it back and sharing it with as many people who’s need will be suited by it. This changed my perspective on the city. It is a wonderful resource then, go in and hunt, get things out and bring them back home. It gives it a little more meaning, at least for me.
I think that spiritual values come first and everything else follows. Any time that I start to believe that I’m in control and that I don’t need those spiritual values it doesn’t work, it jams up for me. I get reminded and I go back. Anytime I do anything I work with the consultation of elders and the people, and be their tool.
Spiritual values, I believe, are an attitude. I term it that way because, quite often, people talk about using old ways and returning to old values and a lot of people get confused and they say we don’t have access to a sweat, or we can’t spend a winter in a longhouse. To me it’s an attitude of loving and respecting and using all the tools that we naturally come into the world with. We are all born naturally highly intelligent, loving, kind, generous, caring, sharing, honest. And if we work in our life with those things then our attitude begins to change a little bit with all the things that are around us.
Chief Leonard George