This week in the U.S is one of many mixed emotions. In addition to personal Thanksgiving joys and stresses, there is the fact that for the Indigenous First People of this land, this week is one of mourning as well as ongoing organizing around education regarding the truth and education regarding stewardship. I have Native blood in my veins. My 5x great grandmother was Mic Ma’qi. Where I grew up in Massachusetts had three rivers through the town; all had Original Native Names: the Shawsheen that I played in, the Merrimac, and the Nashua. Sacred spots in the woods were everywhere: ancient stone circles set purposefully by First Peoples, or burial mounds from when colonialists brought small pox or measles or other diseases that within a short 100 or so years wiped out up to 80% of the Native Peoples along the eastern seaboard to 100 miles inland. Spirit Fire -the meditation center I founded in western Mass- had 95 acres of woodlands, wetlands, and meadows. All of it had been the home to Indigenous People before colonialists arrived. Several locations still were vibrant with the energy of Those who had been there for generations.

Let us remember the People whose land we are living on. Let us listen to the names of our towns or cities, rivers or lakes that are called by the names The People gave those places and waterways. Those names have meaning. For example, Nashua means “flowing shining stones”. What does Milwaukee mean? What does Winnipesaukee mean? What does Osage mean? Whose land are you living on? Do you know their story?

Our meditation honors the First Peoples.