Bridging Our Cultural Assumptions

PresenterE Gordon McGillivary

"I see a time of Seven Generationswhen all the colors of Mankind will

gather underthe Sacred Tree of Life and the whole

Earth will become One Circle again“

~ Tashunka Witko (Crazy Horse) ~

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English Name: Split Lake, Manitoba

Tataskweyak means “split on top of the tall trees”

Population: 3,500

Main Spiritual Base: Anglican, Pentecostal, Native Spirituality.

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1. Connect all the dots with four straight lines

2. Your pen/pencil must not leave the paper

MY ETHNIC ORIGINS

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6030

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ELVIS GORDON MCGILLIVARY

CREE ANCESTRY SCOTTISH GERMAN

Original Clan: Mhic Gillebrath• Scottish Gaelic• William, Thomas and Francis

McGillivary 1630’s (brothers)• Came across as early as 15th century

Cree Ancestry: Opasweyak Cree Nation• Traditional healers on both sides• World War Veterans• Mother’s biological father: German

Some Name Variations: McGillivray, MacGillavery, MacIllovary, McGilvery, etc.

Group Introduction

Find a partner and sit comfortably facing each other.

Share your ethic and cultural background with each other for 5 minutes each.

Come back into the large group.

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Belief Systems & Culture

Belief Systems: a shared system of beliefs and values that systematically define a way of

perceiving the social, cultural, physical and psychological world. all cultures develop a system of values that are applied to meet a culture's

needs.

Culture: is a set of learned beliefs, values and behaviors, and way of life shared by

the members of a society. is demonstrated by the beliefs, customs, values, laws, arts, technology and

artifacts people generate and use as they interpret meaning from their world.

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Ladder of Inference(* ‘the process of arriving at some conclusion…’)

Gathering of information from what we see, hear, and feel

Pay attention to select or certain data

Interpret & give meaning to the information and data

* Beliefs, Values, Attitudes,* Culture and Life Experiences

Take actions based on Information

SELF

&

OTHERS

Adapted from Chris Argyris’ Ladder of Inference Model

How Do We Interpret Symbols?Is Our Interpretation Accurate?

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Swastika symbol has been used in many cultures as a positive sign of good luck, well-being, birth, fertility, four seasons, sun, creation.

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Symbolism – Representation & MeaningTo symbolize means to express, illustrate, mean, personify,

represent.

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Turtle IslandBirth of ChristEarly Missionaries

20,000 yrs

2000 yrs

500yrs

• Birth of Christ• Early Scriptures•

Crusades/Conversion

• Early missionaries bring the teachings of the Bible to Turtle Island

• Government in partnership with the churches introduce the Residential School system

What were our spiritual and cultural beliefs before early contact?

What was our relationship to Mother Earth? Land? Animals? Water?

Did we have our own tribal and political systems?

What did our tribal ancestors do for 19,500 years before early contact on Turtle Island?

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Dreams? Guidance and Direction?

West

• Waterfall• Mountain

s• Sunset

1982 1985

“He Who Carries The Pipe”

AA

1987

Sacred Pipe Bowl

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• Cree language: “ospawagun”• Archeological find at Gull Lake in our traditional lands in 2001.• Carbon dated at approximately 2,000 yrs old.• Many other artifacts found as well; arrowheads, tools, etc. over the

years by local trappers.

UNDERSTANDING THE MEDICINE WHEEL

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+ MENTAL –Human World

+ SPIRITUAL –

Mineral World

+ PHYSICAL –

Animal World

+ EMOTIONAL –

Plant World

MEDICINE

WHEEL

YOUR GREATEST STRENGTH IS YOUR GREATEST WEAKNESS,AND YOUR GREATEST WEAKNESS IS YOUR GREATEST

STRENGTH

• Power of Choice

• Volition (Will)

• Positive / Negative

• Red / Black Road

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Spirituality - Animism Animism (from Latin anima “soul, life”) is a

philosophical, religious or spiritual idea that souls or spirits exist not only in humans but also in other animals, plants, rocks, natural phenomena such as thunder, geographic features such as mountains or rivers, or other entities of the natural environment. - Wikipedia

Aboriginal spiritual beliefs are “animistic”. The recognition and acknowledgement of spirit in all things.

Everything on Mother Earth and Father Sky is Inter-related, Inter-dependent, and Inter-connected.

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Vibration & FrequencyState Brain Wave Frequency Associated with

BETA 14 to 21 cycles per second (cps)

Waking state, using the five senses,

ALPHA 7 to 14 cycles per second (cps)

Light sleep, meditation, intuition, relaxation…

THETA 4 to 7 cycles per second (cps)

Deeper sleep, meditation…

DELTA 0 to 4 cycles per second (cps)

Deep sleep, unconsciousness…

Mother Earth’s natural frequency is 7.8• The sundance, sweatlodge, and pipe ceremonies are about “right-brain” phenomena,

• In ceremony, we connect to all things on Mother Earth and Father Sky,• Kakenow Okimakanak (All my Relations)

WESTERN WORLD VIEWWESTERN WORLD VIEW ABORIGINAL WORLD VIEW

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LEFT BRAIN RIGHT BRAIN

ANALYTICALSEQUENTIAL

LOGICALLINEAR

CATEGORIZE

*Writing, Science, Math

*Seeing, Hearing, Smell,Taste, Touch

SPIRITUALEMOTIONSINTUITIONWHOLISTICDREAMS

Art, Music, DanceAbstract Thinking,Guided Imagery

90%

JUNGIAN

CHART

2020

Hierarchical vs. Cyclical

Hearing

FeelingSeeing

Hearing

Seeing Feeling

Learn by DoingHands on Learning

Sensory Learning StylesAuditory 30%Visual 60%

Kinesthetic 10%

90%

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LEFT BRAIN RIGHT BRAINANALYTICAL

SEQUENTIALLOGICAL

LINEARCATEGORIZE

SPIRITUALEMOTIONSINTUITIONWHOLISTI

CDREAMS

90%

JUNGIAN

CHART

Hierarchical Systems Cyclical Systems

English Language Aboriginal Language

Tree of Knowledge Tree of Life

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LEFT BRAIN RIGHT BRAIN

ANALYTICALSEQUENTIAL

LOGICALLINEAR

CATEGORIZE

SPIRITUALEMOTIONSINTUITIONWHOLISTICDREAMS90

%

JUNGIAN

CHART

English Language Aboriginal Language

Objective Subjective

Nouns Verbs

Cree is a musical language that has complicated verbs with many parts. (excerpt from Native Languages of the Americas)

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Tree List

1. Tree2. Light switch3. Stool4. Car5. Glove6. Gun7. Dice8. Skate9. Cat10. Bowling Ball

11. Goalpost12. Eggs13. Witch14. Ring15. Cheque16. Candy17. Magazine18. Voting Booth19. Golf Club20. Cigarettes

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Points of Interest Our way of thinking has developed more with the

left brain functions than the right side. (logic and linear thinking, etc.)

Education system has focused mainly with auditory and visual sensory learning styles.

The Bible is a ‘left-brain’ attempt to explain ‘right-brain’ phenomena; (Dr Allan “Chuck” Ross, Lakota Sioux Educator)

Aboriginal spiritual ceremonies (sweatlodge and sundance ceremonies,etc.) are about ‘right-brain’ phenomena.

THE BASIC PHILOSOPHY OF TAOISM

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YING YANGEARTHFEMININEFEELINGINTUITIONPASSIVESTILLNESS

HEAVENMASCULINETHINKINGREASONAGGRESSIVEMOVEMENT

EACH FORCE COMPLEMENTS THE OTHER AND THE BALANCE OF THE TWO BRINGS HARMONY

The Path or The Way, refers to a power which envelopes, surrounds, and flows through all things, living and non-living. The TAO regulates natural

processes and nourishes balance in the Universe. It embodies the harmony of opposites.

TAOISM

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YING YANGBinary Arithmetic• EVEN NUMBERS

Geometry• SPACE• CAUSE• FINITE

Celestial• MOON• PLANET

Binary Arithmetic• ODD NUMBERS

Geometry• TIME• EFFECT• INFINITE

Celestial• SUN• STARS

TAOISM

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Feminine vs. MasculineFor centuries the male (masculine)

energy was dominant in most systems and cultures. (Family, Social, Political, etc.)

Female (Feminine) energy is now common amongst most systems. (Family, Social, Political, Leadership Roles, etc.)

Mother Earth (Ying) and Father Sky (Yang) will eventually find balance and harmony.

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Western Worldview and Aboriginal Worldview using Taoism/Jungian Chart

MENTAL

PHYSICAL

SPIRITUAL

EMOTIONAL

ANALYTICALSEQUENTIALLOGICALLINEAR

INTUITIONEMOTIONSSPIRITUALWHOLISTIC

MASCULINEHEAVENTHINKINGREASONAGGRESSIVE

FEMININEEARTHFEELINGINTUITIONPASSIVE

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Question & Answer Period

Contact InformationE.Gordon McGillivary

P.O. Box 143

Tataskweyak Cree Nation

Split Lake, Manitoba, Canada R0B 1P0

1 (431) 274-3143 cell

egmcglvry@gmail.com