COLUMN: Carillon Flashback October 18, 1995: Tradition holds key to spiritual healing

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This article was published 27/09/2023 (663 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The surrounding natural beauty of fiery fall-cloaked poplar trees and slender swaying wild rice stands doesn’t serve to veil the deep cut wounds that plague Pukatawagan, a Cree settlement and home for 1,869 members of the Mathias Coulomb band, north of The Pas,

But slowly, with the help of native-run programs and a return to traditional ways, the social scars are beginning to heal.

Maurice Bear, a counsellor with the Native Alcohol and Drug Abuse Program (NADAP) explains that Native spirituality is very important and it’s now coming back.

Native counsellors at NADAP work with reserve residents plagued with abuse of drugs and alcohol. Clients receive an assessment and are then referred to one of the many treatment centres located throughout the province, including Brandon, Peguis, The Pas, Thompson and Winnipeg.

As the bright autumn sun beats into the clearing, Bear squats near his sweat lodge and relates a tale of centuries-old tradition.

Beyond the lake, the northern Manitoba reserve community lies spread out, appearing peaceful and still in the afternoon warmth.

“As we go into the sweat lodge, we pray for spiritual guidance, we ask for spiritual awakening, we ask for healing, We pray to the Creator who created everything.”

Bear says he learned the knowledge and ability to conduct sweats from respectfully following the teachings of elders. He asked his elder for a traditional name and after a year, the name was revealed to the elder in a dream.

Before entering the lodge, sweetgrass is lit and the pungent smoke is dispersed near the structure to promote a fruitful session with a positive exchange of words and wisdom.

“We learn here about all the importance of what the Creator has offered to us in a good way – like the sweetgrass, the cedar, the rock, the eagle, the bear, the wolf, everything that breathes and crawls, we respect that.”

Inside the dome-shaped, canvas-covered sweat lodge, Bear aims to help with the healing process. Within the darkened cubicle, words, ideas, and thoughts are exchanged to shed light on bleak situations and clear mental clouds.

The conductor sits facing the door with participants seated in a circle on each side. Outside the door, in a perfect line, are the altar and the fire.

On the fire, the rocks get heated up until they are glowing red and then are brought inside the lodge. There, they are deposited in a hollow in the middle of the circle of participants.

Then the heavy canvas door is pulled shut and the sweat lodge ceremony begins in total darkness.

“The rock reminds us to be strong, mentally and physically. That’s how powerful it is.”

Sacred items, such as a feather, sweet grass and sage, are blessed on the outside altar before the actual praying begins on the inside.

Bear pointed out the similarities between the sweat lodge ceremony and Christian beliefs.

Across the roof of the lodge, wooden crosses support the structure. Steam rising from water splashed on heated rocks serves a purifying purpose similar to the Christian water baptism.

The group circled around the centre prays to a higher being, the Creator. Natural incense is also used in the ritual paralleling many Christian ceremonies.

After hot rocks have been brought into the lodge four times, the ceremony ends and is followed by a feast of fruit and bannock.

Alcohol has been prohibited on the reserve for the past eight years but the problems with drugs and alcohol have not stopped.

Pukatawagan’s hopes for the future include an on-reserve treatment centre to allow people in the NADA program to continue seeing family members while receiving treatment.

Pukatwagan’s justice committee works hand in hand with the RCMP and the tribal police to review less serious offenses and make decisions on cases.

If the offense is more serious, the provincial court system is coupled with the tribal justice committee and its eight committee members follow the proceedings each step of the way.

– with files from Tanis Baker