Blue Deer Center River Ceremony

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Annie Eagan

the Saskawhihiwine

River Ceremony

There is a song that sings through the land of the Blue Deer Center. It is the song of the sacred river, Saskawhihiwine. She has been singing for thousands of years, nurturing the ancestors and all the beings of the land with her wisdom and her sustaining waters.

At this year’s Fireball, we had a ceremony to honor the river and to listen to her song. First, we gathered around the fire to connect our hearts and start orienting our listening towards the river and the life all around her. We spoke of the indigenous ancestors who honored her and recognized her sacredness and gifts. Then, we spoke of the European ancestors who had forgotten how to be in proper relationship with the land and the river. They created dumps on the shores of the river and damned her water to mill lumber. As the trees were harvested and the earth scarred, she continued to carry the voice of the land. The river persevered through this time of disrespect and disconnection -- through the forgetting that deeply plagues our culture.

Through her steadfastness, Saskawhihwine teaches us so many lessons. She teaches us about forgiveness and compassion. She sings to us about the importance of remembering and how to walk in a good way. As she dances with the rocks and trees that line her shores and create possible obstructions, she teaches about how to face obstacles in our own lives: dance with them, sing with them, embrace them…and then they are obstacles no longer.

At the ceremony, our group of sixty left the fire, gathered pinches of tobacco, and walked silently and single-file down to the shores of the river — listening to her song as we approached. With my marakame — shaman’s — feathers, I honored the directions, and then, silently, we all offered our tobacco and our prayers of gratitude to this sacred river. We stayed still and silent, listening to the song she sang to each of us in the way we each uniquely needed to hear. Even the numerous children were silent, mesmerized by the sunlight dancing on her waters, the trees bending with the wind’s embrace above her shores, the swift moving rapids singing upon the rocks. We returned to the fire in silence and then some shared their experiences.

This sacred being is waiting for you to visit. She wants to share her song with you. She wants to help you remember. She wants to embrace you with her compassion, forgiveness, love and teachings. Walk to her shore with a pinch of tobacco and a prayer of gratitude. Say her name, Saskiwhiwine (saska-wee-hee-weenay).

Let her help you to remember.