{"id":120163,"date":"2022-10-04T10:37:48","date_gmt":"2022-10-04T14:37:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/?p=120163"},"modified":"2022-10-06T10:42:39","modified_gmt":"2022-10-06T14:42:39","slug":"honouring-the-spirits-of-the-children-at-fort-folly-sacred-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/honouring-the-spirits-of-the-children-at-fort-folly-sacred-fire\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Honouring the spirits of the children\u2019 at Fort Folly sacred fire"},"content":{"rendered":"

Canada\u2019s second National Day for Truth and Reconciliation came and went last Friday, and thanks to Nicole Porter, people in the Tantramar region had a chance to reflect and learn.<\/p>\n

Mi\u2019kmaq knowledge keeper Nicole Porter and her son Zachary Dub\u00e9, a firekeeper, invited people to a sacred fire on Cherry Burton Road. CHMA stopped by to talk with Porter and Dub\u00e9, and some of the people who made their way to the fire.<\/p>\n

Porter spent the whole day speaking to comers, helping them feel comfortable engaging with the fire and pointing them to ways to learn more, such as the nearby Fort Folly community walking trails which feature interpretive panels. Porter says a steady stream of families came to the fire, as well as larger groups such as daycares and the Mount Allison soccer teams.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s good to see the public coming out and wanting to educate themselves,\u201d says Porter. \u201cWe\u2019re just so honoured that we can share the culture with every one.\u201d<\/p>\n

16-year-old Zachary Dub\u00e9 tended the fire, and took the time to explain the customs around it to people who came, many of whom took the opportunity to offer some tobacco to the fire.<\/p>\n

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Firekeeper Zachary Dub\u00e9 of Fort Folly First Nation. Photo: Erica Butler<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just like when you\u2019re praying to God,\u201d says Dub\u00e9. \u201cThere is no right or wrong way to do it. You just speak your mind or your heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce you put that tobacco offering into the fire, the fire will then burn tobacco, and then it will take that smoke or your prayers from that tobacco up to the spirit world where the spirits and the ancestors will listen to that prayer,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Dub\u00e9 is a firekeeper trained to tend many types of sacred fires, including those for sweat lodges, full moon ceremonies, or the passing of loved ones.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sacred fire that we\u2019re doing here today is for inviting spirits and honouring the spirits of the children of the residential schools that have sadly passed away,\u201d says Dub\u00e9. \u201cWe\u2019re asking their spirits to join us here today, we\u2019re honouring them, giving thanks for them for healing us, and protecting this land.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Nicole Porter, Zachary Dub\u00e9 and others gathered around the sacred fire on National Day of Truth and Reconciliation. Photo: Erica Butler<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Porter says that learning the truth of what happened and why is the first step towards actual reconciliation. \u201cIn order to really reconcile what has happened to Indigenous people,\u201d says Porter, \u201cothers need to learn the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

And with the truth, policies rooted in the same racism that beget the residential schools can begin the change. \u201cThere\u2019s been a lot of racism built into the Indian Act,\u201d says Porter. \u201cSo we want to work to change that.\u201d<\/p>\n

She points to the the peace and friendship treaties between the Mi\u2019kmaq, Wolastoqey, and Canada. \u201cThose are still binding contracts between nations,\u201d says Porter. \u201cWe want them to be honoured and recognized, and moving forward, be able to share the land together and be at the table to talk about these issues that come up.\u201d<\/p>\n

She says reconciliation will really be fulfilled when Indigenous people have a voice and a role in the stewardship of New Brunswick\u2019s land. \u201cWhen it comes to clearcutting forests, we want to be there to have a voice and to say, you know, you\u2019re affecting the wildlife, you\u2019re affecting the trees, when you\u2019re spraying insecticides on this Crown land,\u201d says Porter. \u201cWe want to be able to have that voice at that table.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Canada\u2019s second National Day for Truth and Reconciliation came and went last Friday, and thanks to Nicole Porter, people in the Tantramar region had a chance to reflect and learn. Mi\u2019kmaq knowledge keeper Nicole Porter and her son Zachary Dub\u00e9, a firekeeper, invited people to a sacred fire on Cherry Burton Road. CHMA stopped by…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":120167,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16830],"tags":[4583,17807,19239,18821,19240,19427],"radio":[227],"origine":[274,275,277],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120163"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/106"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120163"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120163\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":120169,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120163\/revisions\/120169"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/120167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120163"},{"taxonomy":"radio","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/radio?post=120163"},{"taxonomy":"origine","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/origine?post=120163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}