At the Crossroads: Thanksgiving Harvest

Photo by Heidi Katchia Copyright © 2007

This is the month of Thanksgiving when we celebrate the harvest when the Native Americans helped the pilgrims and brought food for the fall blessing. These were the times when the first peoples, who came across the great ocean, were facing winter not knowing how long it would last and how severe it would be. In the spring they had been shown how to plant corn, maze and ear corn, in hills and were given the seeds. They were shown how to put a fish in each hill to bless it and for fertilizer. They were shown how to dry the corn and how to save the perfect seeds for the next planting in the spring. And even with this type of food saved for winter, the pilgrims feared they would not have enough food until the next crop. 

The people were facing hard times then, like we all are facing today with an uncertain future all over this great land we call our home. But as the corn seeds needed the help from the fish, and the pilgrims needed the help from the Native Americans, we need help for our mind and spirit so that we do not succumb to depression.

We can stand tall like the corn with our feet firmly planted on the Earth Mother who gives us energy and strength. We can stand with our arms outstretched like the leaves on the stalks reaching for the light as we give blessings and healing touch to all the people we work on and pray over. And our crown like the tassels at the top of the stalk which send down the pollen to fertilize the seeds, we, too, can nourish ourselves so that we will be successful and increase our blessings as we keep going forward. 

The corn seed needs a keeper because it will not replant itself. We, also, need a keeper, as we turn to the Creator and have faith that he will provide for all of us. We can hang onto this like the roots of the corn that go deep into the earth to get its water. And as priorities shift with these economic times, we like to remember what Tuck’ush Winch’s father, who was a hereditary chief, said. “You greet the new day and welcome the light into your life. You thank the Creator for your very being. You thank the Creator for a dry place to sleep, for something to eat, and if you have someone to love you, the rest in life is extra. And it is as simple as that.”  Sometimes we have to go back to the crossroads to get a new perspective to keep us moving forward. 

We wish you all the blessings like the river flows. Happy Thanksgiving!

Be like the Corn People
Acarasara, We love you.
Tuck’ush Winch
Two Bears