Living our culture

Bill Constant has been a great teacher to myself and to plenty of other young Aboriginal people in northern Ontario. During the ceremony he stressed the balance and respect that must exist between a man and a woman in order for a marriage to work.

Once the fire is started the bride cooks or warms food over the fire, which is to be used to feed one another.

After the food is prepared, the man and woman take turns feeding each other. It’s a way of showing the commitment to take care of each other.

Photos courtesy of Dale + Joy Photography

My family had two reasons to celebrate this summer. My wife Kanina and I tied the knot July 11 in Sioux Lookout. My brother Corey and his wife Crystal were married Aug. 29 in Thunder Bay. And just like our personalities, our weddings were very different.

For one, Kanina and I only had about 100 guests. Our wedding party consisted of a best man and maid of honour. My brother and his wife had around 350 guests. Their wedding party was quite large at 14 (seven men and seven women).
However, we both did one similar thing. We both decided to have a traditional wedding ceremony around the wedding date. I can’t speak for my brother and his reasons for wanting to do so, but for myself, I really wanted to honour our culture with this ceremony.
During the ceremonies I talked about ‘living’ our culture. This idea I first heard from Charles Fox, former Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief and former Assembly of First Nations Ontario Regional Chief. During a speech he talked about culture and it’s importance. But he stressed that culture must be “lived” and not “preserved” as we often talk about doing. I believe he is right. When I think of preserving, I think of a museum with a glass box full of artifacts and such. But to live our culture is to practice it daily, to do the ceremonies, to carry out the rituals. The wedding ceremony is one ritual. Others can be naming ceremonies, birthing ceremonies, the first kill ceremony, the berry fast, etc. It’s a long list. But these are all things the Cree and Ojibwe people have done for thousands of years. And to ensure our culture survives we must practice it. We must live it.
So with this in mind, Kanina and I went ahead with this ceremony. We asked my Sundance Chief, Bill Constant, if he’d be willing to conduct the ceremony for us. He was more than willing to do so. And it was beautiful. It was simply authentic. In the very early morning hours of July 13, we had a small gathering in our backyard with friends and family.