My Isabelle

I have been blessed by many elders in my life. Today, I am writing about my Isabelle. Isabelle Osawamick is an Annishinaabemowin Language Instructor with the Saginaw Chippewa Indians. At this very moment she is sleeping all tucked up nicely in her hotel bed with light shallow breaths echoing through the darkened room. This trip is her gift to me. She is taking me to her home. Wikwemikong, Manitoulin Island. I have read that this is the largest Anishinabek Community on Manitoulin Island. Her story, her roots, the land in which she is, I am being blessed to witness.

As with every friendship, her secrets will always be safe with me. I find her stories to be as traumatic as mine. Some Native children grow up in a tough life. I hear, the Canadian Natives have suffered some serious trauma at the hands of their government and society. As I listen to my friend’s stories, I know she and I are survivors and become the masters of resiliency. I have seven years of secrets and stories tucked up inside my mind. Only I will know some, and some, I will share with you.

My Isabelle and I met while she and my mother were in the hospital together. Well, two Native Elders in one room only means those two ladies were going to live like queens. You see, my generation was raised to tend to our elders. The young tend to the old. I was the youngest amongst the two elders. They chatted and I listened. No, friendship wasn’t made then. I was too busy chasing down the queens’ request and tending to daily responsibilities to build closeness or friendship. Friendship was obtained a year later when I needed to move to her area.

I moved to a home just down the street from her and our friendship grew. My Isabelle is in her elder years, and I have tended to her needs a few times. Trusted friendship of the elders is what I have gleaned through the years. Time slows our joints, but our laughter runs with the wind and young ears stop to listen. Mount Pleasant may be her current home right now, but where one grows up, that is the real home.

Adventure runs in her veins. She is a mover and a shaker, and I love to see her in her element. So strong of a being she is. Canada felt different to me and I can come to an understanding of what her life must have been like. Some of the stories she spoke of mirrored the stories of hardships my mother told of her younger years. Yet, she pushes forward and enjoys all the travel and adventure she can muster.

I don’t mind saying, to be silenced, unintentionally, is an interesting place to be. I am by no means one who is linguistic due to my autism. My speech has always been an issue. Yet, Isabelle did expose me to enough words for me to pick out a word or two from her friend’s visits. When the women would lap back into Annishinaabemowin, Often, I would sit in a muted state just listening to the language fill my soul.

Words have energy. English was spoken most of the times around me. Laughter, joy and even sadness were shared amongst them. I felt every word even though I did not always understand what was being said. I respected the deafness I needed to exhibit when they shared delicate news in the language. Odd level a submission that requires. Yet, I respect My Isabelle enough to let her shine. I wasn’t ignored. They were as curious about me as I them. Assimilation runs deep in me, and I forget when I am talking to a first language speaker. There were moments when my vocabulary needed explanation. My words do not always translate into Annishinaabemowin. One word can literally turn into a two, three, four or more-word phrase. I loved it when we were learning from each other. The experience was so beautiful to my ears.

Assimilation has ruined the culture in America for many Natives. I was so far gone that meditation and yoga were my main stays to my well-being. As time went on, a major life crash occurred, and Isabelle and I grew together in our prayers, feast, ceremonies, and medicine preparations. I watched her and her friend create crafts that amazed me. (Please forgive me Canadian Trading Post.) I have seen better work from the rejuvenation of culture here in the states. However, seeing the work of her family and friends trumped any tourist traps we visited along the way.

As I sit and think about those who I have met, I have come to know that I needed to meet each one. From the children to the old. I watched children play amongst each other is an activity I have always enjoyed. I guess that’s the teacher in me. The language was intertwined with English and there was no, fear in speaking the language. They were free to speak their native tongue. Young adults I met understood my spiritual language. Energy workers have different vocabulary and understand things like clairvoyance whereas it was never given such titles in Annishinaabemowin. Having common vocabulary with another Native who had a similar journey to our people, was so validating. Meeting the elders, all at various stages in life was such a gift. Some shared their memories or while others gave me teachings. Each person was a gift, and I am thankful for the gifts they shared with me.

Traditional medicines are an interest to me. My last name is Chingwa, which means White Pine, People of the pine tend to be healers. My Isabelle introduced me to one of her friends who is a healer. Tina’s apothecary was so impressive. Cabinets after cabinets were filled with traditional medicines. They were all harvested from the land. Okay, not all, but even if the amount purchased was 50% the effort it must have taken great effort to harvest it all. My vision was fortified by her amazing apothecary. I won’t copy her exactly but, her example gave me a good picture in my mind where Jiibi-kwe Apothecary is going to look like. Traditional medicines, here I come.

As I watched My Isabelle work with her medicine women, I marveled at Tina’s training she had Isabelle use. As an energy worker, I can wield a mean pendulum. As I watched Isabelle use her medicine pouch as a pendulum, I smiled at the similarities between my practices and the traditional healer’s practice. The lessons and training I had received were the bridge I needed to move forward in my own personal development. Tina was a gift I didn’t know I needed but My Isabelle knew it was time for me to meet her. I am grateful for the visit with her.

One thing I have come to accept with Isabelle is the fact that she sees more in me than I do myself. I know I have come a long way in my practices, but she continues to grow me. Nurtures me in a way that no one else could. Culture was not a part of my life until 2009. Even though I carried a feather, I was clueless as one could be. Prayer, meditation, fasting, and all sorts of well-being practices, My Isabelle seems to find something new to show me. It is so nice to have a friend who understands your ways and grows them along side you too. What I am lacking, she has. What she is lacking, I give. However, we continue to grow together. I am thankful she sees me differently than I do, the elders should watch the young and build their gifts. My Isabelle does just that for me even in my elder years.

As I sit here now and think about those children playing. I think about the gains they received by being Annishinabe and free to be so. They didn’t have to hide their language or who they are. Shoot, language was so far hidden in my family I never heard anyone speak the language until I was in my teens. I went to work for a Tribe and I had no language what so ever. I wish had their impressionable brain again so I could pick up the language quicker. Odd to think that the young have more of an upper hand than I do. I am okay to sit with the kids and learn again, after all, maybe I will get to play again too.

The long hours behind the wheel taking her home was worth the time I devoted to her. The hours spent together went by quickly with little rest or time to process the experiences until I returned home to my space. I am grateful for the experience and will treasure the memories I gleaned while building an understanding of my own growth. Returning home with My Isabelle was a golden treasure I will tuck inside for a good long while.