Mino bimaadiziwin means she or he leads a good life. There are many different teachings and pathways that our people have to aspire to “the good life” and how to lead a good life. One is making good use of the gifts that Creator gives us (skills, resources, insight). That is one of the ways we can give our thanks – to make sure that our gifts and the benefits are shared and reciprocated.

A life of reciprocity, intention, and action. Our ceremonies can be a time of celebration and honoring, as well as a time to publicly share our intentions with our community so that our intentions become actions. If you are together with your people and profess something in front of them in ceremony, it holds you accountable…to your relatives here but transcends and holds you accountable to your relatives up above. LeMoine, who is Sicangu Lakota and one of our founders and on our Wisdom Council shares good teachings with about how ceremonies for his people are also a reflection of what is happening in the spiritual realm.

We use fires in many ceremonies as they carry our prayers and intentions above.

And intention declared publicly should become action. When the morpheme “aadizi” is added in our language, it means you have to do something.

What are we going to do? We talk about doing things in a good way but it’s  important to note that to do things “in a good way” all things have to be in place. The reciprocal relationships, the systems, and the right tools. Otherwise, you can have a subset of people exhausting themselves working tirelessly but still “failing” multiple times over (sound familiar to many of us in small non-profits working for systems change?). The conditions need to be conducive.

The systems are made of individuals. Most of the world thinks all the solutions start with economic institutions and political systems rather than with individuals. Our worldview believes that we can start with individuals – then impact our families – then our clans – then our communities – and then a nation.

Fire has more than one meaning for Anishinaabe people. They also are related to the eras in the life of our nation. They represent the geographies where we have lived, our historical events, and the teachings that surrounded them.

Through millennia, our knowledge keepers have kept good account of our history. The Seven Fires Prophecy predated the age of contact with first three fires going back to around 900 AD (when our Anishinaabe people made their first migration west; again long before Europeans were settling the continent). Europeans or Chimookaman (the long-knives) entered scene in the Fourth Fire. We have not yet reached all of the fires, though many believe we are already in the time of the Seventh Fire.

During the time of the First Fire, our people lived on the Eastern Shore with our Waabanaki relatives on the Atlantic. A prophet foretold that there were big changes coming in the future. In order to protect the sacred fire and keep it alive, the Waabanaki stayed back as the guardians in the east and the people who went west, those who would later become the Anishinaabe people, would safeguard the sacred fire and keep it alive.

So, our people headed west along the St Lawrence River, very far inland to what is now Montreal. Then, a new teacher arose among the people and said that they must go even farther west to where there was a big lake (Lake Huron and near present-day Detroit). This is when the Anishinaabe people split into the Ojibwe, Ottawa, and Potawatomi.

Some stayed in Michigan and some went further south but by the time of the Third Fire, my people had settled where we are present-day. I remember my grandma telling me that we ended up in Minnesota because the prophecies said we would keep traveling west until we ended up in the place where food grew on the water (manoomin or wild rice). And my people still live at Nett Lake and in September, I’ll go home to pick and harvest with family and friends.

Signaling the Fourth Fire…Two prophets arose among the people talking about light-skinned people that would be coming from the east. One prophet said they would come in brotherhood, bringing great knowledge and the other warned that they could also be coming with greed for the riches of our land.

These prophecies described the history we experienced and foretold the time of removal, the time of breaking spiritual traditions, that traditional knowledge would be interrupted and scattered across vast territories…that ceremonies and languages would be lost and forced underground (from the 1800s all the way through and past the boarding school era…in fact, it was against the law to practice Native spirituality in this country until the 1970s).

The Fifth Fire depicted the boarding school era when our children would be stolen from us, just as our lands had been stolen. This time of forced assimilation has had far-reaching and devastating effects that persist today. Every disparity ratio we experience directly tie back to these policies. Family relationships and the transmission of traditional knowledge was interrupted for many families and communities…and for some permanently. The present work of many of our tribal nations, Native non-profits are working to either mitigate these effects or some are trying to holistically treat them at the root and not just the stem.

The Sixth Fire spoke of a time when you could no longer dip your cup in the water and safely drink it…when the air would be too thick to breathe, that it would choke people. In this time, the plants and animals would begin turning their faces from us. Many refer to this time also as the Sixth Extinction and that we’ve been in this era for some time now. Western reductionist and extractive worldview and practices brought us here very rapidly in terms of our human history…in under 500 years.

In the time of the Sixth Fire, they saw that our grandchildren will turn against the Elders. As a result, our Elders would lose their reason for living and their purpose. A new sickness would come among our people (this could be what some refer to as the new genocide waged by meth, heroin, and now fentanyl). Without our teachings and our Elders, we would lose our values and balance with the world and become disturbed.

They still saw hope in this time and that there would still be a coal left of the sacred fire that would not be extinguished. In this time of hope, a group of visionaries would gather all the Elders of the Sacred Teachings would take all the sacred bundles and the scrolls that were recorded in ceremonies and they would be hidden…hidden out of sight, but not out of memory.

It was said that when the Anishinaabe people could once again practice their religion without fear, that a little boy would dream where the ironwood log full of the bundles and scrolls were buried and lead his people there.

After this time of loss and leadership, there will be a time when the world will come together and then be faced with two paths. One would be beautiful, green, and vibrant with life. You could walk barefoot on this path and sink your toes right into the plush grass. The other path is charred black and burnt to a crisp, with cinders that would burn and cut your feet. This is the time of the 8^th Fire.

However, before this time something needs to happen. In the time of the Seventh Fire, it was said that a new people will emerge with a sacred purpose. This purpose is to walk back along the red road of our ancestors and gather up all the fragments that lay scattered along the trail. Fragments of land, language, bits of songs, stories, traditional knowledge and teachings. All that had been dropped along the way.

They will retrace their steps and return to traditional knowledge. The young will turn back to the Elders for teachings…but one sad part of this prophecy is that many have fallen asleep to our ways and have nothing to give. Some will be silent out of fear. The new people will have to be careful in how they approach the Elders and it is a big task to put things back together. This task will not be easy.

But, the seventh prophet said that if the new people remain strong in their quest, then there will be rebirth of the Anishinaabe Nation and a rekindling of old flames. The Sacred Fire will again be lit.

Many think we have already entered the Seventh Fire because across the country there is a movement for bringing back and centering culture and language.

Increasingly over the past few years, Tiwahe’s grantees and alum inquire about opportunities for language (especially Dakota and Anishinaabe), as well as to connect with elders and spiritual advisors, ceremonies, and gatherings that will increase their own teachings and cultural knowledge. Many of our youth and Native professionals request us to hold sessions explaining common protocols and teachings, such as powwow etiquette, change in moon seasons, how to forage and harvest, and so on.

Though Anishinaabe people and other Indigenous people are regaining wisdom that is increasingly sought after by the rest of the world (it’s why we are in charge of 85% of the world’s biodiversity), the time of the 8^th Fire and the choice to be made is not ours. Some traditional people interpret this to be the choice between technological advancement and a return to spirituality.

It is said at this time the light-skinned race will be given a choice between the two roads. If the green path is chosen, this is believed to signal the decline and end of materialism and a return to valuing our entire world of beings…not products, not stuff. This is when we can light the 8^th and final Fire. This could be a Golden Age for us all.

Opting in to the burnt and charred path may not be an overt decision. Because that almost seems insane. Scientific evidence shows us we are on the verge of climate collapse. Ecologists say that we would need seven planets like Earth to sustain the lifeways human beings have created in the last 500 years. The earth has paid a price, our other living beings have paid a price, including the expense of people like mine and others who’ve experienced genocide and murder for the sake of all of this.

And these lifeways of consumerism and technology have not brought us happiness…because they lack justice, balance, and harmony. This is why we still don’t feel good. This also might be why despite some of our well-crafted mission statements, we still don’t feel like we are LIVING a life of purpose. Again, it’s the difference between truth (saying something that is correct or good) and honesty (living something that is correct or good).

In capitalistic systems, contentment is a thing never to be achieved. Recognizing abundance/not scarcity undermines the entire economic system…which only exists if there are unmet desires and fierce competition. Recognizing abundance is dangerous to this system. And to those who want to hold this system.

But…there is a lot that can be learned and changed even this far down the path. And there is still abundance. There is still opportunity.

The intergenerational passing of assets from the Baby Boomers down to Gen X and Millennials. These figures from the Boston Center on Wealth and Philanthropy are more conservative than some of the others I’ve seen or maybe there a bit outdated, because I’ve seen the range on these figures as high as $350 Trillion. Still nearly $30 Trillion Dollars in the next 40 years will be allocated towards giving.

Foundations in this country alone are sitting on $800 billion in assets. The largest 7 comprise $100 billion.

Other economic studies point to the trillion dollar blind spot that the investment arms of our foundations are missing by not treating their own bias in how they deploy capital. Not just foundations, but others in social impact investing and commercial lending. There’s a good report done a few years, by Morgan Stanley, ironically.

I won’t digress anymore, suffice to say, our ancestors and some of yours in the audience today contributed to the wealth of this nation…to the coffers of these foundations, albeit unwillingly almost all of the time. Think of these resources and this abundance. There is a lot of abundance for the work we do.

Of the $800 billion that foundations have, only 5% is being actually invested in grants. Of that 5%, only 7-8% of that has ever been invested into communities of color. The trickle-down impact of those dynamics result in very little investment and any systemic change is really imperceptible. We know that.

There is so much data on how the reality doesn’t match the opportunity, but I’ll read a few I included on this slide.

The Minnesota figures come from a report last year from the MN Council on Foundations. We have a good reputation across the country for our giving. In fact, I was at a meeting Tuesday with a group of other EDs from Native non-profits in the metro and one of them said we have a hard time getting grants from national funders because they knew the Twin Cities is a major philanthropic hub and they think we’re being take care of…when in fact, the giving is declining…both for individual donors and foundations.

Across the country, giving to Native organizations directly has declined for the past fifteen years (ever since the subprime mortgage crisis and then again with COVID…giving levels to our orgs do not return).

And we collectively know what needs to happen. Longer-term funding, communities at the center of program design and evaluation. As a field, we don’t need to keep funding the research. We need to put the money directly into the hands of those closest to the solutions…us.

9 times out of 10, we are better stewards of the grant funds than the usual suspects which are large white-led intermediaries (and I say that with all due respect to those of you in the room representing those institutions because you do great work). Just five times in the last month, I’ve heard different EDs of color bemoan how they were passed over and the funds were given to a better known, more polished and resourced white-led org that usually end up sitting on the program funds because it’s a not an urgent priority for them and they later (for free) ask the orgs of color to help recruit and refer their clients and communities over to them.

Philanthropy and too many in the non-profit industrial complex are still rooted in Andrew Carnegie’s The Gospel of Wealth, a model for giving that still assumes wealthy white people know what’s best and should make the decisions on what benefits people of color and those that are low-income. And so many in this room, directly, actively, implicitly, or passively play a contributing role. You don’t have to keep doing that.

We talk about equity…that’s another buzzword in English that doesn’t have an action verb associated with it…what is the “-aadizi” here?

Imagine if our Native non-profits were equitably resourced. If our orgs of color were equitably resourced. If partnerships like LinkingLeaders – a cross-cultural effort to build real solidarity practices here in Minnesota—were resourced like all the dollars put into DEI efforts in our organizations.

Ten years ago, MCN in collaboration with Native Americans in Philanthropy and others did a report on the state of the industry so-to-speak on the 65 Native non-profits in Minnesota. I encourage folks to take their own time to read the report to learn more about these orgs, but also to read the recommendations shared on how to support them and find out what has actually changed over the last ten years…because it’s not much.

I do want to flag that NWAF set aside 40% of their giving to Native people over the last ten years in response. And they’ve now invested $80 million of their $175 million to Native communities directly. They are an example that this change can happen and doesn’t have to happen at a glacial pace.

Transformation is possible. Mother Earth—Niimaama Aki- and her ecology and our other living relatives are excellent teachers and a source of wisdom on how we can move forward. As Tiwahe is rebuilding Oyate, LeMoine reminded us that the land itself is an Indigenous leadership model and we need to integrate those learnings into our own programming.

There are endless learnings from nature, but we’ll focus on reciprocity. Robin Wall Kimmerer, Potawatomi, scientist and author of Braiding Sweetgrass compares pioneer communities (both plant and human) and old-growth forests and other systems that are symbiotic, based in reciprocity. She said that pioneers produce a community based on the principles of unlimited growth, sprawl, and high energy consumption…they suck up resources fast, aggressively over on land from others through competition and then move on.

Then, when resources inevitably become scarce, cooperation is encouraged, as well as strategies that promote stability. She said old-growth forests are a great example because they’re designed for longevity.

Dr. Kimmerer notes that pioneer human communities do have a role in regeneration but they aren’t sustainable in the long run. That balance and renewal –based in a reciprocal cycle—are the only way forward…with each cycle opening the door for another. She describes reciprocity as a matter of keeping the gift in motion through self-perpetuating cycles of giving and receiving.

We see this in our relationship with those we serve, who are also donors, teachers, and mentors to us and others in our community. We see them take the small investments we make into them and radiate it out to others. Those like Tara Perron, Blue Hummingbird Woman, who is a grantee who used her investment to help launch her store in order to raise visibility of our traditional medicines and also other Native artisans.

Coming back, Dr. Kimmerer describes some life forms that only cooperate in times of severity…like algae and lichens. But she uses that example to show that it takes team sworn to reciprocity to keep life going forward. Interconnection and mutual aid is are critical for survival. We will act in reciprocity when the conditions get harsh enough…but why are we waiting for the conditions to get that bad?

She also said good communities don’t make themselves. It takes intention. And we are all bound in a reciprocal relationship—whether we want to be or accept it. We can talk about adopting a culture of reciprocity in our work—where mutual sharing and community are at the core of financing major systemic and social changes. But, again, what is the “—aadizi” here?

While it’s easy to come down on philanthropy, our own non-profits again play a contributing role. Do you spend time nurturing partnerships and relationships with us outside of when you want to collaborate for a specific grant proposal to serve our communities? Do you bring us into spaces with you? Do we facilitate an environment of cooperation?

All of us get stuck in our heads too much…or spend too much time polishing something before it’s ever sees the light of day, too much time talking not enough time doing. I’m going to quote James Vukelich again (and most of today has just been an assemblage or restating others who came before me and those that are smarter and wiser)…but he says, “We can make transformative changes in our lives the moment we realize we are out of balance. We are not condemned forever to be disorderly, we can be healed.”