Category: First Nations

• The Solstice Approaches

  Today marks the third Sunday in Advent and the 6th night of Hanukkah. We awoke to birds at the feeder, evidence of light snow overnight, and just a hint of the sun behind cloud near the southern horizon. The temperature is 2 F and smoke from neighbors’ chimneys slants gently towards the north, suggesting a…

  Michael Watson PhD

  December 17, 2017

  First Nations, Landscape, Shamanism, spirituality, Stories

  Shamanism, Winter Solstice

• Hanukkah Thoughts

  

  Snow is falling as is dusk. It is just before three in the afternoon, a few days before the Solstice. This evening Hanukkah begins, and we are ready with latkes, candles, and stories of light, kindness, and individual and cultural perseverance in the face of threat. The gathering darkness and falling snow seem perfect for…

  Michael Watson PhD

  December 12, 2017

  Disability, First Nations, Social issues, spirituality, Stories

  disability, Hanukkah, seasons, Social Change, stories

• Windigo

  

  A dramatic day of snow showers and sun, falling temperatures and gusty breezes. As November ends, we  are reminded that winter nears. We also note that even in this La Nina year temperatures are much above the long-term norms. Still, winter, the time of the windigo, insatiable giants with hearts of ice, approaches.

  Michael Watson PhD

  November 29, 2017

  Climate Change, native american, Social issues, spirituality

  autumn, disability, genocide, Vision, Windigo

• Landscapes of Identity: Thanksgiving

  After a day of rain the morning greeted us with a golden sunrise. Jennie, who awoke in the night, said the moonless sky had been awash in stars. Now the wind, blowing briskly from the north, rustles the leaves that remain on the oaks and pushes choppy waves across the water. I had intended to…

  Michael Watson PhD

  November 23, 2017

  Disability, First Nations, Stories

  autumn, disability, Native American, stories, Thanksgiving