Tag: Native American

• The View From the Orphanage

  Last night we were honored to be invited by our Abenaki brothers and sisters to drum as part of the opening ceremony at an all city meeting. The event was a  Neighborhood Planning Assemblies meeting called to discuss the proposed development of a large lakefront parcel of land presently owned by a local nonprofit educational…

  Michael Watson PhD

  January 22, 2015

  First Nations, Healing, Shamanism

  development, healing, land, Native American, orphanage, Shamanism

• What Coyote Might Teach Us

  Yesterday we took down most of our Christmas decorations, including the small Nativity set which consists mostly of an array of animals, both wild and domestic, that surround a manger and child. The idea behind the tableau is the ancient circumpolar Indigenous knowing that the animals welcome us at birth, and support us throughout our…

  Michael Watson PhD

  January 5, 2015

  Climate Change, First Nations, Stories, Teaching

  coyote, Native American, Shamanism, Winter Solstice

• Caring for Earth: A Gift and A Burden

  It has been snowing, intermittently, for most of the past week. We have also experienced freezing rain, sleet, and, very briefly, just plain rain. It is warm, compared to the historical norm, resulting in the periods of mixed precipitation rather than just snow. Had it been all snow we would be housebound. I’m sitting by…

  Michael Watson PhD

  December 16, 2014

  Ecopsychology, First Nations, Psychotherapy, Shamanism

  Advent, Mother Earth, Native American, psychotherapy, Shamanism

• Advent: Waiting with Mary

  Today is the third Sunday in Advent. Now the nights are long, and snow covers the ground and bends down the trees. The cold has settled in. These are the conditions that are celebrated in carols and text at Christmastide. They are also the imagined context for Mary’s long journey of pregnancy, and , with…

  Michael Watson PhD

  December 14, 2014

  First Nations, Stories

  Advent, Christmas, Native American