- Updated: May 11, 2022
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Zhooniyaa, Precious Gift of the Underworld
Boozhoo,
This blog post is part 2 in a series titled "Reawakening Of The Medicine People." Today we will focus on zhooniyaa (silver) and the relation of this sacred metal to my art and to the traditions of my ancestors, the Ojibwe Anishinaabeg of the North American Great Lakes area. Zhooniyaa used to be a traditional metal to the Anishinaabeg, and, being an artist who works with precious metals and being smart enough to be receptive to the suggestions made by my ex partner Simone, I decided to take her advice. So, in the Spirit Moon of the year 2015, I started to honor and restore the silversmithing tradition of my ancestors by designing a new line of sterling silver wedding rings. The title of the line is Anishinaabe Silver Wedding Rings. Miigwech nishiim!
Why silver rings?
Silver rings are more affordable than gold rings; extra thick plate is used to compensate the lower durability of silver. My silver rings feature inside graphics - some of which have multicolor gold inlays - stylistically inspired by mazinaajimowinan, the ancient pictographic art of the Anishinaabe Peoples. Some of these "spirit drawings" are eternalized on sacred birchbark scrolls, on animal hide, or copper items while others are painted on, or incised in, rocks and cliff walls in remote locations near coastlines and river banks where earth, water, sky, underground, and underwaters meet.
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"The Spirit of the Sleeping Giant." Click here to view details of the ring set. |
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The meaning and use of silver
Today’s blog post features a traditional
story - accompanied by a set of wedding rings designed by me and images of paintings by Simone McLeod, Roy Thomas, Norval Morrisseau, and myself - about Wiinabozho, the Mighty Grandfather of the Deep Sea Water, and how he turned into
Nibaad Misaabe, the Sleeping Giant in order to protect the sacred silver
against the greed of the European invaders. But first, let me tell you
something about silver itself and the meaning it holds for our People, the
Gichi Gami-Ojibwe Anishinaabeg, whose ancestors for 1000 years or more have
lived close to the water’s edge of the Great Lakes to survive.
Zhooniyaa as well as ozaawaabiko-zhooniyaa
(copper, literally: “brown silver”), * has been mined for many thousands of years
from
deposits in the Thunder Bay area and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and has
been used, worked, and traded by many generations of Native Peoples – probably
even by those that lived there long before the Anishinaabeg arrived from the east.
Because of their spiritual and economic
importance to the Gichi Gami-Ojibwe Anishinaabeg, both metals were held in high
cultural regard and formed the Anishinaabe identity to an extent that can hardly be underestimated.
Copper and silver, along with other
beneficial “beings” such as fish and other sea creatures – like underwater serpents -, have always been deemed extremely sacred – and as such held
various spiritual and symbolic meanings. Our ancestors regarded both copper and
silver as gifts from the water spirits that dwell the underworld of the lakes; to them, the
natural gloss of the metal reflected light against the darkness
in which many spirits, some of which possibly malevolent, were suspected to lurk.
Because of the sacred nature of silver and
copper the Ojibweg who mined these metals were usually very secretive about the
locations of the mines – which in themselves, relating to the extremely sacred mood or atmosphere of
these places, were considered manidoowid (possessing sacred, spiritual powers),
and I would not be surprised if the old ones regarded them as ideal locations for
having dreams and, possibly, vision-seeking.
In the second half of the 18th
century, zhooniyaa - along with furs - became the most prominent trade good in the Great Lakes area, even more important than copper, miigisag
(wampum), and glass beads. Arm bands, bracelets, rings, brooches, earrings,
gorgets, hair plates, and a myriad of other silver jewelry items were crafted
and traded back in those days. But the ancestors never forgot about the sacred
nature of zhooniya as it infused great spiritual blessings and power into their
sacred items – such as ogimaa dewe'iganag (big
dance drums) that were sometimes decorated with silver plates or disks. So
sacred was silver deemed that when an Ojibwe took the life of a bear, he
sometimes adorned its head, along with miigisapikanan (wampum belts), with
arm bands and bracelets of pure silver, after which the bear was laid on a
scaffold within a lodge with a large quantity of asemaa (tobacco) placed near
his nostrils.
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"Thunder Bay" by the late Ojibwe painter Roy Thomas |
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Nibaad Misaabe, the Sleeping Giant
There
are several fascinating stories related to zhooniyaa. One relatively recent
aadizookaan (traditional story) is connected with the southern tip of a rocky peninsula called Nibaad Misaabe (The Sleeping Giant).
According
to a local Anishinaabe tradition, this majestic rock formation jutting out
of Animikii-wiikwedong (Thunder Bay) – a body
of water that forms the head of Gichigami, or Lake Superior - is the petrified
body of Wiinabozho. Our ancestors knew Wenabozho, who
was also known as Nanabijou, or Nanabush, as the First Man who walked the Earth, a supernatural Grandfather and a
Teacher who a long time ago was sent to Earth to clear the path for those that
came after him, and give names to each and every part of Creation, including
the lakes, rivers, and islands that make up the vast area that would become
known as Anishinaabe Aki, the Great Land of the Anishinaabeg…
Wenabozho, who was truly fond of the
Anishinaabeg – the Ojibweg of Miinoong (Isle Royal) for instance, gave him a prominent
role in their storytelling and honored him with the
honorary title of the Spirit of the Deep Sea -, had gifted them with a mine
rich with a vein of pure waabishki-zhooniyaa asiniiwaabik (silver ore).
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==WHO WAS WENABOZHO?==
"Who is the god of the Indian in this country, the people of this country, the Anishinaabe?
Who is the Indian spirit?
Who is our god?
Who is our creator?
Wenabozho!
Wenabozho's our god.
Why is he our God, the God of the Indians?
GICHI-MANIDOO, the Great God, is the one that selected Wiinabozho, the great man, to give the medicines to the people. He told Wenabozho, "You show the people what it's for." Wenabozho is the Indian medicine god, the Grand Medicine God. He's the leader. He tells stories of the history, stories of the history of medicine and everything. In the stories he tells us what to use. That's why he's our creator. He can show us the medicine. He can talk to us. He can show us the Indian way of life. He can show us what to use.
Wenabozho lived a long time. He talked to the trees. He talked to anything. Wenabozho could talk Sioux; he could talk anything."
- Freely adapted from: When Everybody Called Me Gah-bay-bi-nayss, "Forever-Flying-Bird": An Ethnographic Biography of Paul Peter Buffalo**. Illustration: "Wenabozho Telling Stories" by Zhaawano Giizhik.
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According
to one (probably 19th century) tradition, GICHI-MANIDOO, the Great
Mystery, had warned the Anishinaabeg not to reveal its location (now known as
Silver Islet) to strangers, or Wenabozho would be turned to stone.
Nevertheless, probably in the late 19th century, a canoe guide of
the Bwaanag (Dakota Nation) did disclose the secret, and the European intruders
whom he led to the mine were drowned in a fierce storm that lashed the bay that
night, leaving behind the poor scout drifted along in his canoe – reportedly in a crazed state of mind.
The next morning, tayaa! the horrified Anishinaabeg, who for many generations
had used the silver of the mine to craft jewelry and ornaments and tools that
brought them much material wealth, noticed that, where once used to be a wide
opening to the bay, now lied what appeared to be a sleeping figure of a giant!
Wenabozho, hurt and ashamed, had been
turned into rock overnight…GICHI-MANIDOO’s warning had come true and the beloved
manidoo of the deep waters had been turned to stone for eternity…or will he perhaps
awaken one day?
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"The Silver Curse". Miskwaabik
Animikii (Copper Thunderbird) made this painting in 1969 depicting the story of
the Sleeping Giant. The Thunderbird he painted hovering over (or flying behind?)
the Sleeping Giant might refer to Animikii-wajiw (Mount
McKay) in Thunder Bay, home of the Thunderbirds and used by countless
generations of Ojibwe Medicine
People for sacred ceremonies; it is also possible - although highly
speculative - that the Thunderbird is a reference to Miinoong (“the
beautiful place”, present-day Isle Royal, Michigan) that lies circa 15
miles behind the Sleeping Giant. This island, as well as the
nearby Keweenaw Peninsula, used to be a common hunting ground for
Aboriginal Peoples from nearby Minnesota and Ontario. It has been inhabited by
Ojibweg for at least 400 hundreds of years (it is said that the Grandfather
Water Drum of the Midewiwin Lodge sounded its voice there too) yet it is also a
fact that large quantities of ozaawaabiko-zhooniya (copper) were mined on
the islands by many generations of Native Peoples over a time period of at
least six thousand years. For the Anishinaabeg, who believed it was a sacred
gift of the Underwater Spirits, copper was known to hold extraordinary
healing powers as it possesses the best energies of the earth. In recent times (since the 19th or 20th century) copper is being directly related to the powerful Mishi-bizhiw (the Horned Underwater
Lynx) and Animkiig (Thunderbirds) - Norval Morrisseau's traditional name,
Piece Of Copper Thunderbird, is to be understood in the same context. The
Midewiwin, the Grand Medicine Lodge of the Ojibweg,
used miskwaabikoon (pieces of copper) in their ceremonies and the
copper deposits were often frequented by Medicine People who came there to
dream and have visions. Since the Ojibweg, in order to protect the sacred
metal, sometimes pointed out relatively unimportant copper (or silver?)
deposits to Europeans to steer them away from the sacred places, it is not
unlikely that the Thunderbird in Norval Morrisseau's painting is a silence
reference to the copper deposit that lies behind the abandoned silver mine
in Thunder Bay - which would suggest that the story of the Sleeping Giant and
the Curse of Wiinabozho was invented in a clever attempt to draw attention away
from - and thus to protect and preserve - the much greater Secret of the sacred
copper of Miinoong...
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The return of Wenabozho
Could it be that Nibaad Misaabe, the Sleeping
Giant, represents the spirit of the Anishinaabeg? Might it be that he is ogimaa
(chief) of the many Sleeping Medicine People out there, some of whom
live dormant lives in each of our Native communities, while others are hidden disguised
in many forms and shapes …either as natural phenomena or as grandfather rocks
and other mystical landmarks scattered throughout the landscape? Who just need
to reawaken what they have always had inside them?
Is it possible that the Stone Giant, this
spiritual being whose solidified presence now guards the ancient silver deposits
of Thunder Bay, preventing any attempt to reactivate the silver mining of
yesteryear, embodies not just a curse over mankind but also the awakening of a
slumbering awareness? Is it possible
that the he is awaiting a time when a new generation of People will rise up
that will walk the Good Red Road of the ancestors again? Could it be that
one day, once the People return to mino-bimaadiziwin, the way of a good life, and
start living according to a more intelligent and respectful worldview than we
experience now, Nibaad Misaabe
will wake up from his stone slumber?
Who knows?
If this is true, then, when that day comes,
the beloved First Man Wenabozho, no longer hurt and ashamed of his People, will
finally be among us again…
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Aanji-onishkaa (Reawakening). Sterling silver wedding bands designed and handcrafted by Zhaawano, depicting the dramatic outlines of Nibaad Misaabe (the Sleeping Giant). The sides of the wedding rings show graphic insides containing ovally shaped designs of 14K red gold and sterling silver (the latter are not visible in the photo.) These inlays symbolize the, respectively, copper and silver deposits in the area of Thunder Bay, Ontario, which since time immemorial hold a sacred meaning for the Anishinaabe Peoples who inhabit the Great Lakes district. Go to the website Fisherstar Creations.com to see price and order information about the wedding ring set. |
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Giiwenh. That´s how far this blog story goes. Miigwech for reading and listening!
Bi-waabamishinaang miinawaa daga: please come see us again!
*Misko-biiwaabikoo ("miskwaabik") literally, red metal, is, another word in use for (a piece of) copper.
> Click here to read part 3 of the series "Reawakening Of The Medicine People".
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Simone McLeod (her traditional name
is Aki’-egwaniizid, which is an Ojibwe name meaning "Earth
Blanket") is an Anishinaabe painter and poet, born in
Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1962. She belongs to he Name doodem (Sturgeon
clan). Simone feels special kinship with her mother's people, the Azaadiwi-ziibiNitam-Anishinaabeg (Poplar River First Nation) of
Manitoba. She descends from a long line of Midewiwin seers and healers and
artists. Her artwork has been appreciated by several art collectors
and educational and health care institutions from Canada, as well as by art
lovers from all over the world.
Zhaawano Giizhik, an American currently living
in the Netherlands, was born in 1959 in North Carolina, USA. Zhaawano has
Anishinaabe blood running through his veins; the doodem of his
ancestors from Baawiting (Sault Ste. Marie, Upper Michigan) is Waabizheshi,
Marten. As an artist, a writer, and a designer of jewelry and wedding rings, Zhaawano draws on the oral
and pictorial traditions of his ancestors. In doing so he sometimes works
together with kindred artists. He has done several art projects with Simone in
the past.
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