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Pathway of Discovery to Allyship & Spirituality with Damian Reilly
177 Plays2 years ago
Damian, born out west and raised in the big smoke (Toronto). Shares with us, his amazing journey that all stemmed from an accident that led him to discovering Indigenous culture and spirituality. Hear how he came to immerse himself into the Indigenous culture and how the heart beat of the drum has him hungry for more.
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Transcript
Introduction to 'Tea with Dee'
00:00:10
Speaker
Hi, good day. Eagle-winged woman is my spirit name. I'm from the Bear Clan and from Canada. My English name is Deanna Navy. Welcome to Tea with Dee.
Exploring Indigenous Perspectives
00:00:22
Speaker
During our time, we'll be looking at community economic and social development from an Indigenous perspective. As well, we'll share with you the joy and purpose in the work we do. We'll be discussing topics such as culture and environment, arts and music, Indigenous education, history, rights and movements, and advocacy and activism on important topics, such as protection of land, environment and water,
00:00:52
Speaker
missing and murdered women, men, and two-spirited, as well as land back and hear what that means for many. Other themes will touch on our health and wellbeing and wellness through the lens of spirituality. And we'll also have leadership discussions with elders and youth as they both encompass wisdom and future. Join us for some amazing upcoming discussions. We look forward to having you join us for tea. Please help me by sharing this podcast
00:01:21
Speaker
And if you know of some amazing people who are doing amazing things, we'd love to hear what they're doing in their neck of the woods. Stay tuned. We have so much to share and talk about.
Deanna's Personal Journey
00:01:35
Speaker
Before I begin, I just wanted to really share a little bit about myself. You know, I've been out there asking a lot of people about who they are and their experiences. Most of my young life, I was a single mother of five children in that time. I had two miscarriages and lost many loved ones along the way. But most importantly, my first love, the father of my two older children.
00:02:07
Speaker
We were in our early 20s and we were in a single vehicle car accident and that was the day he lost his life. That was the day I lost my first love. Since then, life has taken a very different course for me.
00:02:25
Speaker
Throughout the podcast, I will share tidbits of my life as we go forward and as I meet with many other guests that are going to be sitting in front of me. So far to date, I've learned a lot. In the fall of 2009, I decided to return to school for an education. My son at the time, he tutored me for the GED exam.
00:02:50
Speaker
the general education development test. Yes, I passed and the determination to return to school would just be the beginning. I had no idea what I was going to achieve. I just knew that I needed to get there and get that diploma or degree or something in a higher education. It was really an eye opener when I attended an interview and I didn't get an opportunity to compete because of the lack of my education.
00:03:16
Speaker
That piece of paper does work and I've only seen my life become better. My children are all now graduated and therefore I've flipped the statistic in my family from becoming an uneducated single mom with five kids to becoming
00:03:33
Speaker
educated with all of my children who've achieved theirs as well and who have now opened the doors for themselves to do whatever they choose to or desire. In 2016, I achieved a Bachelor of Arts honours degree in Community, Economic and Social Development. I also studied three years in the Anishinaabe Mowen program.
00:03:55
Speaker
and took politics courses so that I could understand the landscape of our politics and what that meant for First Nations.
Education as Healing
00:04:06
Speaker
I'm a first generation residential school survivor. If you don't know what that is, that's where my father was a residential school attendee. I don't like to call it survivor. I would rather be a warrior because I feel what I did by returning to Algoma University as it was the former Shingwak residential school that my dad and many of my aunts and uncles attended.
00:04:34
Speaker
I wanted to get there. I needed to go and get that degree to change life for me and to make a better one for my children.
00:04:45
Speaker
It wasn't until my third year that I went on the Shingwak tour, which is offered to many people throughout the year. I also never attended the annual Shingwak gathering. This is where the children of Shingwak come back together and have a weekend of sharing and just being together. This time though, I had taken a summer course
00:05:11
Speaker
residential school policy. And for the course, it was mandatory that we attend the gathering. We could write about that experience or share it in our own medium. That year, my dad also attended. It was his first time back to the site since he was a child. That's his story to share. My story is that this was the beginning of my healing journey
00:05:38
Speaker
And I knew that life would be much different. So far, so good.
Diverse Roles and Achievements
00:05:47
Speaker
I'm now in my career time, over 30 years of diverse work experience and transferable skills that I can bring to any organization or business that I choose to. I've worked in various positions where I've gained experience and
00:06:04
Speaker
ample training in community social development and in facilitation of restorative justice and family services, talking circles. I've also trained and served as a community volunteer, as an auxiliary police officer with the Nishnabayaski Police
00:06:23
Speaker
was one of the first cohorts to graduate from the auxiliary program, and I also served one season in my home community and assisted in an evacuation during the Timmins 9 fire when that occurred up in Northern Ontario. Prior to attending Elgomi University for higher education, I also obtained a heavy equipment operator certification at Northern College.
00:06:46
Speaker
I did fulfill the requirement to complete the program. I went out and found my own co-op placement so that I could achieve that certification. I worked for an outfit called Marathon Drilling at the former Trelawney mine, which is now Cote site, just by Gogama. Prior to that, I was the cook at the mine.
00:07:08
Speaker
Cooked daily for over 100 people, two different shifts, but I wanted to try something different. I wanted to get out and just be on the land, and so I took the heavy equipment program. When I went on to higher education in university, in my first year of studies in 2013,
00:07:28
Speaker
our house burned down. That was quite a shock and something that just I needed to get over. But like anything, you know, losing a house, losing a person, any loss, you know, there comes grief. And I know it took me at least a year to get over the loss of my home before I could actually clearly think about where I was going in my life. But the only thing I did know at that time was I needed to keep going.
00:07:57
Speaker
I needed to get this education. And had it not been for my kids who really encouraged me to go back and complete this, I would have stayed home. I would have probably have not completed what I have today. And so for them, I say, and, you know, again, I'm the student and my children are teaching me. So that goes to show I've done a good job.
00:08:27
Speaker
During my time at university, I took some employment opportunities and one of those as a research assistant with my research principal, Dr. Rose Cameron, where I assisted in the completion of a formal review and evaluation of the Anishinaabe Initiatives Division Program, and I am listed as a co-writer. Following university after I graduated, I also worked alongside the Aboriginal Institutes Consortium in Ontario.
00:08:57
Speaker
to help in the co-creation of the third pillar of higher education for Indigenous education. In 2017, Ontario passed legislation to recognize the unique role Indigenous Institutes have in the province's post-secondary education system. A few weeks later,
00:09:16
Speaker
the day of the introduction to the new legislation, I stood proudly with Minister Deb Matthews, presidents from each of the Aboriginal Institutes, as well as some very well-respected leaders, IAE SC Chair, Executive Director Lori Robinson, Laura and Delbert Horton, and Ministry partners, who in the end became good friends
00:09:42
Speaker
As the Council recognized in regulation, the Indigenous Advanced Education and Skills Council may approve Indigenous Institutes to grant diplomas, certificates and degrees, establish a Quality Assessment Board and standards, make recommendations to the Ontario government regarding
00:10:01
Speaker
indigenous institutes and approved institutes to use the term university. That day was an amazing day, both emotionally and spiritually. It was such an opportunity to sit at this high level table and be part of that co-creation. It was a co-creation and an amazing journey with some amazing people.
00:10:25
Speaker
You know, being a recent former student and a student of federal day school when I was a child and now achieving a higher level of education, I have overcome many barriers throughout that time. This brings with a greater understanding of holistic care for ourselves, but more so for the future of our communities and the next generations to come. So I've shared about me, but who
Purpose of the Podcast
00:10:52
Speaker
am I? Well,
00:10:53
Speaker
I'm a caring, compassionate spirit, having a human experience. I give my best and will help others without expecting anything in return. I am all of that but more. I am a lifelong learner who is growing every day and I am discovering more and more as life moves me through this journey.
00:11:17
Speaker
One of the reasons why I chose to begin a podcast was really to provide a platform for sharing the stories of the journey one makes to get to where they are and in the work that they're doing and what is that joy and purpose for the work they do. You know, there are so many people out there doing some amazing work and many times goes unnoticed. There are people like us looking for those people.
00:11:41
Speaker
I wanted to also create a podcast to share, educate, and inspire all audiences of all ages and people. This is a welcoming space for people to listen in their own time to learn about the various Indigenous themes and topics.
00:11:56
Speaker
So I'm reaching out to artists, entrepreneurs, professionals, lawyers, health practitioners, educators, spiritual healers, medicine practitioners, youth and elders. I can't wait to share. Thanks again for being here. So with that, I'd like to talk about the first guest that I've chosen for the first podcast of Tea with Dee. And you know, it really brought me back to thinking about
00:12:26
Speaker
the creation story and how we are all, you know, of the same being. And when we look at it for coming from a, an indigenous perspective that we are, you know, creation of Mother Earth and that we are of Mother Earth. I really wanted to kick this podcast off with a person who is an ally to indigenous people.
00:12:53
Speaker
I really want to have an open space for all people to reach out to me and maybe share their story of how Indigenous worldviews have touched their lives.
Introducing Damian Riley
00:13:06
Speaker
And my first guest is Damian Riley. He's a volunteer and an ally and he is like really getting into the Indigenous culture and is really on his way to understanding
00:13:23
Speaker
And I believe, you know, when we talk about reconciliation, that right there is to me, in my eyes, somebody who's actually doing it.
00:13:34
Speaker
I've been able to do some very interesting things and some interesting things have happened to me and around me. And I just kind of find myself in all these like very unique places. And I ultimately feel very honored to have lived this incredible path in life that I've been able to walk so far. And my name is Damian Riley. I was born in Edmonton, Alberta, and I pretty much grew up in Ontario my whole life.
00:14:03
Speaker
bounced around small towns but by kindergarten was in Toronto so in essence I'm you know a product of the City of Toronto and I was always the only other fan though. I always consider myself to be that average Canadian kid and I grew up in a suburb of Toronto like in the west end of Toronto and
00:14:23
Speaker
You know, I went to regular, you know, public schools and then I went to university and then I started my career and, you know, kind of migrated my life over the course of my life to move here and call this home. And it's kind of been like a transition where I've always kind of been like half city kid and half country boy. And, you know, even in my city life, when I was young, I got shipped off to my uncle's farm by choice and I wanted that.
00:14:50
Speaker
So that's maybe not the right way to reference it, but I worked on my uncle's farm every summer, so I was on the land every day and I was driving a tractor and cutting the hay and raking the hay and putting the hay on the wagons and in the barns.
00:15:05
Speaker
Every morning I'd wake up and have to go take care of the animals and get my arms shredded by cats So yeah, so I mean bottom line is I learned a lot of lessons through experience So, you know when you kind of ask like who I am or you know that type of thing It's I've kind of always lived my life in the pursuit of the experience and that's why I said like I've had this incredible
00:15:28
Speaker
connection of experiences that all link together to bring me to where I am today which is my life journey. Power and the learning from those experiences and the knowledge gained and the beautiful people that I've been able to interact with and you know some of the ones that are hurting that you know behave a little ugly too. I mean those are all learning opportunities and so doors open in my career as I live that you know kind of my perceived Canadian dream.
00:15:57
Speaker
Since your big move from the city, what has been your experience here in Perry Sound? The experience up here in Perry Sound, I, you know, built my own place. And I was able to like purchase a small piece of wild, decent sized piece of land. It depends, I guess, what perspective you're looking at it from. Bottom line is forest on a lake and started, you know, doing the pioneer kind of thing and, you know, built my own place. And so
00:16:26
Speaker
eventually I kind of transitioned to realize and someone asked me a few years ago and you know they're like where's your home where's your home and you know a friend of mine who's a police officer I said to her well my home's crane-like and she forms it more of a legal relationship you know being you know that in that vocation Perry sounds my spiritual home you know that was kind of how I referred to this place so that's who I am in a nutshell
00:16:56
Speaker
Tell us a little bit more about your family.
00:16:59
Speaker
On my mom's side, trace back into Manitoba and a bit of Ontario. On my dad's side, I trace back to Saskatchewan and Scotland. And, you know, when you go deeper in those lineages, I tie back into, you know, Poland, Ukraine, Scotland, Ireland. So I always would joke around early in life and say, like, destined to love potatoes and alcohol.
00:17:31
Speaker
Did you maybe want to share a little bit more about your background and heritage? Maybe what that lineage looks like in your family?
00:17:40
Speaker
like European heritage, but I think I'm whatever second or third gen, whatever that number is Canadian. But I've always referred to my personal identity as Canadian.
Connection to Land and Culture
00:17:51
Speaker
I've always viewed it as a blessing to be Canadian. I love this country. I've always loved this country. My father served in the Navy, which was always a prevalent teaching of values.
00:18:06
Speaker
and the brethren that comes from military service and that extends into my family a little deeper with my uncle being an accomplished pilot in the Canadian Air Force and my grandfather during World War II, the force as well.
00:18:22
Speaker
So as a kid, when I grew up, I always identified strongly with, you know, this beautiful country we have, you know, and ultimately my family story ties to that. So I always wanted to serve. I always thought, yeah, I want to serve, but I knew I would never be like that military guy because I knew I'd either have to run the military or I would just probably get kicked out because I, you know.
00:18:46
Speaker
As more and more non-Indigenous people are looking to Indigenous culture, worldview, and even spirituality, we see many becoming allies. What are your thoughts about being one of those allies? Be an ally, then I have to be accepted as an ally.
00:19:09
Speaker
So I do know that there are a small group of people that I've interacted with within the indigenous community that have said I'm an ally and consider me an ally. Most recently in my transition in life I've made certain commitments to myself
00:19:28
Speaker
and realize that the path I thought to serve this country, which may have been a political path, maybe not is the best path for me. I've realized that I can probably have more of an impact staying out of that arena and that sphere. So I've kind of focused a little more on working in more of a charitable sense and working for the benefit of healing and for others. From a spiritual standpoint, I kind of get what you're saying about Perry Sound. There is something special about this place.
00:19:58
Speaker
In my career I was able to get the opportunity to see different parts of the world and have those experiences and interact with a number of different cultures that define spirituality in many different ways. But there was always something about this physical land here on Georgian Bay.
00:20:16
Speaker
these rocks you know in and amongst the earth and these trees the beautiful pines that we have and complemented by hemlocks and then our beautiful hardwood forests here and all the beautiful fresh water that we have I always kind of looked at all these places around the world equally as beautiful but I always kind of knew there was something special about this this particular place of Perry sound you know Perry sound is
00:20:44
Speaker
The nature preserve of this tourism area like we are sitting amongst the largest population within a two-hour drive of the largest population in the country through Toronto and the GTA and you know as a past business guy like the second largest trading market in Canada is southwestern Ontario.
00:21:05
Speaker
So you put the two biggest markets together and then vacation land for them is right here. But it's that draw. It's that draw of the land and the beauty of the land. And as you know a white kid from Toronto who grew up in the public education system learning the lessons of
00:21:22
Speaker
heavily colonialized educational messaging. I learned a lot about that culture and I identified with the nature aspects through the group of seven. And those paintings, I live those every day, you know, so I consider myself really lucky to live those.
00:21:39
Speaker
But I always kind of knew in my heart that it was the energy that comes from this place that I was so powerfully attracted to and I always said the place that I built, it just had this kind of special like energy. Everybody would come and visit me and I would get to be a bit of a guardian of that energy and spiritual connection that exudes up, you know, through Mother Earth.
00:22:08
Speaker
And I would get to share that and be a bit of a guide for people or an ambassador of that. So it inspired me to volunteer and I did some volunteer work. So I worked with the Tourism Marketing Board and.
00:22:21
Speaker
You know, then I learned about the beautiful land that we have here and how unique it is and the ecology as to how it developed. And so then I geeked out and went real deep on the science and I mean, but at the root of that is the understanding of Indigenous culture. So this is where those lines for me started to intersect.
00:22:42
Speaker
And some of those ways that I was taught in the colonial mechanisms started to unfray. And I was like, hmm, wait a second. And this path of discovery and this adventure became really powerful for me because I started realizing like, wait a second, those rocks and that beautiful granite
00:23:04
Speaker
is like some of the oldest rock on the planet like it's three billion years old and the earth is only like four four and a half billion years old right I forget that exact number how old the earth is but I know the rock's three billion years old and we're at the base of mountains that were taller than the Himalayas at the formation of earth here in Perry Sound
00:23:23
Speaker
and that granite is called the igneous rock and it contains seams of minerals that shot up through the cracks in the rock through the magma and those minerals ultimately are what create quartz and in there is like gold and you know all these different minerals silver they're all contained within there and then the water from georgia bay through the crazy weather that we get here which is also something that scares people but i love it i'm like okay let's go out in the waves
00:23:52
Speaker
let's go ride the snowmobile out in the ice and so those crystals would get bashed down through that weathering process and then they get absorbed into the water and those crystals absorb in the water and I've always through my own conclusions realized that's the foundation and formation of life like that's the basis of creation right there right and it comes back to the medicine wheel and those four elements converging together between the land and the air right
00:24:21
Speaker
and that wind that blows the water up against the land and the rock. So I kind of always realized like that's the formation of life and then obviously like the sun and that fire and that heat right like that that's what brings life and so there's something about this place for me that in a spiritual realm has always been on this adventure and journey of learning as being like this really cool combination of those lessons but
00:24:47
Speaker
literally shown right here on the verge of all those elements coming together in such a rugged, beautiful way. People identify as the ultimate Canadiana experience. But then I learned about indigenous culture more deeply. And as I did, I realized like, holy smokes, man. Like, there's 10,000 years of history in this culture. This is the today me now. You know, advanced fast forward, I was kind of giving you, you know, the 10, 20 year old me.
00:25:13
Speaker
come back to this more mature me now and i'm like oh like it's all right there like it's all in these teachings that are 10 000 years old so although you ask the question what's my heritage where are my roots
00:25:28
Speaker
The real power, I think, comes from that unknown lesson that a lot of Canadians don't have, which has been kept silent by that oppressive Indian Act legislation that has caused the culture, the stories, the teachings to be
00:25:46
Speaker
in a way taken underground to be protected so that they could continue. But ultimately, at the end of the day, they're starting now to come to the forefront as people are changing their attitude and approach. Not everybody and not everybody will. But what's come out of that for me is an element of spirituality that I never really embraced in definition, but I embraced an experience. And this place was the catalyst of that experience.
00:26:16
Speaker
and it kind of started in the land in the convergence of those elements together and that's the beauty that I love you know like no matter where I've been in the world I come here I sit on the edge of rock you know with a tree and dirt and water
00:26:33
Speaker
air and the you know grandfather's son setting and I'm like that's it man like that's that's what I live for I like you know all the hard work you know all those bales of hay and all that most magical moments in my life are those moments you know connected like that and I guess at the end of the day that is spirit.
00:26:53
Speaker
You're non-indigenous and the men have opened their circle up to you. And now you're sitting at the drum and hearing the beat, the heartbeat of that drum.
Spiritual Experiences and Drumming
00:27:08
Speaker
What does that feel like? Well, because this is a podcast, I mean, that wells up a lot of emotion, that question for me. And you can see I probably have, you know, a little bit of tear in my eye right now.
00:27:25
Speaker
I've been blessed with a lot of powerful experiences in my life. I don't think anything's been more powerful than this journey of
00:27:35
Speaker
understanding what indigenous culture is about and in understanding that culture and some of the history ultimately I realize what the power of the drum is about through knowledge but I also now know from beating that drum from awakening the spirits from calling the spirits as we sing and you know so in the few times that I've had the bravery to lead
00:28:01
Speaker
and, you know, throw out that, you know, lead verse in the songs. I kind of joked around in the early days. I mean, in fairness, I've been only drumming six months. And I've already drummed in two powwows and a number of ceremonies, which, as a Jog Nosh man, kind of freaks me out a little bit, even saying that today. You know, here I am on a podcast. I don't know that, you know, some people would even
00:28:28
Speaker
you know I guess it leaves me a little lost in a way because I'm just astonished that I'm getting this experience because it is such a powerful experience and it's incredible like and it's
00:28:45
Speaker
It's just it's amazing. It is amazing. Like it's in a certain respect. It's almost undescribable. You have to experience it to truly know you have to want to endeavor if you're non-indigenous to get out there and educate yourself and open your mind to this beautiful culture that ultimately at its root is called to life through the drum. The drum is something that was given as a gift by grandmothers.
00:29:13
Speaker
to you know their grandkids so that they wouldn't fight so that they become united together around the drum and There's something to it. There's a power to that and I know that in some of the Ojibwe teachings that
00:29:30
Speaker
The drum itself was a gift and it was a gift to help us connect between two realms, the creator's realm in the sky where we all come from and that universe out there and that big unknown in a way which you could call the spirit world and to the base of the drum which reverberates back into Mother Earth, the source of all creation and life on this planet.
00:29:58
Speaker
So I also view it as a tremendous responsibility to be able to hold that stick and touch the skin of that animal and the spirit of that animal that's been harvested in such a respectful way and to bring that music out through that drum to you know call back have the spirits call back and to bring the spirits present so
00:30:23
Speaker
I mean, there's a totality about this culture that ultimately can be defined and come through that drum. So to be able to be, you know, one of many that, you know, beat on that drum and call that drum, it's just been like an incredibly transformative and powerful experience. And I mean, through all that aside, it's like just, I went to my first powwow on a Saturday. I was sitting at a grandfather drum on Wednesday.
00:30:52
Speaker
Four days later, yeah. And I've, you know, drummed every week since. So, in a sense, I guess I felt called to it. Actually, funny enough, when I went to the powwow, I kind of parked my car. I was healing from a surgery. So, you know, I had some leftover medical stuff taped to my body. And, you know, my ability to walk was a little impeded from that. And so I went
00:31:18
Speaker
I literally could hear the drum like I parked in a forest and the sacred site for this powwow was you know on traditional lands and so when I went to the circle all I heard was the drum I could hear the drum and the singing and I was like I gotta get there I gotta get there I'm missing it I'm missing it you know but I couldn't walk fast because I had this tube taped to my ankle right so for me the drum like that was my first experience of the powwow and it was not visual it was only like
00:31:48
Speaker
like audio you know i could just hear it it was only that sense and then obviously the feeling right so at the time i think it was my sense that drew me in that excited me but it was also my spirit that was being called so yeah it's pretty cool as you're moving along this amazing spiritual journey and you know newfound way of being you're doing a lot of work in the indigenous communities and a lot of volunteer what
00:32:18
Speaker
purpose and joy does that bring you while you're doing this work?
Joy and Purpose in Giving Back
00:32:25
Speaker
Yeah, excellent question. I'm gonna answer this in a kind of macro way first because I think if we all step back, I mean I had a very transformative experience and I think you and I had a powerful connection. We've only met today like a few hours ago but I feel like I've known you for a long time and I probably think, you know, you think the same of me.
00:32:46
Speaker
But I think the bottom line is that you step back and we both have had a transformative experience in our life where you were involved in a very bad accident and so was I and maybe we'll talk about that another time and other things as well. But I think when it comes to what you get when you give back,
00:33:09
Speaker
Look to some of the most humble and powerful people in the world. You look at those people that, like that military tradition, some of the warriors in indigenous culture, they're willing to protect their people by putting their life on the line. So they're willing to do that because they believe in the power of the community versus necessarily the power of the individual.
00:33:31
Speaker
because we come from the spirit world and we go back to the spirit world so if you know that then what bonds us all together in our commonalities which was a takeaway in my accident is that we're all the same you know so even though I am you know Damien from Toronto you know you're Dee from Timmons and you know bottom line is the commonality is and I realize that is that
00:33:56
Speaker
We're all people. We're all the same. We all have the same DNA. And one of my first teachers on my journey into Indigenous culture, and I do consider myself very lucky to have teachers that are passing me the lessons and the teachings, he said to me, this is for all of us. We're all the same. We're all just human beings. So I looked to answer that question by referencing someone like Mahatma Gandhi.
00:34:22
Speaker
he went to England and was taking a course in law and during his law degree had a connection with his powerful spirit and in that moment all of a sudden he wasn't going to be some high-priced lawyer he became the leader of a country and he dedicated his whole life to service to serving others like the warriors right and I think what you get back when you help another individual
00:34:48
Speaker
it's not you don't do it because and you're not motivated because you know you want something it's a selfless act and that's kind of the root of the culture the culture is based in as as teachers have shared with me in
00:35:05
Speaker
kindness and you know that moment that I had in my accident maybe kind of bonds us together was about love and peace and that's what I feel in those moments when I share my love and I get that peace back I guess in a way but I'm not doing it for that I'm doing it because I see a fellow man in distress and there was a moment in my life when I was in distress on one of those experiences that I didn't necessarily think I was going to get in life but I got and when I got that
00:35:35
Speaker
I ultimately had a community of people that rallied around to save my life and in that moment I realized and took away a lot of things that were in a sense transformative and helped me understand spirit on this journey but as one of my teachers told me just a few weeks ago
00:35:52
Speaker
We're all spiritual beings having a human experience, period. So if we come from the spirit world and we go back to the spirit world, then in this physical existence, the human existence, we're still spiritual beings ourselves.
00:36:11
Speaker
So maybe that's what my man John taught me from the Yukon. He said we're all the same and that's the commonality of how we're all the same. So if we come from that place of spirit and we accept that spirit is about peace and love and that's what the power of the Creator is and that's where that spiritual realm exists in its pure sense, which in essence we've both experienced because of those traumatic experiences we've had and those transitions we've had
00:36:41
Speaker
I think in the end, when you give back, you're actually fulfilling your purpose, period, because that is our purpose. If our purpose is to call on our ancestor spirits and reach back into the spirit world, seven generations, for guidance about how to navigate through life,
00:36:59
Speaker
The lesson we always get back is to sustain life on the planet for the next seven generations. It's always to guide us how to do that. So it's that sense of community, I guess. That's what the drum is. That's what indigenous culture is. And that's ultimately what the entire earth and the planet is. We just have some bad actors with some bad weapons.
00:37:21
Speaker
and they're not using them responsibly and that could be a business you know with their big machine digging a hole that's too big or you know it there's greed greed is at the root of colonialism so in my personal take of it all I think we have to recognize back to the beauty of the land
00:37:38
Speaker
We have to take care of that land. By taking care of that land, then we ultimately are taking care of ourselves and we're taking care of our film and life and creation. So, you know, that's my kind of take on that one. We all ultimately are here to protect, so we're not giving back. We're actually protecting the opportunity to continue, right?
00:38:02
Speaker
So that's just my view now through all these teachings that I've acquired and how I've progressed as a person and I guess in all of our life journeys you know that's I think where the the culture guides us right where this 10,000 year old beautiful history that's been passed on verbally from generation to generation that's
00:38:21
Speaker
attempted to have been broken, you know, by some ugly legislation and man's worst comings, you know, being driven by greed. But in fairness, it did survive. And you got to give credit to why it survived because it teaches us how to be in harmony with ourself and with each other and with where we came from. Minerals and water and, you know, all that. Stardust, ultimately.
00:38:49
Speaker
So you're a very humble man and we haven't really talked about what it is that you actually do for a career.
00:38:57
Speaker
I started in marketing and then I progressed into sales and then I got to actually manage a couple businesses and then kind of progress through the ranks in that respect. It was always just a goal-driven life. It was driven and defined by goals and those goals were measured in a year's financial plan or in a daily activity to hit the year's financial plan or a multi-year financial plan.
00:39:26
Speaker
But in my transition, I transitioned away from that to want to build people and strong communities. So right now I'm just volunteering my time to do that. I was given a vision and that vision was to start a charity to work on some important things that will come public soon. Are there any other comments or thoughts that you might want to share?
00:39:49
Speaker
we're actually protecting the opportunity to continue, right? That's just my view now through all these teachings that I've acquired and how I've progressed as a person. And I guess in all of our life journeys, you know, that's, I think where the culture guides us, right? Where this 10,000 year old beautiful history that's been passed on verbally from generation to generation that's attempted to have been broken, you know, by some ugly legislation and man's worst comings, you know, being driven by greed.
00:40:21
Speaker
Miigwetch Damien for sharing such an amazing transformative experience. I'm so happy that you were able to join us today to share with us. I look forward to meeting with you again. Miigwetch to you for doing this and making this content available to everybody. It's pretty cool what you're doing, so good luck on your journey.
00:40:45
Speaker
Miigwech, and thank you for taking the time and joining us for tea. Over the next few weeks, I'll be sharing more from some amazing guests, so stay tuned. Join the Tea With Dee email list by visiting our website at teawithd.com or find us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Please like, share, and follow us on all of our social media platforms. Also,
00:41:09
Speaker
You can support the podcast for the price of a coffee by buying me a coffee at buymeacoffee.com forward slash T with D. Miigwech. All of your support is welcomed and appreciated. Well, that's a wrap. I definitely would have saved more time if I would have had a Bear Cave silent booth.
00:41:33
Speaker
Bearcave Silent Booths is an indigenous business that stands on the foundation of the seven teachings. The teachings in indigenous culture are wisdom, courage, love, truth, honesty, respect, and humility. When you use your Bearcave, these teachings are its foundation, just as the wood and the material were needed to build it. So were the sacred teachings.
00:42:01
Speaker
Bearcave Silent Booths are built with the highest quality material. They are easy to assemble and portable, also providing you with maximum sound isolation. Bearcave Booths has the solution. To find out more, check out their website at bearcavesilentbooths.com.