Native Immigrant is a community arts project stewarded from Montreal by Carolina Echeverria. Its intention is to bridge Native peoples and Immigrants through a variety of cultural events.
The collective of Native-Immigrant came to be in 2016. It is a diverse group of individuals that believes that culture should be something alive and organic. The main activity of Native-Immigrant is the construction of dresses. Each dress collects objects that tell the story of who we really are.
In June 2017, Native Immigrant organized its 7th event, called Tionnhehkwen: Seeds of Life. The event was an expression of our wish to reconnect with food and the land, and all other forms of nourishment, be it physical, mental, spiritual or emotional.
On this occasion, I attended a Conversational Circle : Creation Story Unmasked, led by Mohawk cultural interpreter and educator Oskenontona Philip Deering.
I harvested the words and stories that flowed in the circle and the following poem weaved itself on the page in front of me.
We are all the same height
the idea of happiness
nests in the heart of the teacher
the children laugh
the children learn
the children love
how humans speak
how humans learn
knowledge is a verb
knowledge has will
knowledge is understood
many times over
knowledge is maybes
knowledge may be
we are all the same height
and we can decide
what we learn together
I know of a place
where miracles happened
when we gave an ear
to what wanted to happen
she had a bright appearance
on her face
she was transformed
and yet they all knew
we were all transformed
humans fail
humans learn
humans choose
humans create themselves
humans learn to cherish
the world
humans learn to cherish themselves
humans learn to become
humans
we are we
because I am one
I am one in we
we are strong
because me is strong
we are all the same height
twins who live differently
and are respected individually
we are all the same height
and this is how we live
and this is how we learn
and this is how we love
the faces of children
those not yet born
come from the earth
we throw the weapons of war
in the sky
where they can be lost and forgotten
we turn to the earth
we return to the earth
to hear the voices of the not yet born
to hear the voices of the ancestors
I could see the children
learn
in happiness
learn to be happy
learn from happiness
they all knew something
different
than the others
something which
they learned differently
flowing from the culture
and the stories
of creation
and we can all learn from that
to be better learners
and become better humans
rituals are never lived
the same way twice
learning is a ritual
that repeats itself
but is never the same
we are all the same height
we learn languages
and perform miracles
we speak with our hands
we learn to lie
we learn to love
our three sisters work together
they stitch lives together
to grow
together
in respect
and in trust
that the seeds will come
we are all the same height
and this is how we live
and this is how we love
and this is how we build
and this is how we work
in respect
alone and
together
from me to we
from we to me
we enhance me
me enhances we
we are all the same height
I want
more time with friends
more time with the forest
more time with nature
more time with the sun
I want more discovery
and more childhoods
and ways to be and
learn together
I want more time alone
I want to slow down and
open up
to be happier with
what I have
I want more play
I want to knowledge
for freedom
for choice
for change
I want to see
everybody choose the corn they want
because that how we take care of the seeds
I want to hear
I want to see
I want to feel
connection beauty and truth
in the stories that ground us
I want more moments
where I know where I stand and
I can become free
I want to hang out with the three sisters
and make rhizomes
and contribute
consciously
to the organisms
I want to care
for the ear that receives and
for the mouth that shapes
the story
ici - ailleurs 