Cuthand: Saskatoon smudge tent showed need to connect, heal

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The idea of having a smudge tent in Saskatoon originated with David Fineday. It was well-intentioned and worthwhile, and a smudge permit was issued, but it was fraught with difficulties and ultimately taken down for fire safety reasons.

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First of all, bringing our culture to the street level is a good idea. Many people struggling with addictions and unresolved trauma need to turn back to our traditions because that is where our strength lies.

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Smudging is an ancient ritual practised in various ways by religions around the world. For us, the smell of the sage, sweetgrass or cedar gives us a sense of calm and peace. We know that our people practised this ritual for centuries and it links us to our past.

The fragrant smoke surrounds us, cleanses the soul and feeds the good spirits that travel with us.

This practice was considered “pagan” by the Christian missionaries and certainly wasn’t allowed in the residential school system. The priests could burn incense, but somehow our incense was considered sinful.

Many of the children traumatized by the residential school system were left with no support and are now living in poverty and addiction; many are on the streets.

This trauma has found its way through the generations and many young people who are the children of the original survivors carry the guilt and dysfunction with them.

This intergenerational trauma continues, and the road home leads to the strength of our culture and traditions.

Change is something that our people seek, but it has been forced on us in one way or another by governments, churches and the public in general. Our religion, governing structures, culture and family relations have all been the focus of outside change and it has failed miserably.

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All one has to do is look at the visitors to Fineday’s smudge tent to see people searching for something better.

Real change is elusive, but it comes from one place and one place only, and that is from within us. Real change can’t be imposed on people. The world is full of examples.

The war in Ukraine is an example of people not accepting change imposed on them by outside forces. Conquering a nation is a two-stage process. First, you do it by military force; second, you conquer the people’s hearts and minds. The first is relatively easy, and the second next to impossible.

This year we made a trip to Mexico City, where the outside of the university’s library is covered by murals depicting the Spanish conquest. On one side is the military conquest and on the other the conquest of the religion and traditions. It’s a conquest that never ended.

All over Mexico, there are pockets of the original religious practices and traditions. Also, underneath the Christian religion smoulder the flames of the past.

A First Nations example of positive change exists in the long battle to take control of our children’s education and create our own institutions.

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The churches sought to control our lives and the government was determined to place us in joint schools outside our communities. Both took the control away from the parents and community leaders.

Trauma caused by colonialism reached deep into our society. Fineday never was allowed to smudge in boarding school. But cultural revitalization is an important step in our development and rebirth.

The smudge tent may have been unsafe because of its indoor fire, but it was introduced with the best of intentions. There is a need for a smudge tipi in the area close to downtown Saskatoon.

Real change comes from within. Too many do-gooders try to assert change through government or churches. That’s why residential schools were an abject failure.

Doug Cuthand is the Indigenous affairs columnist for the Saskatoon StarPhoenix and the Regina Leader-Post. He is a member of the Little Pine First Nation.

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