By Rachel Belo
Having been adopted into a community of Plains Cree Indians at the age of 21 my Uncle John experienced firsthand how philanthropy and giving are manifested among First Nations peoples. For nearly a year, John stayed in an Indian (Native) reserve 72 miles north of Saskatoon. With the perspective of a Toronto ‘outsider,’ John saw in the Plains Cree Indians a strong sense of community sharing unparalleled in the typical Western society to which he was accustomed. The following stories will demonstrate what types of giving and philanthropy occur among the Native Indian culture and how these differ from traditions in Western society.
The reserve where John lived was embedded with the giving attitude of ‘what’s mine is yours’. This is demonstrated by a phone call John received from a girl on the reserve who excitedly told him that one of men in the community had gone hunting and shot a great deer. The man’s good news was good news for them all because each of the other families on the reserve would receive a nice big piece of deer meat from the man. Instead of keeping the meat and putting it away for his own use, the man automatically shared it with members of the community. John ‘Lightseeker’ (as he is known in the Native community) experienced that this type of sharing was commonplace. In comparison to typical Western culture where each man will work solely to further himself or his immediate family, the Plains Cree Indian community worked together to function as one unit. While not everyone had equal skills or resources, members of the community would cooperate, resulting in a more even distribution of resources and greater equality. For example it was natural for a skilled hunter to look out for other families who didn’t have the same skills or resources, perhaps as a result of being sent to residential school. The Western idea of ‘every man for himself’ was simply non-existent in this culture.
‘Indiscriminate’ is another quality of the giving and philanthropy manifested in Native culture. John Lightseeker witnessed this type of non-selective giving from the receiving end of a well known man, who was looked upon as the Grandfather or Elder of his reserve. The Grandfather’s daughter had been very sick for a time but was miraculously healed after the application of Native medicine rituals and faith. To give thanks for his daughter’s healing, the Grandfather threw a large feast, which occurred at a Powwow ceremony, where community members were gathered in celebration of life, song, and dance. At the Powwow, the Grandfather stood up to make an announcement. He thanked the Great Spirit for his daughter’s return to health and as a symbol of thanks he served veal steaks to all. It occurred to John that everyone was included in the sharing of the feast, no matter which reserve they were from or how well they were known. He himself had been visiting from another reserve with the family he was staying with at the time. Again in this instance John observed a stark contrast to the Western way of life. Unlike in Western ways of giving, this Native community had no borders or distinctions defining who was a friend, who was invited, who was welcome, who was deserving, or who was not. Simply as a gesture of thanksgiving to the Great Spirit, everyone was fed.
Living among the Plains Cree Indians really educated John as to the Native reserve culture and how philanthropy and giving are manifested there. A couple months after the above-mentioned Powwow, John was unofficially adopted by the Grandfather, who treated him as family and taught him many things. The acceptance and openhearted attitude he experienced in the Grandfather and his people were totally unique to his experience in Toronto 2000 miles away where he was just an “anonymous consumer.” In comparison to Western Society, giving and philanthropy in Native cultures are perhaps more a way of life, resulting in a greater equality and connectedness of humanity.
Works Cited
Personal Interview with John ‘Lightseeker’, former Indian reserve resident, and uncle.