THUNDER BAY – From Turtle Lodge and the Elders comes a message: After convening in Ottawa, Ontario, January 8 – 11, 2013, Elders agreed to initiate this call to have a Feast to honour the Spirit and ask for a blessing of guidance and direction.
As the original free and independent Nations of Turtle Island, we honour our sacred traditions, which were given to us by our Great Creator. We as the First Peoples recognize that our first step must be to show our appreciation and gratitude towards Mother Earth herself.
Mother Earth provides everything we need in order to live – the food, the water, the medicines, the loving connection and the teachings on how to have a good life that keep us in balance and harmony. The only foundation for a healthy humanity is to be in peace with Mother Earth.
Mother Earth will never abandon us as long as we continue to show our love and gratitude to her. What has ensured our survival as the First Peoples is that we have continued to show our gratitude and appreciation for the land.
We are extending an invitation to everyone in the world to join us as we believe this is the act that will ensure our survival as a human race, living together, sharing and caring for one another, bound together by a common relationship of sacred connection to the land.
In Feast, we acknowledge the spirit of Mother Earth for all she does to sustain us and give us life. The way we do it as the First Peoples is by making offerings of food and prayer to the Creator, to the spirit of Mother Earth and to our ancestors. In Feast, we celebrate the joy of life that comes from the Spirit. Our Feast is not only an expression of gratitude to Mother Earth but also an invitation to the Spirit to continue to bring the blessings that offer us life.
We invite people throughout the world to join us on January 26, 2013 by making an offering to Mother Earth or showing gratitude in however way you choose, following your own unique ways and traditions, with thoughts of love and thankfulness.
We invite you to initiate the Feast wherever you are, through your own efforts, in the cities, the territories, and in the communities. This sacred act will invoke the Spirit to guide us to a good life, and will let Mother Earth know we stand together in alliance with her.
— Dave Courchene, Claudette Commanda, A.J. Felix, Josephine Mandamin, and Marlyn Cook