Lynn Bell of London Free Press writes on The Gathering Of The Good Minds Aboriginal Festival

since May 6, 2004

Lynn Bell
September 10, 2003
London Free Press

The Gathering of the Good Minds is set to start with the spark from a flint at sunrise on September 26. The traditional fire-lighting ceremony will mark the beginning of the weekend-long celebration of Native arts and wisdom that will feature First Nations Elders, traditional teachers, artists, dancers, singers, storytellers, filmmakers, writers and comedians.

“We have a sacred fire that represents the sacred fire burning in each one of us,” says host, community helper and activist Dan Smoke-Asayenes. To be lit using indigenous knowledge, the fire, like the art that will be presented at the gathering, symbolizes a return to traditional ways.

In traditional Native culture, the ‘Good Mind’ is one that has the intellect and intuition to live in balance and harmony and the creativity to express a connection to the rest of creation. “A lot of the art,” says Smoke-Asayenes, “features the wisdom of those stories and teachings and knowings that come from the Elders.”

First Nations people, he adds, have a responsibility to share the wisdom of their Elders through oral and cultural traditions. “We make the choice to listen and learn from them so that we can pass on that experience to the future.”

The opening reception for the gathering, at which hosts Dan and his wife, Mary Lou Smoke-Asayenes, will be joined by the Honourable James Bartleman, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, begins at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. First Nations Elders, teachers and artists will also be on hand to discuss the workshops they have planned.

The art exhibition, performances and workshops will continue all weekend at
Museum London. On Saturday, vendors will be offering Aboriginal crafts at the Market. Some of the events that are scheduled for Sunday will be held at the Museum of Indian Archaeology, and a bus will be provided to shuttle people between the two locations.

Several of the workshops that will be offered throughout the weekend will focus on caring for the earth. “We have a responsibility to heal ourselves and each other and our mother the earth,” says Smoke-Asayenes.

The kind of indigenous knowledge that has allowed first nations people to live in harmony with nature for thousands of years will be shared in the hopes that it will be used to repair some of the environmental damage that has been done and to sustain the earth in the future.

This sharing of knowledge is of central importance to the gathering. “There are four supreme values by which we live,” says Smoke-Asayenes. “Kindess, honesty, sharing, and if we live with those three values in our lives on a daily basis, then we will have strength, the fourth value.”

Those four values have been repeatedly tested since the arrival of western culture in North America, says Smoke-Asayenes, and many of the ceremonies that would have helped people grieve and heal were banished by the government in the early 20th century. “The people who took them underground d were the elders and teachers who knew that these were precious and necessary for our survival.”

In the past 40 years, First Nations cultures have been experiencing a revival of indigenous knowledge systems—prayers, faith, and teachings—that were traditionally a part of North America. “We are the Elders of this land,” says Smoke-Asayenes. “We have a responsibility to all of our brothers and sisters of all the colours of humanity to share how to live in balance and harmony with nature.”

The first Gathering the Good Minds demonstrated how beneficial that balance
can be. It was held in 2001, just after 9/11. Although, at that time, many events were being cancelled or postponed, the gathering organizers felt it was necessary to go ahead. It made sense, says Smoke-Asayenes, “because our worldview is one of peace, one of power of unity of all the people, and one of healing.”. Even though there was a lot of pain, people who attended felt a lot of healing. “We didn’t expect that outcome,” he adds, “but we were very heartened to see that.”

Gathering organizers are hoping that this year’s festival will bring positive outcomes as well. “The time we have here, we have much to learn about relating to ourselves, our creator, each other, the cosmos, the world.” Through this festival, says Smoke-Asayenes, people can become more aware of those relationships, and it can wake up their spirit. “We hope that it will.”