The Rainbow Prophecy

One of the most contentious issues in Canada's history is that of the Metis. Some people feel this unique group of people does not deserve any sort of recognition, whereas others believe their unique history and culture is something to be recognized and cherished. The history of the Metis people is filled with struggle; not only struggles against other powers, but also a struggle for self-identification. Despite strong opposition, the Metis people of Canada have matured as a political force and have taken great strides towards being recognized as a unique people.

This book challenged many of my pre-convinced believes. For a long time, I believed people “chose” to be homosexual or heterosexual. Other ways to identified one’s self never even entered my mind. It would have been next to impossible to convince me people are born either way. Around puberty, when girls notice boys and vice versa, I believed a decision was made, I like A or B. Looking back, I honestly don’t know why I felt that way but I did. Lack of knowledge, understanding, media, family, upbringing, social norms, and so many other things influenced my thought process. Today, no I don’t believe people are determined by their body parts. I would use the book Raising My Rainbow as my source of “ammunition.” A child, three-years-old, with complete innocent and no idea of social norms, socially acceptable behavior, and gender roles was born a male but knew almost immediately they identified more as a girl. Their body did not correctly identify them; I would argue their brain did. If that is correct I would be interested to find out if there are scientifically differences between a “male brain” and a “female brain.”

The Cree constitute the largest indigenous group in Canada, with over 200,000 members living in Canada alone . Scientists believe that the Cree descended from the people who crossed the Bering Strait during the last Ice age. Evidence suggests

“We live the Old Way” are the words that author, Catherine Knutsson, uses to introduce readers to the fascinating culture of the Métis Indians in her intriguing book, Shadows Cast by Stars (1). Set in an unspecified future, sixteen year old protagonist, Cassandra Mercredi, finds herself and her family fleeing from the mainland of UA and going to find refuge on “The Island” (Knutsson 21). They have been targeted because they are “marked by the precious Plague antibodies in [their Native American] blood” (Knutsson 1). According to Essentials of Young Adult Literature, Knutsson’s book is categorized as American Indian and Indigenous Literature (Short, Tomlinson, Lynch-Brown, and Johnson 177). After analyzing the text, the categorization is correct because the story is told from the perspective of the protagonist, Cassandra, who provides readers are given insight into the cultural beliefs and values of the Métis tribe. Additionally, her character communicates the traditional roles of men and women within the tribe, while integrating cultural details that provide authenticity to the story.

The story of the Sky Woman, her daughter and twin grandsons depicts the beginning of the world and creates the belief that everyone is born with good and evil in them. The significance of nature influences how the Native Americans belief that nature, animals, and humans are equal counterparts. If it had not been for the help of the animals, Sky Woman would have died and the creation of earth would not exist. The twins play a significant role among the Iroquois that the good and evil are necessary for the world to be in balance. The belief that Sky Woman is the leader of all female life who “controls the rise and fall of the waters and a companion to the stars” (Olan, n.d.) and “regulates the monthly cycles of all females in which guarantees new life will be born” (Olan, n.d.). The myth signifies the Native American belief of how the creation and reincarnation of humans connects to the rise and fall of the sun and moon.

How the Rainbow Was Made is myth created by The Ojibwe Nations to explain the creation of a rainbow in an incredible way. This very intriguing myth describes the rainbows being made from two bluebirds playing around and dipping their feet into Nanabozho’s paints and then flying away causing the streaks of color to shine over the waterfall. From the text, it is easy to tell that these Native Americans lived in Northern America/Canada. This can be inferred because Nanabozho, the main character in this myth, talks about the “wide waterfall” outside of his house. It can be assumed this wide waterfall is also known as the Niagara Falls, which is located Northwest of New Buffalo, New York, and Southeast of Toronto, Canada. In this passage, he speaks about “Brother Son”, so it is easy to tell that they had a close relationship with nature, and looked highly upon the sun.

Aboriginals have made several contributions to Canadian history, which has helped improve one’s standard of living. They have helped with various things such as inventions, discoveries of plants, and have helped significantly in war efforts.

The Plains Cree Tribe lived in Canada, north and west of Lake Superior in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories. Women wore dresses made out of deerskins, Men wore animal skin leggings,a loincloth which is a small piece of cloth or skin worn between the legs and a belt to hold the loin cloth. They did not speak english, their language is called Montagnais. They lived in teepees.

The Ottawa tribe and culture of the tribe is eminently fascinating and beautiful. The Ottawa tribe has a great deal of history behind it. The name “Ottawa” is originally spelled “Odawa” in their native language. The language that they speak is mostly English, but their native language is Ojibwa, which is related to Anishinaabe language. The tribe’s original homeland, according to bigorrin.org, is mostly in southern Ontario in Canada, which is where the name of “Ottawa” or “Odawa” came from, and Michigan. There are multiple Ottawa tribes, but there is one here in Manistee, Michigan, they are the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians. There is a legion amount of people that are in the Little River Band that are exceedingly close to me. The Little River Band is full and rich in culture. “The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, a Michigan tribe that has survived to the present day despite the expansionist and assimilationist policies that nearly robbed it of its identity in the late nineteenth century”, explained James McClurken who published the book “Our People, Our Journey”. He then explains that they Little River Band was forced onto a reservation on the Pere Marquette and Manistee Rivers in 1858. The tribe was getting pushed and shoved around for countless years and their culture was disintegrating. In fact, my boyfriend, Andrew, his grandmother, Margaret Chandler, was a strong and tough working representative that helped and pushed the people of their tribe for over

An individual’s sense of belonging is determined not only by their own choices but also by the attitudes of others.

The Dreaming is communicated through songs, stories and rituals, in which is explains how the “creator ancestors shaped the land and brought it to life” (Gammage, 2011, p. 1419). All of life, from religion, geography, life and more, are explained and connected to the Aboriginal people’s spirituality, land and family through this form of communication. The Dreamtime “shapes the Aboriginal people’s view of the universe and themselves” (Wierzbicka & Goddard, 2015, p. 43). The passing on of the Dreaming stories from one generation to the next was a “most important aspect of education” (Edwards, 1998, p. 83) and is seen as the fundamental reality. Edwards stated that through ritual, humans are able to “enter into a direct relationship with

Native American’s find symbolism in many everyday items and colors are no exception. They believe that yellow is a conflicting motif, on one hand it denotes happiness, joy, and contentment but on the other hand it is the color of cowardice, deceit, and hurt. Michael Dorris, the author of A Yellow Raft in Blue Water, coming from a Native American background, most likely considered this while choosing the title for this bestseller. It is overflowing with hidden meanings for the color of yellow, especially in Rayona’s section.

One of the most contentious issues in Canada’s history is that of the Metis. Some people feel this unique group of people does not deserve any sort of recognition, whereas others believe their unique history and culture is something to be recognized and cherished. The history of the Metis people is filled with struggle; not only struggles against other powers, but also a struggle for self-identification. Despite strong opposition, the Metis people of Canada have matured as a political force and have taken great strides towards being recognized as a unique people.

"The Ute population was about 3,500 in northeastern Utah, 1,500 in Colorado, and 2,000 primarily in Colorado, but extends through Utah and some of New Mexico."(Wikipedia) The Ute tribes were not as large as the number of Cree, but they made great homes for their environment. "The houses that were made were called

The coming kingdom that Jesus talks about is the main teaching of His ministry. There are several aspects to the kingdom of God, or the kingdom of Heaven as Matthew says, which partly explains the ambiguity of this part of the passage. First, the Kingdom of God is present, beginning with Jesus’ reign on Earth (Ridderbos 649). The kingdom is also present through the church. Jesus just established Peter as the rock on which He would build His church (Mt. 16.18). His journey to the cross is the beginning of the end of His mission on Earth, and when He is gone, the church will be God’s Kingdom on Earth. It is the church’s responsibility to further the kingdom by preaching and making more disciples of all nations from all ends of the earth (Mt. 16.19; Acts 1.8). Although His kingdom is present, it has not yet come in its full capacity. Jesus’ return will bring the full Kingdom and all of creation will be restored to a new and perfect state. To the Jews, the Kingdom of God was a “new covenant between God and his people, and peace would obtain not only among all nations but throughout the whole creation, among all living things” (Hiers 528). His Kingdom is both present and yet to come. Those who identify with Jesus are able to participate in His kingdom on Earth and obtain the rewards in the future.