The Red Road
We gather together and see that the cycle of life continues. As human beings, we have been given the responsibility to live in balance and harmony with each other and with all of creation. So now, we bring our minds together as one we give greetings and thanks to each other as People.
Now our minds are one.
We are thankful for our mother, the earth, for she gives us all that we need for life. She sustains and supports us as our feet move upon her. We are joyful in knowing that she continues to care for us as she has from the beginning of time. To our Mother, we send greetings and thanks.
Now our minds are one.
We give thanks to the waters for quenching our thirst and providing us with strength. Water is life, and we are thankful for its purity. We know its power in many forms – waterfalls and rain, mists and streams, rivers and oceans. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to the spirit of the Water.
Now our minds are one.
We turn our minds to all of the fish of the world. They cleanse and purify the waters of life, and they offer themselves to us as food. So we turn now to the Fish and send our greetings and thanks.
Now our minds are one.
Now we turn our minds to the many kinds of life-sustaining plant life in the fields and forests. The earth is covered with plants growing and working many wonders. With our minds gathered together, we give thanks and look forward to seeing Plant Life continue in all its diversity for many generations to come.
Now our minds are one.
With one mind, we turn to offer special thanks to all of the food plants. Since the beginning of time, the grains, vegetables, beans and berries have helped people survive. We honour all of the Food Plants together as one and send them greetings and thanks.
Now our minds are one.
Now we turn to the medicines of the natural world. From the beginning they have taken away our sickness. We are grateful they are always waiting to heal us. And we are happy there are special people among us who hold knowledge of the healing plants. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to the Medicines and to the Medicine Keepers.
Now our minds are one.
We gather our minds together to send greetings and thanks to all the animal life in the world. We honour their wisdom and their strength. Animals have many lessons to teach us human beings, and they offer themselves to us as sustenance. We coexist with them where we live and in the forests and mountains. We are glad that the Animals are still here, and we hope that it will always be so.
Now our minds are one.
We now turn our thoughts to the trees. The earth had many families of beautiful trees, each with their own instructions and duties. Some trees provide us with shelter and shade, others with fruit and the other useful things we need to survive. Trees are symbols of peace, strength and reverence for life for peoples all over the world. With one mind, we greet and give thanks to the Trees.
Now our minds are one.
We put our minds together as one and thank all the birds who fly about in the sky. Their beautiful songs each day remind us to enjoy and appreciate life. To all the Birds – from the smallest to the largest – we send our joyful greetings and thanks.
Now our minds are one.
We are thankful for the powers we know as the Four Winds. We hear their voices in the moving air as they refresh us and purify the air we breathe. From the Four Directions they bring the change of the seasons and messages. The Four Winds give us strength. With one mind, we send our greetings and thanks to the Four Winds.
Now our minds are one.
Now we turn to the west and our grandfathers, the thunder beings. With their voices lighting and thunder, they bring the water that renews all life. We bring our minds together as one to send greetings and thanks to our granfathers, the Thunderers.
Now our minds are one.
We now send greetings and thanks to our eldest brother, the sun. Each and every day he travels the sky from the east to the west, bringing with him the light of a new day. He is the source of all fires and of all life. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to our eldest brother, the Sun.
Now our minds are one.
We now put our minds together and give thanks to our oldest grandmother, the moon, who lights the night sky and governs the movement of the ocean tides. Her strength and wisdom are inside and around all women. By her changing face we mark the changing seasons, and it is the moon who watches over the arrival of children here on earth, With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to our grandmother, the Moon.
Now our minds are one.
We give thanks to the stars who are spread across the sky like bright sparks. We see them in the night, helping the moon to light the darkness and bringing dew to the fields and gardens. When we travel at night, they guide our way. With our minds gathered together as one, we send greetings and thanks to all of the Stars.
Now our minds are one.
We gather our minds to greet and thank all the enlightened teachers who have come to inspire and help the people throughout the ages, When we forget the Original Teachings and how to live in harmony, they remind us of the way we were instructed to live as people. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to these caring Teachers.
Now our minds are one.
Now we turn our thoughts to the Creator and to the life-force of the universe. We send greetings and thanks for all the gifts of creation. Everything we need to live a good life is here in our natural world. For all of the love that is still around us, we gather our minds together as one and send our choicest words of greetings and thanks for the power of love, life, and of creation.
Now our minds are one.
We have now arrived at the place where we end our words. In thanking and acknowledging all of the things we have named, we did not intend to leave anything out. If something was forgotten, we leave it to each of you to send such greetings as we have spoken, and to offer gratitude in your own way.
Onen enska neiokwanikonra. Now our minds are one. (1)
I give these words of thanksgiving as the lead off for this site in order to honour, and to remember, all of those ancestors of mine, both named and unnamed, who have struggled and given their lives in the struggle against colonialism since the first contact with European cultures over 500 years ago. I honour them, and I honour the cultures that were almost lost to the onslaught of European Judeo-Christian civilization with these words, and I hope to one day, both through my words and my actions, to live up to the example they have set for all of us Onkwehonwe who struggle in today’s world.
- The above Rotinoshonni Thanksgiving Address is an adaptation by Kanien’kehaka scholar and activist Gerald Taiaiake Alfred of a version by the Haudenosaunee Environmental Task Force’s “Greetings to the Natural World,” published in Haudenosaunee Environmental Restoration: An Indigenous Strategy for Human Sustainability
