The following is translated from Cree. I can only hope I have done justice to Robbie’s words and teachings.— E. Webb
I want to talk about everything on this earth. Everything which Eeyou (Cree) uses. Everything that grows. What the Eeyou knew and thought was there was life in everything. I look at what I’ve heard. It is true. Right now new life is growing. Which we didn’t see for a year. What died is now going to grow. The way it was, how beautiful it was, is how beautiful the one who made it will make it, the life.
Wherever we look we see life. That’s what Eeyou talks about. That’s where Eeyou taught himself. To get his life from the earth. The beauty I see now, since waking up this morning, I saw the plants growing. We were given another year to see that and it’s beautiful. That’s why the Eeyou respects it. And also the trees they use. The trees today are growing like children when they need a bigger coat every year. The tree finishes his life cycle for the year he is given. I believe we should keep Eeyou’s teachings, there is life everywhere you look outside. Even in the rocks there is life. That is why the Eeyou respects all. Eeyou knew there was life everywhere. From the beginning to now, that’s what Eeyou teaches. I see it, I looked at it, I see Eeyou’s teachings as true. What I looked for turned out to be true.
Another thing on my mind, I’ve thought this through and I want to raise it now but I don’t want to alarm anyone. When I was a kid, the sun would rise from the east at a certain point during the summer when everyone was at Fort George. Now during the spring it rises from that spot now. And when it sets in the evening it’s way past the point it used to be during the summer. It’s farther north. The Ancestors said, “When you notice something amiss even if it’s in the sky with the sun or the moon and the stars, you will know to stand the other way and look at your life in another way. The time will be near as if there will be a message that there will be new things shown to us,” is what we were told.
And the sun I’m talking about, I’m not the only one to bring this up. This winter there was a conference at the place called Ottawa. There is an Elder from the Inuit Nation who also brought this up. He said the same thing I observed, so I’m not the only one who observed this. Watching the sun as I grew up, he said the same thing also. We are at the point where we have to look at ourselves. As soon as something is amiss then we will know how to stand, is what the Elder also said. He said this isn’t something to scare people; it had already been talked about. Towards the sky if something’s amiss, that is the time to reflect on your time on this earth. I’m surprised I’m not the only one to notice this.
At this point in time you don’t say this is a “bad” day. The day goes too fast. You don’t say, “I’ll put it off ’till tomorrow; today’s bad anyway.” It’s as if we’re getting ready every day for something—that is how the teachings are pointing to, is what was said. I want to remind everyone as to what I follow. We can’t say it’s a “bad” day. These days during the summer you can see the glow clearly during the night, that’s another thing on my mind. With our lives on this earth, we are shown the truth with what was said about the sky.
The Ancestors had knowledge. There were a lot of teachings they passed from generation to generation. That is what we are using now, to watch our time on this earth. That is what has to be taught to pass down to the next generation. So they can walk in truth on this earth with the teachings of the Ancestors. It is true what they were teaching, and the truth will lead us. We all know it was the Creator who brought the truth. The Ancestors left us a lot. Even if it wasn’t written down, we still see it. I respect the earth and it tells me a lot. The Creator showed our Ancestors the way. The Creator gave us another year to see his Creation. That’s what I wanted to talk about. That’s what I’m thinking. If our Ancestors didn’t follow the teachings we wouldn’t be hunting today. We should be thankful and happy we still see this. We have to hold on to what is left. We have to leave something for the coming generations. Let’s remember them like our Ancestors remembered us. Life passed from generation to generation. That’s what I wanted to say—to remember when you see something growing, you’re seeing the Creator’s work. That’s something we can’t destroy.
