The Land Dreams in Ceremonies: Reparation Ceremony #8 *Westholme*

 

Cranberry: Cranberries were grown down the mountainside from this property.  I often thought about what memories, remnants and footprints lay in the natural bogs of the area.  The exhibit Pysanka depicts the bog and mountains.  In the bog, each “dot” represents a cranberry bush which conceals a parcel of ancestral memories held in the land.  Can you imagine a natural bog as something that preserves earth-history and distributes that knowledge over time, as needed? 

The Land: The first time we visited this location to meet the potential landlord, my heart hurt, and my gut felt like it had been ripped open.  The land was beautiful, and yet it was covered in garbage, rotting food-waste, and plastic.  I did not want to move here.  However, with limited housing choices, we decided we would undertake a relationship with and service to the land itself.  The surrounding mountains, rock-cliffs, trees, bogs, and waterways were precious features that revealed their beauty and power over time as the land began to “open up” to us.

Ancestor Bones: Bones represent ancestors, spirits, and inhabitants of the land – beings whom I share time and space with.  Bringing some of the sacred symbols and knowledge of my ancestors to the bones is a way that the ancestors of the land and my own can meet and converse.  Imbuing the bones with symbols of protection and fertility also brings these energies to the land. After completing a few pieces, I became aware of a more shadowy aspect – that "covering" the bones with writing is similar to acts of colonialism – imposing a cultural interpretation and knowledge on the natural being of another. What began as a desire to explore intersections and healing also became an exploration of hurts and atrocities.  How do we acknowledge the way that we impact and influence one another?  How do we then bring "right relations" into these expressions?

Shadow Walking and Signs: Walking amongst trees I noticed a deer rib lay next to the roots of one tree, and several vertebrae and ribs lay a few feet further.  Just then, a little bird flitted to a branch near my head and began chattering at me. It flew to the first rib, again turning to talk to me, and then to the many bones nearby, and then flew away.  The presence of the bones and bird validated the ceremony location.