Storytellers are part of every culture and "Story" is how we learn, teach,remember and grow. While they are part of every culture, none are respected and revered like those of the indigenous/First Nations people.
A fellow Equine assisted learning colleague shared this Credit to Kim Hallock of Red Dog Recovery Ranch
"This is a story that was gifted to me by a Cree elder some years ago. It has come to be the foundation of Red Dog Recovery Ranch, and has been shared many times around our fire.
'in the beginning of things, the creator made this earth...he made all of the rocks and all of the dirt and all of the mountains. It was so very beautiful that he left it like that for a very long time. After a good long while, he once again felt the artists urge and began once again to create. He made all of the trees and all of the grasses, all of the flowers and all of the berries. The world was full of color! He really enjoyed this beautiful addition to the world, and left it like that for a long, long time. Other than the whisper of the wind in the leaves, the world was quiet, so one day the creator decided to liven things up a bit. He began to make all of the animals, all of the birds, all of the fish, all of the bugs....what fun! The world was now a colourful, lively place and the creator loved to watch the goings on each day. After many, many years the creator got to thinking. Though the world was truly amazing it was also very predictable. You see the creator planted the seed of purpose in each and every being, every rock, plant and animal knew exactly how it was to live out its days, how to find nourishment, how to get along....there were no surprises. The creator thought it might be nice to have a few surprises, so once again he got creative and made us human beings. We are the babies of creation and the only being who was given the gift of free will. Well now things were gonna get interesting! For a while things were pretty good, but then we began to use our free will in selfish ways. We began to take away more than we needed from the other beings, we began to harass them and act as though we were more important. The animals, especially felt harmed by our behavior, and asked the creator to please do something about those pesky human beings. The creator understood and made a great rift in the world....all of the animals lived on one side....all of the human beings lived on the other. It was like that for a very very long time...so long that we forgot each other's languages. The only way we knew that animals existed is because they were still in our stories and songs that had been passed through many generations. When we'd sing we'd get lonesome and feel terrible for making such a mess of things. After a good long while, the human beings asked the creator to please let them live with the rest of creation. They'd learned their lesson, they said, they'd be more respectful this time. Well, like all father's, our creator had a real hard time saying no to the baby, but he remembered just how awful things were. He said "I can't promise anything, but I will try". He went across the rift and gathered all the animals into a great circle. The creator explained the situation and said he respected how the animals felt, and wouldn't force anyone to share their lives with the human beings....but he would sure like some volunteers! Right away the dog ran into the circle. He said "I'll go...I like those human beings, their fiesty! I think we'll have some fun." The creator said "thank you, thank you! anyone else?" Well it got real quiet. The deer's were looking over their shoulders, the rabbits were twiddling their thumbs...everyone was trying to avoid the hopeful gaze of the creator. After a long time....so long that it was uncomfortable, the horse strode into to circle. He said "I don't know about those human beings....I don't know if I can trust them...but I think they have a lot to learn and I think I have alot to teach them." And so it is that the dog and the horse (atim and mistatim) are the only two animals in all of creation that we human beings can communicate with because they willingly share their lives with us. Hai Hai
'in the beginning of things, the creator made this earth...he made all of the rocks and all of the dirt and all of the mountains. It was so very beautiful that he left it like that for a very long time. After a good long while, he once again felt the artists urge and began once again to create. He made all of the trees and all of the grasses, all of the flowers and all of the berries. The world was full of color! He really enjoyed this beautiful addition to the world, and left it like that for a long, long time. Other than the whisper of the wind in the leaves, the world was quiet, so one day the creator decided to liven things up a bit. He began to make all of the animals, all of the birds, all of the fish, all of the bugs....what fun! The world was now a colourful, lively place and the creator loved to watch the goings on each day. After many, many years the creator got to thinking. Though the world was truly amazing it was also very predictable. You see the creator planted the seed of purpose in each and every being, every rock, plant and animal knew exactly how it was to live out its days, how to find nourishment, how to get along....there were no surprises. The creator thought it might be nice to have a few surprises, so once again he got creative and made us human beings. We are the babies of creation and the only being who was given the gift of free will. Well now things were gonna get interesting! For a while things were pretty good, but then we began to use our free will in selfish ways. We began to take away more than we needed from the other beings, we began to harass them and act as though we were more important. The animals, especially felt harmed by our behavior, and asked the creator to please do something about those pesky human beings. The creator understood and made a great rift in the world....all of the animals lived on one side....all of the human beings lived on the other. It was like that for a very very long time...so long that we forgot each other's languages. The only way we knew that animals existed is because they were still in our stories and songs that had been passed through many generations. When we'd sing we'd get lonesome and feel terrible for making such a mess of things. After a good long while, the human beings asked the creator to please let them live with the rest of creation. They'd learned their lesson, they said, they'd be more respectful this time. Well, like all father's, our creator had a real hard time saying no to the baby, but he remembered just how awful things were. He said "I can't promise anything, but I will try". He went across the rift and gathered all the animals into a great circle. The creator explained the situation and said he respected how the animals felt, and wouldn't force anyone to share their lives with the human beings....but he would sure like some volunteers! Right away the dog ran into the circle. He said "I'll go...I like those human beings, their fiesty! I think we'll have some fun." The creator said "thank you, thank you! anyone else?" Well it got real quiet. The deer's were looking over their shoulders, the rabbits were twiddling their thumbs...everyone was trying to avoid the hopeful gaze of the creator. After a long time....so long that it was uncomfortable, the horse strode into to circle. He said "I don't know about those human beings....I don't know if I can trust them...but I think they have a lot to learn and I think I have alot to teach them." And so it is that the dog and the horse (atim and mistatim) are the only two animals in all of creation that we human beings can communicate with because they willingly share their lives with us. Hai Hai
As we strive to learn from the horse,the dog and from all of nature, may we strive equally to learn from each other.
Stay safe my friends
