Eagle Heart Healing

12/22/2025

Makwa and the Teachings of Fasting: The Bear and the Anishinaabeg

Among the Anishinaabeg, the Bear Makwa holds one of the most sacred places in our teachings and stories. The Bear is a powerful symbol of strength, healing, courage, and spiritual endurance. Those who carry the Bear Clan, known as Makwa Doodem, are protectors of the people and keepers of the medicine knowledge.

The clans, or gidoodeminaanig, are our bloodlines our sacred connections that link us not only to our ancestors but also to the animals, the Earth, and the spirit world. Through these bloodlines, teachings are passed down generation after generation, reminding us how to live in balance with all of Creation.

The Bear is known as one who walks between worlds the physical and the spiritual. Each year, as winter approaches, the Bear finds a quiet den deep in the forest and begins its fasting. During this time of rest, the Bear takes no food and drinks no water. While the body sleeps, the spirit of the Bear travels into the spirit world.

There, it gathers knowledge, healing, and renewal from the helpers and spirits that dwell in that sacred realm. When spring returns, the Bear awakens, bringing with it new strength and the wisdom of medicine plants that begin to sprout across the land. From observing the Bear, the Anishinaabeg learned the importance of fasting and the spiritual journey that comes with it.

The people saw that when the Bear fasted, it became strong in spirit and clear in purpose. It was through this example that the Anishinaabeg came to understand that fasting gii'igoshimo was a sacred way to seek vision and guidance. When a person fasts, they set aside food and water for four days and nights, walking in the footsteps of the Bear. They go into the forest or onto the land with asemaa (to***co) and prayer, asking the spirits to reveal their purpose. During this time, the faster humbles themselves before Creation, quieting the body so the spirit can become louder. The mind becomes clear, and the heart becomes open.

Through fasting, the Anishinaabe learns who they are meant to be and how they can serve the people. This practice is not only for personal vision but also for the health of the community. Just as the Bear fasts each winter for the renewal of all life, so too do the people fast to renew their spirit and strengthen their connection to the Creator. The Bear’s den is a sacred place a symbol of the lodge, of dreaming and rebirth. When we go to fast, our fasting place becomes like that den, a space where we shed our old selves and are reborn with new understanding.

The Bear Clan people continue to carry these teachings. They are the ones who defend the people, who know the medicines that heal, and who remind the community of its responsibilities. They walk with courage and humility, understanding that true power comes from the spirit, not from domination. When we speak of Makwa Doodem, we are speaking of those who remember that strength must be used for the good of all.

The Bear teaches that fasting is not about suffering it is about remembering our sacred connection. It is the Bear that showed us how to journey inward, to meet our own spirit and the Creator in that quiet space. Each time we fast, we honor the Bear’s teaching and the ancient relationship between the Anishinaabeg and the natural world. Through Makwa, we are reminded that healing, strength, and guidance come from within from the courage to face ourselves and to listen deeply to the voice of spirit.

The bear comes from the center of the Earth and was born from the roots of the cedar tree. It climbs up from the four layers of the earth. The bear is known as Naawayikamig manidook center of the earth spirits along with Naawayikamig animikii center of the earth thunder.

Story by: Joseph Ogimaawab Sutherland

Painting by: Jeffery George, Red Dog Art Studio
Artist Link: https://reddogartstudio.com

Mino Magoshan Gijigan / Happy Solstice! ❄️☀️

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Chi Meegwetch / Big Thank You!

12/21/2025

12/20/2025

“The sky is writing the final chapter of 2025 and you don’t want to miss a word.”

As the year winds down, the universe isn’t quieting, it’s performing. Before the calendar flips and the fireworks rise, the night sky offers a sequence of celestial moments that feel like nature’s final gift of the year.

- December 21- Winter Solstice:
The longest night of the year, a pure pause in time where darkness lingers and the promise of returning light begins. This ancient turning point has inspired rituals, stories, and wonder across cultures.

-December 22–23 - Ursid Meteor Shower:
Not the loudest sky show, but one of the most peaceful. Slow, bright meteors glide across the sky, perfect for quiet reflection and heartfelt wishes.

-December 26 -Moon Meets Saturn:
Look west after sunset for a graceful evening pairing. Saturn’s golden light beside the Moon is a serene sight that feels almost handcrafted for photographers and dreamers.

-December 31- Moon Near the Pleiades:
As 2025 fades, the Moon drifts close to the ancient star cluster of the Seven Sisters. It’s a poetic, calm, and unforgettable way to end the year under starlight.

These aren’t just sky events they’re moments of wonder, stillness, and connection.
No telescope needed just clear skies, open eyes, and a willingness to be awed.

12/20/2025

Here’s why seeing sunlight within thirty minutes of waking can completely change how your day feels. Research shows that early light exposure helps increase energy and focus by up to fifty percent, not through caffeine or stimulation, but by resetting your internal clock the way your body was designed to function.

Here’s what’s happening beneath the surface. Morning sunlight hits the eyes and signals the brain to shut down melatonin while boosting cortisol in a healthy, natural way. This tells your nervous system that the day has started, sharpening alertness, improving reaction time, and stabilizing mood. It also sets the timing for melatonin release later at night, which leads to deeper sleep and better recovery.

When this rhythm is aligned, energy becomes steady instead of spiking and crashing. Focus improves because the brain is no longer fighting against a confused sleep cycle. Over time, this simple habit can improve productivity, mental clarity, and emotional balance without any extra effort.

The light does the work. You just have to show up.

So before you reach for your phone or coffee, step outside or look toward the sky. A few minutes of morning sunlight can shape how your entire day unfolds.

12/04/2025

Mnidoo Giisoohns Giizis / Little Spirit Moon

The Twelfth Moon of Creation is known as the Little Spirit Moon — a time when healing moves gently across our lives. In this moon, the spirits offer us visions, guidance, and the strength to restore balance within ourselves. When we receive these gifts of clarity and good health, we are able to walk the Red Road with a good heart and clean intentions. The healing we carry does not stay with us alone; it flows outward to our families, our communities, and all our relations, for the benefit of the whole Nation.

❄️ 🌬️ 🌕

Cakapis (Little Spirit or Little Boy on the Moon)
A Néhiyaw (Cree) Aadozhikaan (Sacred Story)

We are told that long ago that a family attempted to travel through a strong, cold, winter blizzard. They were in distress and needed to get to a larger camp for assistance.

At some point into their journey, they got confused and were lost in the raging storm. The storm raged on for days, and the family got weaker and weaker. When the storm finally blew over, only one little boy from the family had survived. All his relatives had perished in the storm, attempting to keep him as warm as possible.

There he sat, alone, on the vast prairie beside his relatives who had perished. At some point, travellers found the boy and took him to the nearest camp where he was fed, clothed and comforted as best as was possible… but the little boy was lost in grief.

A council was held and decisions as to where the little boy would go were made. It was decided that a family with no sons could take in the little boy.It so happened that in this particular camp, a family with no sons stepped up and said they would be happy to take the little boy into their family camp. So the little boy went to live among this family.

As the days grew colder and winter drew on, the large camp broke up into smaller family units. The little boy and his new family set out for their own winter camp. Once their journey began, things started changing in the attitude and interaction between the family and their new little charge.

The family began to treat the little boy with indifference and downright cruelty. He was given duties no one else wanted to do, and they added duties others were doing prior to his arrival. He was working constantly. At the same time he noticed that the family wanted nothing to do with him, and they put up a ragged little tent for the boy to sleep in at night.

Thus he was removed from the main shelter. The little boy was expected to do everything that was commanded of him while being fed very little and being given tattered rags to dress and warm himself in. Thus the little boy found himself cold, hungry, scared, lonely, tired, sad, unwanted and lost.

As the winter dragged on the little boy got weaker and weaker… One particular howling winter night he was awoken from his little tent and was told that the family needed water.

He was sent to the river, where he was to reopen the water hole that had been previously chopped in the ice by him, to fetch two pails of water. So out he went into the blowing wind. As the little boy was finishing his job, the storm stopped blowing and the full Moon broke through the clouds. So there he was standing by the water hole, with two pails of water, staring at Nokoom Tipiskawi Pisim, Grandmother Moon.

As he stood there a deep wave of grief overcame him and he began to cry. He stood there, looking up at the full Moon and began to let go of all his emotions. He told Grandmother Moon how cold, lonely and hungry he was. He told Grandmother Moon how hurt, scared, unwanted and unloved he felt. He told her how worthless he felt. As he stood there with his two pails of water, crying in a cold winter night, something wondrous happened. As the little boy was releasing all his emotions, Nokoom Tipiskawi Pisim was moved by the sincerity, pain and the tears that were being shed. She decided she could do something, and so Nokoom Tipiskawi Pisim lifted the little boy into the sky and set him down on the Moon with her.

He would forever stand on the Moon with his two pails of water looking down unto Nikawiy Aski (Mother Earth) and be a reminder to all looking up of how people less fortunate than ourselves should be treated.

Thus when we look into the night sky and see the full Moon we are reminded to think and act kindly towards the weak ones, the sick ones, the helpless ones. We should comfort the hungry, the hurt, the scared, the lonely.

We should look after the homeless, orphaned, incapacitated and lost ones. The little boy was given the name Acak Apisis (Little Spirit), which has since been shortened to Cakapis.

Story By: Wilfred Buck, Researcher and Knowledge Keeper, Opaskwayak Cree Nation

Panting by: Tom Sinclair, TMS Woodland Art
Artist Link: https://canvasgallery.ca/catalogue/p/sinclair031

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Chi Meegwetch / Big Thank You!

11/28/2025

11/25/2025

Make sure to tune in to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade this Thursday, between 10:00am and 10:30am to see our Native Pride dancers share their culture, passion, and talents on this national stage!!

Let us know you're watching by taking a photo of our performance on your TV and tagging Native Pride Productions! We so appreciate everyone's love and support as we step into this wonderful opportunity!

See you on the parade route!