Reclaiming My Bloodline: The Seven Sacred Teachings as My Code to Live By

“Walking in freedom, reclaiming my body and heritage – artistic nude in forest, symbolic of autonomy, spiritual reclamation and connection to the land and its natural feminine rhythms.” -Volvenda-Lynn / The Honed Crone

For most of my life, I didn’t even know I was Cree.

I grew up in a white patriarchal society under a white, rigid, emotionless (aside from rage) father – a man who lied, cheated, and treated empathy as weakness. I thought my deep physical aversion to lying, harming, or watching harm was just “being too sensitive.”

Only now do I understand: this isn’t weakness. It’s my blood remembering.

Recently I discovered the Seven Sacred Teachings – a spiritual code carried by many Cree and Anishinaabe communities. Reading them for the first time felt like remembering. I’ve never studied them before, but they describe my spirit exactly. This is my code. This is what I’ve been living all along.

The Seven Sacred Teachings

Wisdom – Beaver

Using knowledge, experience, and insight for the good of all. Learning from life and sharing what you know generously.

Love – Eagle

Giving and receiving unconditional love – for self, for others, for the land. Love as a guiding principle in action.

Respect – Buffalo

Honoring all life, including your own. Treating beings with dignity, listening deeply, and acting with humility.

Bravery / Courage – Bear

Facing fear and adversity with strength and integrity. Protecting the vulnerable and standing up for what is right.

Honesty – Sabe

Speaking and acting truthfully. Living authentically, acknowledging mistakes, and being true to yourself.

Humility – Wolf

Recognizing your place in the web of life. Being humble, listening, learning, and valuing the collective over ego.

Truth – Turtle

Living in alignment with reality and universal law. Embodying honesty and integrity as a way of life.

I have always been this way – but now I have a name for it.

It’s a tragedy that a soul like mine, carrying these teachings in my blood, was raised cut off from them – cut off from my Cree identity, my community, and my rightful inheritance of values. But it’s also a miracle. Because even without knowing, my body and spirit remembered.

A Lineage That Refuses to Be Erased

It is not an accident that I grew up believing my Indigeneity didn’t matter. Canada’s government and churches deliberately tried to sever people like me from our culture, our languages, our practices, our families, our very sense of self. The so-called “assimilation” policies, residential schools, and systemic discrimination weren’t just a crime against individuals – they were a spiritual decimation.

They tried to snuff out my bloodline.

Yet here I am.

My ancestors, their wisdom, and this code live and breathe in my blood and bones.

I have a duty – and a right – to express myself, to use my voice, and to use whatever freedoms I have to live and honour my heritage. Many were denied that chance. I will not be erased. Not enough has been done, or is being done, to heal the spiritual devastation caused when you tear people away from what makes their spirits thrive.

This is why I write. This is why I make art. This is why I speak.

Reclaiming My Childhood and Seeing Myself

Reclaiming my heritage at forty-three has made me look back with love and reverence for the little girl who was silenced and stifled by a white man – the little girl who first experienced déjà vu under a weeping willow in the backyard. I remember standing in awe at the tree’s aura and spirit as sunlight filtered through its flowing branches, swaying in the wind. I ran breathless into the house to describe the feeling to my mother, who understood and said softly, “That sounds like déjà vu.”

My mother — my rock — has always carried the pulse of our ancestors beating like a drum in her veins. Since my father’s death, I’ve come to realize how much my entire existence was whitewashed, to the point that I once called myself “Caucasian.” I used to hate myself because I didn’t understand why I looked different from the other white little girls.

Meeting my maternal aunties in recent years, after a long separation, reminded me of my reflection — of strength, beauty, and belonging. I know now that the whispers of the land and the planets speaking to me, and my sight into the unseen, are real — not fantasy, as the culture I grew up in tried to convince me. I’ve explored, been open to influence, and sincerely tried on every path presented to me. But I’ve landed in the truth that the one I was seeking was me — my herstory.

I am Cree.

My Spiritual Sovereignty

Today, I honour that memory. I honour myself. These teachings aren’t just “traditional” – they’re living instructions for how to be fully human. This is my code to live by. This is the path I choose as I reclaim my bloodline, my art, my voice, and my future.

If you, too, feel like you’ve been living a code you didn’t have words for, maybe this is your mirror as well. The Seven Sacred Teachings are not just a list. They’re a way back to wholeness.

#Indigenous #Métis #SevenSacredTeachings #Decolonization #Reconciliation #HeritageReclaimed #SpiritualSovereignty