MISHIBINIJIMA'S MISHMOUNTAIN SYMBOL BOOK:

WAUB-BUN-NUG-ZEE: ( TREE MAKER ) 17: The warnings of the tree makers can still be seen all over the great lake islands of North America, many of these tree markers have been cut down since because of the awkwardness they stand. But these tree markers were place there for a purpose for you to have a safe passage over water and pointing you the right way for your journey.

SACRED LODGE WITH SPIRIT WITHIN - ( PAGE 16 ) The sacred lodge pictograph is always mention in any pictograph writings anywhere in the world which goes to say, your lodge meaning your home needs to stay pure also. When entering a ceremony, you'll feel that your about to enter the womb of Mother Earth.

HANDS OF THE GREAT SPIRIT - (PAGE 15) We need to place our minds into another level to understand this pictograph, everythings given to us by the great spirit any way or form. The fork symbol are the two hands of the great spirit joint together. ( Offering )

SHA-BOUWS-SI-AWK SIN ( DIAMOND ) - ( PAGE 14 ) Elder Michael spoke about a clear stone one afternoon during the early sixties, they expressed how the rock can't be broken by another rock which at the time I didn't know what they were talking about. What really stuck to me that afternoon was, this rock resembles allot like your inner spirit and the only light and property we take into the spirit world.

SACRED SMUDGE - ( PAGE 13 ) The sacred smudging bowl contains a the scared medinice to keep your surrounds pure. And same goes for the universe inside our inner spirit. We don't enter the human universe when a human spirit completes it cycle, we enter the inner universe with our inner spirit.

THUNDERBIRD - ( PAGE 12 ) My first recollection in speaking with elder story tellers was this pictograph and how elder Jim expressed it. This pictograph explains a spirit that came from above, People called it a thunderbird because the being made a sound of thunder when it aproached the sky. You have to keep an open mind reading these writings because a medinice man or a story teller way back when tried to convey this message into the future for use to read today.

SACRED EYES - ( PAGE 11 ): Sacred eyes or spirit eyes are well represented in the pictograph, it's shown with a circle and a dot placed in the middle, just like any other living being walking on earth. Sometimes you'll see this image placed along with sacred ceremony symbols which explains, some one's always watching and you'll be judged by those actions.

BALANCE OF TRUTH - ( PAGE 10 ): I seen a pictograph book on a coffee table during the times we conducted art camps in the early eighties and told the elder this pictograph looks allot like and eagle feather and told me I was right. I didn't want to use the same image because of Sam's guidance, I decided to use the shadow of an eagle feather after seeing a vision after a sacred ceremony near Dreamers Rock.

The elder Swifthawk used the eagle feather while he explained the balance of truth and told us how to forgive and use extra care in this area because non-truth carries negative light that can harm you.

That following month, I was invited to do an art exhibition in Toronto and felt really honored, and that opening night I explain how important the land is, especially the water if we need to co-exist with the land through balance and being truthful.

To my amazement, I was ridiculed and told I was a trouble maker that Canada has all the freshwater in the world and don't need a person like me to explain.

That day the trust fell towards Canada, I will forgive but not trust, every person needs a chance to be forgiven.

SACRED BALANCE OF MOTHER EARTH - ( PAGE - 9 ): The sacred balance of mother earth is how you want your future grandchildren to live, do you want them to be self-respectable and filled with honesty. The earth is you and someones always watching.

We can't do harm to the people who aren't here yet and just perhaps, these are the people who are watching our every move when we feel someones watching when were alone.

SACRED ANIMALS - ( PAGE 8): Mankind is not the only living being on Mother Earth, other living beings came here equally and were all connected. When we lose one and goes away forever, man is on a very dangerous path to harm himself. Everything had a purpose.

FOUR SEASONS OF BALANCE - ( PAGE 7 ) : We understood the seasonal changes that came to our area by reading nature. In certain seasons such as spring and fall, you have the sun rising more from the North and South or how the setting sun shares it's colors for up coming weather changes, or how you look at the quarterly moons knowing will it rain or snow. All these teachings are based around us, and all you need to do is open your eyes and listen.

SACRED PLANT LIFE WITH SPIRIT BEINGS ABOVE - ( PAGE 6 ): Sacred plants such as the sweet grass gathers it's sacred energies deep within the ground of mother earth along with other scared plants that grow around her. And shown above are sacred energies watching over.

My mishmountain symbols became a pattern of creation through the helpful guidance of elders living and past on in my community.

NUMBER OF DAYS ( PAGE 5) Pictographs writings is a language that speak in a certain way. I started to understand these writings by living with them and asking elders for guidance to the ones you don't understand like the language's of today.

One dot connecting to a line represents one day because our ancestors knew how long they need to stay in a certain area before seasonal changes begin.

SKIN OF MOTHER EARTH-AHKI -(PAGE 4) ( ahki ): Mankind needs to take extra care towards to the life of Mother Earth especially the changes he does to it. It's very easy to harm the ground through contamination and man made destruction.

I use to place just one line that represents the skin of Mother Earth in my paintings then one afternoon I had a visitor by the name of Swifthawk and told me to add more work to explain this part for people to understand. Use lines that represent connections because mankind is connected to everything.

NIMKEE MANITOU- (PAGE 3) An elder by the name of Michael use to be our neighbour living near our family home and one late afternoon, a thunder storm was approaching over the horizon and Michael referred lightening bolts as Nimkee Manitou.

Thunder will strike on certain places over the land as nimkee manitou will ward off the underground manitou's that leave negative energy just below the surface and waiting for a person the walk by and connect to it.

Nimkee is a very powerful being which created all life for Mother Earth.

ANCESTORS FOOTSTEPS- ( PAGE 2) Culture is the most important part in human society. We need to share cultures and societies to have that open dialogue in harmony. The footsteps of our ancestors walked the earth for survival and wrote down their adventures on stone. More pictographs can be found written on animal hide and birch bark. We all need to offer some tobacco and thank the ancestors for the gift of life. Sam use to talk about ancestors and questioned him many time about the pictographs and simple said, pictographs were a form of communication, if there's something written on stone or any other form, that writings very important to hold on and save for future generations. It doesn't have to be the way their written back in the time but if you have information to pass on, write it down and revise it so everyone will understand.

TREE OF LIFE - (PAGE 1 ):Teachings to the Tree Of Life spoken in many different ways in native culture. One of those ways was thought to me by elder by Mr. Sam Osawamick. Sam was Ojibwe Odawa and Pottawatomie orgin from our community.

Once he told me, this " tree of life" teaching is very easy to understanding and really up to us if we chose to understand it, the hard part is to follow it.

Our spiritual path designed way before were born on Mother Earth, many times you'll be tested and many times you'll fail. "Spiritual Paths" or "The Tree Of Life" is a simple teaching to understand and all you need to do is to take a good look at yourself and see what you truly need. When we try to get things that our neighbours have, this is where our Spiritual Path and design gets confused and ultimately fail. this is where people get confuse and create problems in there life.

When confusion sets into your life, you have the ability to chose another branch from the tree of life and follow that branch towards discovery. When you stand back and take a good look, you have so much branches to chose form.