"We did not think of the great open plains, the beautiful rolling hills, and winding streams with tangled growth as "wild". To us it was tame. Earth was bountiful and we were surrounded with the blessings of the Great Mystery."

Luther Standing Bear - Rosebud Sioux

Guardian of the Water Medicine

Guardian of the Water Medicine
Dale Auger

Dale Auger

Dale Auger: On Art, Blood and Kindred Spirits
by Terri Mason

Defining Dale Auger in one sentence is akin to releasing the colours of a diamond in one cut. It can’t be done. It’s the many facets that release a diamond’s true brilliance, as it is the many facets of Auger’s life, education, ancestry, experiences and beliefs that have shaped and polished his work into the internationally acclaimed and collected artist that he is today.

Born a Sakaw Cree from the Bigstone Cree Nation in northern Alberta, Auger’s education began as a young boy when his mother would take him to be with the elders. “I used to say to myself, ‘Why is she leaving me with these old people?’ – but today I see the reason; I was being taught in the old way.”

Auger’s respect for traditional teachings led him on a journey to study art, opening the door to a doctorate in education. He is a talented playwright, speaker and visual artist whose vividly coloured acrylics have captured the attention of collectors that reads like an international ‘Who’s Who’ spanning English to Hollywood royalty. The essence of his work is communication, and now Dr. Auger has come full circle, interpreting the life of his culture – from the everyday to the sacred - through the cross-cultural medium of art.

Read the rest here:

http://www.daleauger.com/printversionbio.cfm

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Sometimes...

Someone told me today that my standards are too high. The circumstances under which these words were spoken to me don’t really matter. The bottom line is this…I was faced with a situation which caught me off-guard. I found myself in a position of having to choose my principles or lie. So when I was asked a very direct and pointed question I chose to answer with the truth. Ever since then I’ve been condemned and abandoned.

It hurts more deeply than anything I can express that people who claim to love and respect me expected me to do anything different. Yet! I am told my standards are too high for people to live with.

I ask you this…what was I supposed to do? If I had gone against everything I believe in and stand for by lying then what good are my principles? What purpose does it serve to say you believe in one thing but do another?

My name is Waterbird/Weighs The Truth for a reason. Truth is the number one reason for my existence. Even if I try to justify any excuse for breaking my own code of ethics it doesn’t work because then I’m only lying to myself. I will not, under any circumstance, betray my name by speaking in a deceitful manner. What is wrong with this way of thinking? And why is it such a high standard to live up to?

Once upon a time I had faith in humanity. Once upon a time, on more than ten occasions, I have discovered how absurd people can really be. It’s a sad, sad state of affairs. It’s not like I gave away military secrets. If someone shares a confidence with me and someone else asks me about it I simply state that I am not at liberty to speak. But if I am asked to commit subterfuge, well, I simply refuse to participate at all.

Here’s the thing. My ancestors have had the burden of heavy lies and deceit for way too many generations. Too many games were played against them they couldn’t comprehend and I made a promise to them a long time ago that I would seek out the truth in their honor and memory.

It is my belief that if everyone would choose just one thing they believe in and then walk their talk; this world would be such a better place. After all, we live in an exquisite world. It’s only we human who screw it up. No laws are ever broken in the natural world. People are the single species who break the laws.

Sometimes I wish I was a dog.
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