Aho Mitakyu Oyasin
Aho Mitakuye Oyasin…. To All My Relations
This term Aho Mitakuye Oyasin is used in many sacred settings as a greeting, affirmation and often a way of ending a prayer. My understanding is this term is from the Lakota language but is used in many different communities.
What does Aho Mitakuye Oyasin mean? In essence the concept is “All my Relations” but again, what does that mean?
This term is stated, in my opinion, as a reminder that we are not solitary creatures, but part of a sacred hoop shared by many inhabitants of various offerings, each critical in the balance of life. These relationships are within the world of the seen and unseen. Human relationships as well as spiritual (Ancestral for example). The plants, trees, animals, insects, birds, and humans, all in a sacred hoop, not above or below each other but in relationship to each other.
I recently finished a book entitled Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer that has had a profound impact in my appreciation of the concept of reciprocity and how the ecosystems of the plant are engaged in this process of reciprocity. The interaction of giving and receiving, complimentary to each other and in a process of mutual respect.
In Westernized society we have become disengaged in this process with nature. Westernized mindsets tend to focus on the idea of hierarchy and dominance. Mountains, forest, streams, land in general is seen as opportunity to be developed and capitalized, but seldom acknowledged beyond its capitalistic value. In many ways our societies have been cut off and disengaged from its indigenous roots and relationship with the land. Property and landscapes are seen as commodities as opposed to recognized as an identity, a living being.
Kimmerer shares in her book about a type of grass that grows abundantly in the plains. This plant is a favorite food of the buffalo who when they eat the grass omit saliva that has an enzyme that promotes regeneration of the plant, thus encouraging the grass to return more vibrantly than before. The buffalo graze the plains, eat, and move on, they don’t overuse the land, they take what is needed and move on allowing regeneration. Interesting that before pre-colonial times, when native people of the land hunted buffalo, they didn’t just take, they honored the buffalo with song and prayer and commune with the spirit of the animal out of respect before they harvested the animal for food, shelter, clothing. Reciprocity!
Imagine if we all omitted something in return for the water we used, the land we built upon, the food we consumed, just to name a few examples. What if we fully embraced Aho Mitakuye Oyasin (To All My Relations) and considered ALL relationships in our lives? What if we were engaged in reciprocity with our loved ones, our ancestors (departed ones), the four legged, the winged ones, the creepy crawlers, the standing ones (trees) and the sacred mountains?
How would our relationships change with each other across differences if we witnessed each other as sacred? If the land, and its inhabitants were seen as sacred? Some would say this is a tall order, in fact it would be a revolution unlike any we have seen. Our sense of interactions with each other and the land would be a stark difference from current cultural standards. I’m witnessing people today searching for something different in their lives, showing up for circles and searching for higher levels of consciousness. The Spirit is being awaken to a new way of being.
Let’s revolt and create the movement of love and compassion with each other and all in the sacred hoop of life.
Aho Mitakuye Oyasin
Jerry Buie