Welcome to Learning Circle. Learning Circle is what the name implies, a place to learn about Native American spirituality. To start with Native American Spirituality is less cognitive and more experiential. Therefore things are best learned through observing what is going on. Below are some of the things that you will experience while with us on Wednesday evenings:

1. You will notice a large drum in the center of a circle of chairs. In the Ojibwe tradition, it is customary to enter the circle from the east direction, and travel clockwise to your seat.

2. A large bag of drum beaters, shakers, and bells will be passed around. Men will take a drum beater, women will take a shaker. The bells are reserved for men, usually the leader of the group.

3. The leader will light a small amount of sage. The sage will be passed around person to person, again in a clockwise direction. You will notice that everyone will wave the smoke on their person, and also put their drum beaters and shakers through the smoke.

Sage is used for purification to cleanse our sacred items and our bodies. This is always done before ceremony to prepare us for what is to come. In time, you may feel a sense of great peace and calming whenever sage is burning.

Learning Circle

4. LET THE SONGS BEGIN. Often the leader will call in the spirits (invocation) from the seven directions: East, South, West, North, Father Sky, Mother Earth, and self. This may also be done in song. Then there will be singings. Even if you don’t know the words, feel free to move your shakers to the beat of the drum. The drum beat represents the beating of the hearts of all living things. Let your self go and listen to the drum.

5. When the songs are completed, the leader, or someone appointed by the leader will do a teaching. Then, the talking stick will be passed. The person holding the stick is the only one who may speak at that time. All other comments are to be kept quiet until the talking stick is passed to you. You may talk about the teaching or anything else that you need to talk about, work, marriage, money spouses, or anything that makes you happy or sad.

Everything that is spoken in our circle is to be kept sacred and therefore confidential.
When you are done talking, we say the phrase “all my relations” or Nindinawaymagun or Mitakue Oyasin. These words signal that you are finished and ready to pass the talking stick to the next person.

6. Now we turn to prayer: Often this prayer round is done in the dark. The leader will pass a small bag of tobacco. In the Native Way, tobacco is often used for prayer. You can reach in with your left hand, (which is the hand closest to your heart, and pull out a small pinch of tobacco and place it into the palm of your right hand.

An abalone shell will also be passed. When the abalone shell comes to you, it is time for you to pray. You can pray silently or out loud, or simply pass to the next person by saying, “all my relations” or the Ojibwe or Lakota equivalent. It is appropriate to say prayers for things that you need help with, or for others.

Sometimes people want to talk and tell stories during the prayer round. This is not appropriate. Talking should be done when the stick is passed. Remember that only prayers should happen when you have tobacco in your hand.

After your prayers are completed, place the tobacco into the shell, and pass it to the next person, saying, All my relations.”

7. Closing song or songs: After the prayers, we sing a spirit sending song, thanking the spirits for being there to help us in our prayers and our talking.

Again, feel free to join in, even if you don’t know the words.

8. As we finish everyone exits in a clockwise direction starting with the person to the right of the leader.

MIIGWETCH (Thank you for joining us).