Our J Division Indigenous Policing Services team members believe that we honour our ancestors by continuing to learn and practice our teachings and our culture, and to share those teachings amongst each other, with our non-Indigenous colleagues, friends and families. Sharing teachings helps build a strong foundation for communication and to ensure we go about strengthening relationships by demonstrating cultural competency and cultural safety.
Recently, we met with Cultural Support Practitioner Chris Brooks, from St. Mary's First Nation (Sitansisk), to learn about Sweat Lodges. We are honoured to share the Sweat Lodge teaching as a way to learn, reflect, and honour the Indigenous peoples of this province.
From Cultural Support Practitioner Chris Brooks, from St. Mary's First Nation (Sitansisk)
Ceremony is helpful to provide people an opportunity to learn about Indigenous culture, traditions, beliefs. It is important to share the Sweat Lodge teachings with as many people as possible. Sweat lodges do not discriminate and serve as a purification of the body, mind, soul and spirit. Once you attend a Sweat Lodge Ceremony, you are a part of a family.
Most importantly, on our journey to enhanced cultural awareness, always make sure you are checking in with the Indigenous peoples who are sharing ceremony/traditions/teachings to learn more about their way of being. Enhancing cultural competency will ensure a stronger connection to Indigenous people.
What is a Sweat Lodge?
A Sweat Lodge is a sacred place where a traditional ceremony is performed to provide the opportunity to come back to our purest form of humanity in a safe and warm place. It is a dome-shaped structure, made of tree branches and covered in heavy fabric, with a grassy floor. The shape of the Sweat Lodge is symbolic of the womb of a pregnant woman. Indigenous spirituality believes that we have a spiritual mother and a spiritual father, the earth and the sky, who support you, guide you, nurture you, and care for you just like biological parents do.
Inside the Sweat Lodge, it is dark and quiet. Participants are only able to see the glowing red-orange stones within the lodge. Hot rocks taken from the sacred fire are referred to as "grandmothers" and "grandfathers" because they are believed to hold the knowledge of our ancestors. The grandmothers and grandfathers are heated as it is believed to awaken their spirits, and they are taken into the centre of the Sweat Lodge. Four rounds are generally performed. Water is added each round to varying degrees to create steam, which helps cleanse and purify the bodies of participants.
Who can attend a Sweat Lodge?
Anyone with a desire can attend a Sweat Lodge. However, participation is not recommended for anyone who is menstruating, pregnant, or anyone with medical conditions that could be impacted by the enclosed space and high temperature. Participants not able to go inside are still welcome to attend and support the other participants from the outside of the Sweat Lodge.
It is important to leave your ego at the door when taking part in a Sweat Lodge ceremony because everyone is to be treated equally. People are encouraged to use the Sweat Lodge as a safe place to come whenever they feel the need.
Traditionally, four days before attending a Sweat Lodge Ceremony, you had to abstain from all drugs and alcohol. Currently, a growing number of Sweat Lodge Conductors hold the opinion that they will not turn anyone away if they have the courage to attend the ceremony.
What can people expect when participating in a Sweat Lodge Ceremony?
The entire ceremony lasts approximately two to three hours. It is divided into four rounds with a small break in between to get some fresh air, water, and snacks outside of the Sweat Lodge. Each time you exit, more rocks come in. Everyone there will be assigned tasks throughout the ceremony, as the main goal is to teach and to share. It's important to understand that everyone is placed in certain locations inside for intentional purposes. The Sweat Lodge Conductor will typically have experienced Sweat Lodge participants present to help those who are not as familiar with the ceremony. The Sweat Lodge Conductor will sit closest to the door to the right of the entrance as it is western facing and promotes wellness. Females are to sit to the left, males sit to the right, and the two spirited get to choose where to sit.
Tobacco will be offered to the four fires that need to burn brightly. The first fire is the sun, followed by the one at the centre of the earth. The next is the one on the ground, heating the stones, which gives you warmth, heat, and energy. The last is the fire within each of us. The Sweat Lodge Conductor may make a right to left turn before entering, symbolizing the rising of the sun and a new beginning.
Indigenous language will be spoken during the ceremony and there will be drumming and singing. When you are asked to share or offer a prayer, you can either share out loud or pray in silence. When you're finished, you say, "All my relations."
A safety protocol will be established for those inside the lodge to make sure everyone is safe.
What are the four rounds?
The first round is for introductions, to ensure everyone feels comfortable easing into the Sweat Lodge. All participants have a duty to ensure the environment is welcoming, friendly, and respectful.
The second round allows the chance to honour and pray for all of the females in your life. During this round they will teach that women's sacred gift is to bring life into the world and that the role of the males is to protect and take care of the females.
During the third round, we will honour and pray all of the males in your life.
The fourth and final round is for offering forgiveness. You will receive teachings around the importance of moving forward and letting go.
Why is the phrase "all my relations" used?
It is an acknowledgement that we understand that we are all a part of a bigger picture. It's an acknowledgement that we need to honour and respect all living things out there.
Why do we offer tobacco to the Sweat Lodge Conductor?
We offer tobacco because it is a sacred medicine that connects us to Spirit World. When we offer it, we are asking for their time, wisdom and teachings. It is our belief that when you take something from the land, you give thanks by offering the sacred medicine of tobacco.
What do you need to bring with you to participate in a Sweat Lodge?
- The will/desire to participate.
- Pipe tobacco as an offering for the Sweat Lodge Conductor.
- Comfortable clothing (i.e. Shorts, t-shirt, for women a long loose skirt).
- Change of clothes.
- Water and snacks for sharing (i.e. water bottles or a jug of water, fruits or veggies, granola bars).
- Two towels.
- Flip-flops/sandals.
How did you become a Sweat Lodge Conductor?
Growing up, Chris Brooks experienced a lot of trauma in his community as well as alcohol abuse and intimate partner violence in his own family. In his younger years, he always felt ashamed being Indigenous. He abused alcohol through his life to supress some of his feelings of shortcomings. As he got older, he found himself searching for his identity as an Indigenous person.
As Chris grew older, his eyes and heart started to open up to Indigenous culture and traditions. At the time there were a handful of Indigenous trailblazers in his community who practiced culture and traditions, in particular the Sweat Lodge Ceremony. One day, Chris decided to go take part, despite being nervous, with no expectations. He immediately fell in love with ceremony and kept going back every Friday for a very long time. Finally, he was asked by a very influential Elder if he ever considered leading the Sweat Lodge Ceremony someday. Still experiencing feelings of shortcomings, he expressed his hesitation. The Elder took a grain of earth and picked it up, he said, "Look around you, this grain of earth is what I know.", and he realized that we are all on a very vast learning journey.
This teaching gave him the courage to fully embrace his culture and become committed to learning. Since he made that commitment, he has become accepted into a group of traditional people in his community as well as many other parts of the country. He has since become a Sweat Lodge Conductor and Pipe Carrier. He has enjoyed many gifts from traditional ceremonies he has been a part of, including fasting which involves weakening yourself physically to connect and gain spiritually. Through this ceremony, he received his spirit name which is "Spotted Turtle/Lapskahasit Cihkonaqc". The turtle's purpose is to help people and is very important in the Indigenous creation story.
Woliwon | Wela'lin | Thank you | Merci,
J Division Indigenous Policing Services team