During my first pregnancy, a doctor told me that I wasn't ready to have children, that I had to take his medication and visit him every few weeks to check up. I wanted my child, and I did. A few months later, during the ultrasound, my heart stopped beating. He had no other words than to tell me that he had told me so.
I get pregnant again. I don't go to the doctor. I listen to my heart and my maternal instinct, which will develop strongly from then on. Through a happy encounter, during an event invited by a precious friend, a shaman appears on my path. I don't know yet and I've never met a shaman. I question, but I'm always open. He is happy to let the possibilities come to him. Inspiring me with powerful confidence, I tell him what I've experienced and how much I want to have children. He asks me if he can go see what happened. Of course.
He called me back a few days later to meet. In a cafe, he gave me his medicine in bear fat, with instructions to follow. What happened next blew me away. Everyone has their own experiences, but I'll keep this one to myself. He also told me that I would have my little makwa (bear), that it would be strong. All he asked was to eliminate the negative from my life.
When he met my Louis years later, I was struck by the resemblance between them. I spontaneously asked him if he would agree to be his godfather. His smile and powerful laughter accompanied his response. Not only did he accept, he would prepare a ceremony to welcome him into the circle of his community. How lucky to witness this initiation where knowledge, wisdom, and deep respect emanated to the point of having shivers from head to toe and feeling the emotion invade us. As if our roots were also gripping us to the depths of the earth. How lucky, this whole story. For hours, Louis followed and performed the rituals as if he had known them forever. Other chiefs present gave him offerings. Dominique dressed him in this bearskin, his totem animal, which has protected us ever since.
You now know the story of our bear skin (I am writing this story to accompany it for our guests at the cottage, the first couple is arriving right now, I have just prepared the house for them ❤ ).
Yes, you can now meet my friend Dominique Rankin (Kapiteotak, his birth name), Algonquin hereditary chief and medicine man admitted, in 2006, to the restricted circle of 49 recognized medicine men in Canada.
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