Children of the Seventh Fire

Book excerpt: This book is written primarily for young readers aged 9 to 11 years, but is also of value to their teachers, friends, and families. This story follows a group of elementary school students as they travel to a nearby Indian reservation to join with Indian children and hear an Anishinabe elder a tell of the Seven Fires Prophecy -- a teaching of ancient wisdom that forsaw, long ago, what might become of the Anishinabe people. The prophets had foretold that the Anishinabe people would need to move from their Atlantic coast homeland westward throughout and beyond the Great Lakes, to recognize the existence of good and bad among all people and learn how to deal with these different traits, to anticipate struggles among and between people of different cultures, to gather and protect their native wisdom in the face of efforts to destroy or erase it, and -- according to the prophecy of the Seventh Fire -- to be prepared to recall and share that wisdom when the time was right. The elder concluded his presentation by suggesting that now might be the time for all of Earth's people to consider adopting more balanced, holistic world views, such as those of the Anishinabe people, in order to deal with the many social and environmental problems facing the modern world. "Indigenous people all over the world still possess the wisdom of how to think with their minds and hearts. If we bring this way of decision-making into our lives, it will help us create the positive change we need to make. We are living in the time of the Seventh Fire. It's up to all of us to determine if the Seventh Fire will light the Eighth and final Fire of peace and healing. If we make the right choices, we will be successful! Are we the new people of the Seventh Fire? Could you be the Children of the Seventh Fire?" After finishing the story, the elder asked questions of the students; they responded, discussions ensued, ideas were formed. Then they returned to their communities and, in many different ways, acted upon what they had learned from Kinoo's teaching of the Seven Fires Prophecy! Could you, your family, your friends, and your neighbors also be Children of the Seventh Fire? Indigenous wisdom draws upon the complex, holistic perspectives of traditional lifeways to help inform children and adults with a more comprehensive and balanced understanding of the modern world and its challenges. Such balanced insight helps individuals to make better informed decisions in all areas of their lives.