In this episode, I am catching up with my friend La’goot Spencer Greening. La’goot is a Tsimshian leader, storyteller and academic. In addition to being a passionate hunter and forager, La’goot generously shares his perspective around the importance of Indigenous knowledge and stewardship of the land.
I wanted to ask La'goot about his perspective on ceremony around the hunt. This past hunting season I witnessed a range of ceremonies that hunters practiced after taking the life of an animal. At one end of the spectrum, I overheard what sounded like a new years eve celebration as a couple of nearby hunters got lucky on the road, to being part of Miki's first hunt where her ceremony involved calm moments of contemplation as she processed the experience of taking her first animal.
We start with a question about holding a ceremony after taking an animal’s life and dive deep into a conversation around rituals, that, in some traditions, start a long time before the hunt takes place.
La'goot shares his experience of the role that his community, elders and mentors play in learning rituals and developing the practice of ceremony. We reflect on how having those connections can help new hunters be more present in their actions and have a mindful experience when faced with taking an animal's life.
This podcast goes in a few more interesting directions. I am grateful for these insightful conversations with La'goot, and I feel fortunate to be able to share them with our listeners.
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