Dear Friends,
When I lived in the Midwest I remember encountering among the native peoples there the “Dish With One Spoon Treaty.”
The “Dish With One Spoon Treaty” is an agreement between Indigenous people, primarily the Anishinaabe, Mississaugas and Hadenosauneee nations, signifying a shared responsibility to care for and share the land around the Great Lakes region, where the “dish” represents the land and the “spoon” represents the people who should take only what they need and share with others to ensure sustainability; essentially, a pact to live together peacefully and respectfully on the same land.
What a beautiful way of thinking about governance. And this is a part of our heritage of this land. What a beautiful way of thinking about how we live together, care for one another, encourage and strengthen one another. When our screens and news are filled with anger, vituperativeness and hostility, it’s good to remind ourselves there are ways to live with one another that are not that. And we have, at various times, done it.
In this season of Lent, we can remind ourselves once again of what is possible and be encouraged to take steps in the directions in which our imagination is stirred!
Keep tellin’ the Story,
Mike
Listen, if you would, to this beautiful version of “Be Thou My Vision.”
Here are the four takeaways from this week’s Loop:
- In our history is something called “A Dish With One Spoon Treaty.”
- It is an agreement between diverse peoples who share life and land.
- In the midst of an angry, cruel, divisive season, it’s good to remind ourselves of the possibility of working together.
- Imagining during Lent can help us see a whole new world.