Unreserved49:51Sacred Seven: Turtle’s teachings of truth
In the Anishinaabe creation story, the first woman to arrive on Earth, Sky Woman, is given a home on a great turtle’s back.
Anishinaabe grandmother Vivian Recollet says the turtle also played a role in her own personal creation story.
“Because I was not raised with my parents, it was that turtle that came to get me, to bring me to this beautiful life,” she told Unreserved host Rosanna Deerchild.
Recollet is a member of the Turtle Clan from Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory on Manitoulin Island in Ontario. As a Sixties Scoop survivor, reconnecting with Anishinaabe culture and teachings as an adult brought her on a journey of healing.
The path to reclaiming her identity reminds her of the turtle’s teaching, one of the Seven Grandfather Teachings: truth.
“I have come to find the truth, in every facet of my life,” she said. “It was the impact of colonization that changed our whole beautiful life journey from the one that had always been there for us as Anishinaabe people.”
Today, Recollet feels a responsibility to return that gift of healing back to the turtle in her home city of Toronto.
She is an adviser to Turtle Protectors, or Mishiikenh Gizhaasowin in Anishinaabemowin. The Indigenous-led program helps safeguard urban park-dwelling turtles against threats like foot traffic, pets, fishing and over-predation.
“We have a responsibility as Anishinaabe people to take care of those beings because they are the ones that sustained us from the beginning of time. They’re the ones that taught us how to survive, how to live,” she said. “The least we could do is honour them and protect them as well.”
‘Not just about turtle’
Turtle Protectors was founded in 2022 by Carolynne Crawley and Jenny Davis. It began its work in High Park in Toronto’s west end, but has since expanded its program to include six other parks in the Greater Toronto Area.
Its staff and volunteers raise awareness of urban turtles among park goers, protect turtle nests, and run a hotline to field reports of vulnerable or injured turtles.
Crawley was inspired to care for her local shell-dwellers after encountering a nesting mother snapping turtle on a walk in High Park. The encounter reminded Crawley of the importance of slowing down and being present.
“Turtle is such a vulnerable being, but is so in tune to their surroundings.… I think about how many times people may walk through a park and really not notice all the relations around them,” she said.
“So really, Turtle tells us to tune in, to pay attention.”
Crawley and Davis quickly discovered there was no official turtle protection program in Toronto, despite all eight species of turtle in Ontario being listed as species at risk.
Crawley says turtles play important roles in the health of their ecosystems, including keeping waters clean by eating the dead plants and dead animals in the water.
“And this work is not just about turtle; it’s about all our relations as well.”
Crawley sees her work as part of repairing the harms caused to the natural environment by colonization and resource extraction. She envisions a path forward where humanity embraces a reciprocal relationship to the natural world, as is found in Indigenous philosophies.
“The Earth can survive and thrive without us humans, but we cannot survive without the Earth,” she said.
“It could make a huge difference if we were to see all of these beings as family or as kin, to be treated with the same love and respect and gratitude as we treat our human loved ones. If we all just did that one thing, then so much can change.”
Joining the turtle’s journey
In the Anishinaabe Turtle Song, the turtle invites humanity on a journey to heal our Earth.
When Anishinaabe elder Garry Sault discovered the song, it was love at first listen. Sault credits the song to Elder Dan Pine, a medicine man from Garden River First Nation who passed away in 1992.
The song tells the story of the turtle setting out on a journey across the land and waters.
“He sees all his medicines and his places of beauty have been rolled over by a bulldozer,” Sault said. “Instead of healing, they desecrated the land and put it in a bad way.”
“So he’s saying come along with the Anishinaabe and us, and let’s look at the Earth and all of the things that have to be looked after, and see if we can help to heal it.”
Elder Garry Sault explains the meaning behind the Anishinaabe turtle song, and why he performs it in ceremony.
Sault says that the Anishinaabe have a responsibility to take care of the land and waters. For his part, Sault takes part in projects protecting his local environment, such as monitoring the health of nearby rivers and streams. The Turtle Song serves as a tool for engaging governments and business interests with his message.
“Then when I go into the things that are not so nice for them to hear, they have a reason to listen to me because I told them what happened, why the turtle is doing it all.”
“I want those people to come along with me on the same journey that I’m taking so that we can help to save the Earth in this time of climate change, make it into a journey where both of us are looking for the same outcome, a good and safe place for our future generations.”
This story is part of a series from Unreserved called Sacred Seven. The series explores the seven sacred teachings and introduces us to Indigenous Elders, knowledge keepers and community members who are putting those teachings into action.