When Ken died in February 2021, we had an outpouring of messages from readers, with many telling us how much his columns meant to them. In light of that, we thought we would go back through our files and re-publish some of them. Ken would be flattered by the kind words readers expressed. We miss him as a friend and as a storyteller.

 It’s been a while, but I’ve been trying to keep up with what we, in the Cree Nation, and many other First Nations, call the Medicine Trail. Many of the ceremonies practised by First Nations have evolved through the centuries. These traditional ceremonies demand endurance and strength. A person doesn’t jump into these ceremonies. Some take years of preparation. It takes an incredible amount of focus with all senses of the human body working together — not just the five senses. but also the physical body and brain coming together to take on the next step of the ceremony. A good example is the Sun Dance. The ceremony is practised in different ways by First Nations across North America. Regardless, it takes years of preparation and endurance and strength. One of the most beautiful Sun Dances I’ve attended was at a Cree ceremony. An arbour of trees and branches is built. 1t’s oval and about the size of an average house. The ceremony starts just before sunrise.

In the Cree language, we call this Wapun, which basically means that silver lining just before the genesis of the rising sun. Women and men are separated. Dancing with both groups facing each other within the arbour. Women dance facing west and the men dance facing east. The drummers and singers start when the sun brings its first light. From there, non-stop, the dancers, will slowly dance in sync with the beat of Mother Earth. The Sun Dance is not exclusive to First Nations people because I’ve met people from Germany, Japan and many other places around the world at ceremonies. They, too, have prepared to test the human limit. At one Cree ceremony there as a huge man from Sweden. He stood around six-foot-six and weighed at least 250 pounds.

At the start of the ceremony, the dancers slowly bounce to the beat of the drum. They start slowly because they have to do this for four days without food and water. The man from Sweden, however, started jumping as high as he could. I was thinking he’d be lucky to make the first day, never mind four straight days. Never underestimate what a person can achieve if they stay focused and have the mindset of never giving up. The dude from Sweden was still jumping on the fourth day and when the sun went down, he completed what he set out to do. It takes an incredible amount of physical strength to achieve what he accomplished. Strength also can be found in the human spirit. A friend of mine from Saskatchewan had passed away in Alberta. He wanted to be buried back on his reserve in Saskatchewan.

The timing couldn’t be worse because his wife was about to give birth to their baby. Because of provincial laws, a human body, transported by plane, has to be in the air at a set time. The clock was ticking when we heard my friend’s wife had given birth. There were many people at a country hall where my friend’s body rested. His casket was still open and people were getting ready to pay their final respects. Word got out the baby was born healthy but the mother and child were nowhere to be found. Of course everyone became worried. Some even suggested sending out a search party to check the many grid roads in the countryside.

What we didn’t know was the mother had explained her situation about transporting her husband’s body. The doctor allowed her, with the escort of an ambulance, to take the baby to the hall. People were lining up when the door swung open. It was the mother and child. Tears flowed when she said there was no way on Earth the baby wouldn’t be with the father before he was flown back home to be buried. Now that took an incredible amount of strength of the human spirit. The Medicine Trail has many challenges. At the end of the trail I will face my greatest enemy — myself.

-Ken Noskye