The Sacred Hand
On a medicine walk in Fredericton’s old-growth forest, Wolastoqey guides share living knowledge of land and reciprocity.
Standing at the edge of the Old Growth Forest in Odell Park, Cecelia Brooks takes a handful of dried tobacco out of her pouch and places it in my left hand.
“This is the sacred hand,” she says. “Before we take anything from nature, we must make an offering.”
I am about to embark on a group medicine walk with Wabanaki Tree Spirit Tours. Located in Fredericton, New Brunswick, it is operated by Cecelia and her son, Anthony, members of the Wabanaki First Nation (pronounced Wabanagi).
Before we set out, Cecelia asks us to each choose a part of the forest to offer our tobacco. I choose the earth by placing my share of tobacco gently on the frosted ground.
“We are taught that Earth is our mother, because the mother gave birth to all life,” Cecelia shares. “And that our original instructions are to take care of our mother – the earth – as a form of reciprocity. We take care of her, and she takes care of us”.
Growing up on the Saint Mary's reserve, Cecelia developed a strong connection to nature at an early age, with encouragement from her parents and community.
The Wolastoqiyik Nation (also known as the Maliseet) has lived along the Wolastoq (Saint John River) since time immemorial. The river, and the land surrounding it, remains central to Wolastoqiyik culture, identity and way of life.
The Wolastoqiyik are part of the larger Wabanaki Confederacy, a historic alliance of Indigenous nations across what is now Atlantic Canada and the northeastern United States. Known as the “People of the Rising Sun,” the Wabanaki were among the first Indigenous peoples to encounter European ships. Colonization heavily impacted Wabanaki communities and eventually caused the Confederacy to fall dormant in 1862, but they never ceded their land.
Today, the Fredericton Capital Region is located within the Wolastoqey traditional territory, welcoming visitors to learn and explore their rich history through Indigenous-led experiences.
“I think, as far as our culture goes, we still maintain our beliefs, because we haven’t left our lands,” Cecelia reflects. “We have a living memory, knowledge that my father passed on to me as a child.” It is that same knowledge that she then passed on to her son.
Anthony didn’t stray from nature either and spent a few years working with the Park Service at The Bay of Fundy before going into business with his mother.
Having spent 20 years working as a chemist away from home, Cecelia had a tough time finding work in her field, faced with racism and discrimination. Constantly drawn back to nature, she started her own company, Soul Flower Herbals, a plant-based body care and wellness brand. For a few years, she also operated a gluten-free bakery at the local market while working as director of research with the Mi'kmaq Chiefs.
Both feeling a need for a change, Cecelia and Anthony launched Wabanaki Tree Spirit Tours in 2019, an organization dedicated to the “preservation and advancement of Indigenous values through cultural experiences and interactions to create a more harmonious world.”
The Medicine Walk is one of their first and most popular offerings.
As we slowly navigate through this spectacular old-growth forest, a rare ecological find, Cecelia pauses to point out various medicinal plants, including 500-year-old hemlock trees.
“These trees remember a time before the settlers arrived,” she says, causing us all to look up at the tall tree trunks.
The medicinal properties of plants found in these woods have been used by Indigenous people for millennia. The knowledge is passed on from generation to generation and often finds its way into modern medicine.
Cecelia breaks off two stems from different, yet similar-looking bushes to illustrate the importance of this knowledge.
In her right hand is the Canadian Yew, one of the most toxic plants in the world. In her left is the common Eastern Hemlock, which you can safely steep into tea.
“Plants like these,” she says, lifting her right hand, “we call them strong medicine, because they too have benefits. This one is used in the cancer treatment formula.”
We stop to appreciate tinder polly mushrooms and other winter vegetation before settling in for a tea in the Three Sisters’ Garden, named for the three sister crops – corn, beans, and squash – commonly planted together by First Nations across North America. Even in this frigid weather, the circular garden is rich with vegetation: big tobacco, sage, sweet grass, sunchokes are planted around the benches, high bush cranberries shining through the dull winter colours on the side.
As we talk about traditions and how these ancient medicinal recipes have been appropriated by settlers, Cecelia shares balsam fir bough tea and pine cone cookies with the group. Amazed by their crumbly and scrumptious texture, we ask after a recipe, learning that it takes multiple days to make the acorn flour. The cookies are not for sale.
“I share these cookies because I want people to understand how our ancestors would have survived on the land before wheat flour was brought here,” she says. “You can make flour with many different things”.
Foraging is the main way Cecelia stays connected with nature, looking for medicine, ingredients used in her body care products, greenery for tea or acorns for the flour, among other nature’s bounty.
Through Wabanaki Tree Spirit Tours, she is able to share that knowledge with visitors.
“I think that the best way to describe the medicine walk is, it's an introduction into the Wabanaki history and culture for people interested in learning through our value system,” Cecelia says. “To actually meet Wabanaki people and to hear from us who we are, what our values are, and how our values have impacted us through generations.”
Kateryna Topol
Toronto-based travel writer, photographer, and content creator. Kateryna’s bylines appear in DreamScapes Magazine, EXPLORE, Jetsetter HK, AZURE Road, TravelWorld International, Low Season Traveler UK, and more.
She is the founder of an online travel magazine, pathstotravel.com, a North American music magazine, QuipMag.com, and a chapter lead for Travel Massive Toronto.
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