A still small voice

A true human listens, says shaman Joseph Rael, whose indigenous name means Beautiful Painted Arrow. Does he mean someone who listens deeply to other people? No. He means someone who listens to himself.

Men in black

We are gestated as the stars are, in a sea of blackness, in the blackness of the womb. First Nations culture elevates blackness. The shaman Beautiful Painted Arrow recalls, “We were taught that if you see a Black man you would say, ‘Oh, he is my grandfather.’”