Six Nations Mohawk elder Janice Longboat made international history in 2019 for being selected to write a submission in part of the world’s first 3D book titled, “Genius: 100 Visions of the Future” to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Albert Einstein’s groundbreaking General Theory of Relativity. The book is now complete.
Genius 100, referred to as G100, was born out of the centennial celebration of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. To honour this landmark occasion, 100 of the world’s greatest minds were researched, selected, and nominated to contribute their vision of the future.
Longboat received her copy of the book and award recognition a few weeks ago and shared with the Two Row Times her thoughts on having participated in the project.
“For me, it emphasized my passion,” says Longboat. “And my passion has always been associated with my community. I’ve worked very hard all my life to make sure that the community lives their passion and takes care of one another.”
The book contains wisdom and advice from 100 recognized community leaders from around the world — giving feedback on their hopes and dreams for humanity’s next 100 years.
Longboat was selected as the only Onkwehonwe participant, in an ambitious project that brought together contributors like Barbara Streisand, Micheal Bloomberg, Deepak Chopra, and David Suzuki. The book is comprised of essays from 100 of the most eminent global thought leaders on their unique perspective of the fast-approaching future.
Longboat was profiled along with these thought leaders as an internationally recognized herbalist, elder, traditional healer, and teacher.
“Her vision is to promote and support healthy and safe first nations families through the teachings and practice of their culture,” says the Genius 100 website. Organizers call it a “century-in-the-making publishing milestone.
Longboat said she was among the first 25 people chosen for their vision of the future and the practical efforts they have been involved in within their own communities to bring about peace and understanding. Officials with Genius 100 said Longboat was “nominated and vetted by an international committee for her work for her community and for all indigenous communities.”
The following is Longboat’s submission;
Today it is my vision and dream to reclaim the sacredness of the Indigenous life circle.
The concept of the Indigenous circle is the braiding or tying together of all the spoken words of an Indigenous society. The words become a story to be forever passed on from generation to generation through the intent of the Good Mind.
As Indigenous people, we never wondered if the universe is more complex than our brain. The answer from the Indigenous knowledge keepers knew that in a metaphorical sense the universe is our brain, thus the Indigenous life cycle is the vision of the Good Mind.
Our ancestors may not have known the speed of light; however, they fully understood and practiced the really that the universe is greater than what we see and feel. Therefore the ancient Indigenous knowledge of universal energy of stories, visions, dreams, are not separate from our man consciousness.
How does one describe the human relationship of this great universal energy? When we come together in the circle of Indigenous cultural themes and act them out, the production of collective sacred energy connects to all life. Every day we send our greetings and thanksgiving to the Mother Earth, Father Sky, Grandmother Moon, birds, animals, plants, the four winds, medicines and water, and to the greatest gift of human life; the Creator.
“My vision today is to reclaim Indigenous thought, so we don’t destroy the interlocking web of life forever,” says Longboat.
