Blog Archives
Movember & 7 Grandfather Teachings (Truth)
Movember is quickly coming to a close as today is officially the last day! It is almost time to mow this Mo!
This is also the final blog posting for our series linking Movember and health literacy to the sacred 7 Grandfather Teachings. The 7th and final sacred Grandfather Teaching is Truth:
Debwewin—Truth: Truth is to know all of these things. Speak the truth. Do not deceive yourself or others.
It’s all about accountability. People need to be accountable to themselves first. I like this teaching because it explains that. Most people believe that we have to be truthful to others. But what about ourselves?
The same goes with health literacy. People need to know that it’s OK not to know something. But it’s also important to hold ourselves accountable to our actions. For example, the word “can’t.” People like to say things like: “I can’t lose 10 pounds. I can’t quit smoking. I can’t eat a balanced diet.” What if people changed the word to “won’t.” People might be saying: “I won’t lose 10 pounds. I won’t quit smoking. I won’t eat a balanced diet.” By using the word “won’t” we are giving ourselves a choice. People don’t like the word “won’t” because at the end of the day people want to make healthy lifestyle changes. So what if every time we use the word “can’t” we replace it with “I don’t know how.”
“I don’t know how to lose 10 pounds. I don’t know how to quit smoking. I don’t know how to eat a balanced diet.”
Simply by changing these simple words around, we can be truthful to ourselves, remove the barriers and allow ourselves to learn more about health literacy. Let’s be accountable to ourselves first and learn from all 7 Grandfather Teachings.
On behalf of the Good Learning Anywhere team and Sioux Hudson Literacy Council, we would like to thank you for all your support for Movember 2011. It’s been a great experience, we’ve promoted a lot of health literacy awareness for our learners, and we made some new connections as well.
Movember & 7 Grandfather Teachings (Bravery)
Movember is now in the home stretch with only 7 days remaining. I am sure there are some Mo Bro’s who are getting a little anxious and excited to shave their Mo’s. I can think of one Mo Bro at least.
We would like to continue this blog series with the 4th of the 7 Grandfather Teachings:
Aakode’ewin—Bravery: Bravery is to face the foe with integrity. In the Anishinaabe language, this word literally means “state of having a fearless heart.” To do what is right even when the consequences are unpleasant. Some communities instead use either Zoongadikiwin (“state of having a strong casing”) or Zoongide’ewin (“state of having a strong heart”).
Health literacy is the theme of this blog series and we’re linking it to the traditional 7 Grandfather Teachings. This is my interpretation of this teaching and health literacy. Let’s be honest, it can be painful to be honest. It’s not easy to face our challenges head on and admit that we have issues to deal with…especially when it comes to men’s health. As Movember Canada reminds us:
Studies show that many men don’t get regular health checks for the following reasons:
- Fear it will lead to a hospital visit
- Embarrassed to discuss their health issues
- Find it too hard to see a doctor because they just can’t fit it into their schedule
- Just can’t be bothered making an appointment
We need to be brave and do what is right when it comes to improving our health literacy. That might mean that we get out of our comfort zone. That might mean eating healthy foods that don’t taste as good as what we’re used to. That might mean that our muscles and bodies might ache when we do exercises and other physical activity.
So this Movember, ask yourself, “How brave are YOU?”
Movember & 7 Grandfather Teachings (Love)
Week 1 of Movember is quickly coming to a close. Many of the Mo Bros out there are definitely starting to gather some mo-mentum as their Mo continues to grow. Another thing growing is our increased knowledge about health literacy.
In our last blog, Movember & 7 Grandfather Teachings (Wisdom), we tied health literacy & Movember to the sacred teaching of Wisdom. In this blog, we are going to discuss the teaching of Love.
Zaagi’idiwin—Love: To know Love is to know peace. Love must be unconditional. When people are weak they need love the most. In the Anishinaabe language, this word with the reciprocal theme indicates that this form of love is mutual. In some communities, Gizhaawenidiwin is used, which in most context means “jealousy” but in this context is translated as either “love” or “zeal”. Again, the reciprocal theme indicates that this form of love is mutual.
In the definition above, there is one line that stands out for me. ”When people are weak they need love the most.”
So what does that mean? Weak does not mean lack of physical strength or endurance. Weakness can affect the mind, body and spirit. When a person is weak in one of these areas, they become unbalanced. They need love.
Through Movember, we’re going to read, hear and see a lot of information about health literacy. We’re going to encourage people to take care of themselves and tell them all these great things that they need to do.
But before we start spreading all this wonderful information, let’s consider getting our lives balanced – and that could all start with giving or receiving a hug! Maybe when a person feels loved, they will feel more inspired and motivated to take care of themselves?
What do you think?
Movember & 7 Grandfather Teachings (Wisdom)
Moustache season is now OPEN! Every November, men across Canada and around the world grow moustaches to support and promote men’s health awareness, specifically for prostate cancer. The month of November is now called Movember!
At Sioux Hudson Literacy Council and the Good Learning Anywhere program, our goal is to use Movember as an opportunity to promote men’s health awareness among our Native Stream adult literacy learners. To do that, I will personally be growing a Mo (short for moustache).
But I also wanted to write and share some blogs that link health literacy to our learners’ Native culture. This is not easy for me as I have not grown up in a Native culture but I will do my best to learn and share what I can. So, for this Movember season, I decided to write short blogs about health literacy and the 7 Grandfather Teachings. In each blog, I will choose one and share information.
Nibwaakaawin—Wisdom: To cherish knowledge is to know Wisdom. Wisdom is given by the Creator to be used for the good of the people. In the Anishinaabe language, this word expresses not only “wisdom,” but also means “prudence,” or “intelligence.” In some communities, Gikendaasowin is used; in addition to “wisdom,” this word can also mean “intelligence” or “knowledge.” Source: Wikipedia
I believe that in order for us to cherish our knowledge about health, we need to know where to access information about living healthy lifestyles. Here are a few links:
- National Aboriginal Health Organization (NAHO)
- Men’s Health Stats via Movember Canada
- Health Canada – First Nations, Inuit & Aboriginal Health
- Canada’s Food Guide – First Nations, Inuit & Metis
- National Collaborating Centre For Aboriginal Health (NCCAH)
Movember – Good Mo’s Anywhere
2011 will be our 2nd year participating in the Movember campaign. We are excited to participate this year and we encourage all learners, practitioners, administrators and supporters of literacy to join us in this campaign to promote health literacy.
Our team name is Good Mo’s Anywhere which is a play on words of our online literacy program called Good Learning Anywhere. Our objective with this campaign is to raise awareness for health literacy.
Everyone will agree, for the most part, that most men have a different perspective on health than women do. Men typically don’t talk about health issues, discuss problems with their doctor, or book annual physicals. As a result, the life expectancy of a male is 5 years less than a female in Canada (77 years old compared to 82 years old). Click here to read the facts on men’s health.
Movember is a great opportunity for all members of the literacy community to come together and support health literacy. It was interesting to be a part of this campaign last year because the Mo gets a lot of attention and several people came up to me to ask what the moustache was all about.
For the guys, we are asking them to grow a Mo (short for moustache) for the month of November and share in the discussion what health literacy means to you. Here are the rules in greater detail.
For the ladies (aka Sistas), please don’t grow a Mo but support your Bros any way you can. You can support the team by recruiting Bros – husbands, brothers, fathers, cousins, uncles….everyone is free to join the team.
Through the month, we’ll be posting blogs regarding health literacy, posting updates on Twitter, sharing some photos of the Mo’s, and having a lot of fun at the same time. And we encourage you to do the same…join the conversation and talk about annual physicals, living a healthy lifestyle, healthy diets, and knowing your family’s health history.
If you’re interested, please join our team and help support the Mo Bros. Note: Donations to Prostate Cancer Canada are appreciated but not mandatory and completely optional.
