A Lake Story
Elder Duke Redbird's poem
While making A Lake Story, I was very aware that I was a body of water connecting to Toronto’s bodies of water.
With that in mind (and so much more), I am moved to share this poem by Elder Duke Redbird, my friend and collaborator. He wrote it right after experiencing A Lake Story.
A Lake Story
Water is the daughter
Of our Sacred Mother Earth
And we humans reside
Upon her surface
Each one of us a silent tide
A moving sea
An ocean in disguise
Only revealing our connectivity
When salty tears appear
Before our eyes
Water belongs to the earth
As air belongs to the sky
As a heartbeat belongs to birth
There is a remarkable story
That demands to be told
Of paddlers and their canoes
Gliding upon the waters of the lake
Riding the ripples that their paddles create
Swirling the waters scattering a plethora of clues
Suggesting a hundred million hues
A pallet of colours that can only be seen
When we have the courage to peek between
The covers of our visions and our dreams
And discover the spectrum of colour and hope
Through a spiritual spectrascope
Beyond the vibrance of lights we see
There are undercurrents that contain a curious mystery
An aggregate of discarded debris
Seeking another visibility
Through the metamorphosis of chemistry
Inspired by the heart, hands, and creativity
Of two visionaries
Who took what they retrieved
And created the genesis of a new reality
© Duke Redbird, 2025
Dr. Duke Redbird is an Elder from the Saugeen Ojibway Nation. Read more about his work and teachings here.
My collaboration with Elder Duke Redbird has been at the heart of A Lake Story since the beginning of this creative process and I’m grateful for for his generous sharing of insights, stories, and perspectives during our time together, all which have guided me towards a richer and deeper relationship with the lake and the honoring of these waters. His voice and words are featured in the Lake Story film. Working with him has been both transformative and a profound honor.
Thank you for being here with me.
Love,
MM