Turtle Island Solutions with Jeremy Makokis

By Laura Mushumanski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

(ANNews) – The Turtle – there are many teachings that comes with understanding this sacred being. One of them is ‘taking a turtle moment.’ In other words, shared by Jeremy Makokis founder of Turtle Island Solutions, “like the turtle, be slow and steady – take the time to look for meaningful connections through the heart.”

This journey of being slow and steady, for Makokis, started when he was a little boy. His father took healing into his own hands that led to teaching him about a traditional Indigenous way of life and what healing and helping others mean. Jeremy’s father started to learn how to run his own sweat lodges and would take Makokis along. “I was that little guy that would sit beside him and soak everything in.” And like most teenagers, Makokis got sidetracked for a bit, and then eventually started to lean into his curiosity of what could aid him emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually.

“When I was 18, I became sober – I quit everything and converted to Christianity for 20 years. There was still something inside of me that I felt was missing. At first, I hit my own rock bottom. Where I found myself was through the darkness. I was able to find out what makes me tick, what makes me who I am, and what my real path is…I used to have this idea where I would check off boxes of what would make me happy based on what I would watch on TV. I had the house, the car, the safe government job and pension plan; I was still empty, I was still disconnected from my people. My heart really had its calling to do something else.”

It was during those dark times for Makokis, and after his father passed away that he ended up learning ‘it is up to me, if it is to be.’ Now that he is a father, Jeremy understands that he had to do this himself and build support systems around him. And through this journey he was able to return to ceremony and his teachings, discovering who he is as an Indigenous person, and what he wants to do as an Indigenous person.

“I started to sit with my Elders again, obtaining direction and guidance through sweat lodges, and am still able to continue my journey with the Elder’s legacy with what I do. My late mentor always did things for our people and did it in a meaningful way at all different levels from community to government to industry. One of the things he always taught me was: Start small, do things right. Make it impactful and make it meaningful for those who are involved. Share your vison, take them along with you in your vision, include their vision in your vision and then grow – allow them to grow with you.” This led Makokis to creating the Spirit Builders Program within Turtle Island Solutions.

“You can really find anything within the turtle teachings,” Makokis shared as he reflected on the Spirit Builders Program. “My grandfather planted that seed with me. What I am learning, is about planting those seeds. We can’t offer people to change, to grow – the best analogy is: “All we can do is plant those seeds, in the end that tree is going to grow in whichever way it grows. It may look unhealthy, it may look beautiful, but it is all on how it was supported. You can really tell the growth of a tree. If it grows in shade, it is going to wander off and find light. It’s going to look dysfunctional but that’s its way of survival.”

For Makokis, supporting Indigenous community members in anyway he can is important to him, that stem from the seeds that his father and grandfather that planted for him. “Where our people are at right now, we want to be able to nurture them and offer that growth, space and environment, and grow in our ways and pace as well. That is what the Spirit Builders Program is about, not just an employment mentorship program, it is about me walking our people back to our teachings. I am still learning though and am not an expert. This allows me to pick back up where I left off when I was a kid when my dad started to plant those seeds with me.”

Through this journey of coming to know things differently from the idea Makokis once had about life, he has come to know that the “true meaning of love is something different, it is unconditional. We as Indigenous peoples are taught to give to others, we can learn a lot from each other, and we are learning to be spirits again and connect in that way.”