PRACTICE TEST

Fill in the Blank _________________ may be conducted as a preliminary to other activities, such as a fast. In the center of the lodge is a fire pit, into which the _________________ are placed by the ____________________. The bowl of the sacred pipe, with its hole for accepting the pipe stem, represents the ____________________; the stem, then, represents the ___________________. Joining the pipe symbolizes a union and a balance between these two aspects of the world. Spirit Guides are ____________________ spirits, such as ___________________ the Bear.

Multiple Choice 1. Which of the following is not one of the four elements present in the sweat lodge: a. Earth b. Fire c. Air d. Trees

3. When speaking of the sweat lodge, the “grandfathers” are: a. The male elders, who are to be respected b. The trees used every year to build the lodge c. The stones heated in the fire to make steam d. The spirits that are prayed to

10. Terri Jean asserts that “Genuine spiritual leaders would not set out to…”: a. Share their teaching with non-Natives b. become politically active c. demonstrate their spiritual abilities in public d. make a profit

Short Answer Describe and define the seven directions of the Medicine Wheel as well as what they represent (give examples). Explain the significance of the number four in Mi’kmaq culture.

Essay Based on what you have learned about Mi’kmaq spirituality, discuss, using examples, how this quote is representative of Mi’kmaq spirituality: “So this is what we truly believe. This is what reinforces our spiritualities: that no being is greater than the next, that we are part and parcel, we are equal, and that each one of us has a responsibility to the balance of the system”. Albert Marshall, Mi'kmaq Elder, from an interview in Taking Charge of the Bras d'Or: Ecological Politics in the 'Land of Fog'

–Read the poem below. Explain how the poem relates to the spirituality of the Mi’kmaq people. Be sure to use direct examples from the curriculum.

THE SACRED CIRCLE “You have noticed that everything an Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the power of the world always works In circles, and everything tries to be round. In the old days all our power came to us from the sacred hoop of the nation and so long as the hoop was unbroken the people flourished. The flowering tree was the living center of the hoop, and the circle of the four quarters nourished it. The east gave peace and light, the south gave warmth, the west gave rain and the north with its cold and mighty wind gave strength and endurance. This knowledge came to us from the outer world with our religion. Everything the power of the world does is done in a circle. The sky is round and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball and so are all the stars. The wind, in its greatest power, whirls. Birds make their nests in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours. The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle. The moon does the same and both are round. Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing and always come back again to where they were.” - Black Elk