As a young girl, says Giselle Aiabens, she was a pretty good long-distance jumper, a decent high jumper, and the fastest runner at school in her age group.

“One year I came home excited about all the ribbons I earned at the track and field competition,” recalls the Indigenous enrolment advisor in the Office of Enrolment Management.

“I busted into the door excitedly yelling ‘look at all these ribbons I won!’ to my mother who hushed me and told me it wasn’t good to brag and that this didn’t make me any better than anyone else.”

While her mother’s response made her sad, Aiabens says, it taught her not to be so boisterous about her ribbons.

“For many years I didn’t think anyone really knew or cared about my ribbons until I overheard my mother — unbeknownst to her — gushing to my niece, who was then the same age I was when I was a ribbon-winning runner, that I was fast as lightning and always came home with multiple ribbons for multiple events when I was her age. She even had the ribbons to show her.

“Through this I learned to be humble and saw, through my mother’s example, the importance of praising others’ accomplishments. Hearing her speak about my accomplishments with pride made me feel much better than any time I’ve had to speak about my own accomplishments,” says Aiabens.

She draws on this lesson to illustrate her understanding of the Anishinaabe concept of humility or dabadendizwin, one of the seven Grandfather Teachings represented along Turtle Island Walk.

Her spirit name is Gizhiiyaanhzhe Anangoonhs Kwe, and she is Ojibway of the Three Fires Confederacy, Mukwa dodem, Doogaaning-Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory.

“Humility is knowing that we are a sacred part of creation,” she says. “As Indigenous people we understand our relationship to all of creation and we accept that all beings are equally important including ourselves; we are no less nor are we any better than others.”

She emphasizes that humility is not thinking less of yourself, but rather thinking of yourself less.

“It’s important to know that Anishinabek raised with teachings of humility can often struggle with feeling like they’re being too boastful if they attempt to speak about their own achievements,” Aiabens says.

Watch for articles on the other teachings in DailyNews through the summer.