Toward a More Expansive Wealth

In the culture I grew up in, money was something to earn, save, and grow. Its highest and best use was to create individual wealth and security, with maybe family wealth and some charitable giving thrown in when the kid or the cause was worthy.

Does that sound familiar?

Over time, I’ve learned something that might be obvious to you: a narrow focus on money as the only or most important kind of wealth makes us all poorer.

Our collective wealth encompasses so much more than money. It includes the water, air, rocks, forests, and creatures that surround us, the relationships we have with each other, and the knowledge we gather and preserve in community. 

I recently came across a resource that shares a glimpse of how money fits into a different worldview than the one I grew up with. Braiding Mind, Body and Spirit: A Financial Wellness Bundle for Indigenous Communities was created by Simon Brascoupé, a writer and a teacher from Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg, out of a much more expansive concept of wealth. 

Inspired by the idea of traditional bundles that carry medicine, sacred items, and teachings, Brascoupé wanted to support community members with practical tools for handling money that are grounded in traditional ways of seeing and valuing the world. 

He starts from a place of questions: 

‘What does your heart tell you?’  

‘How can your money support your community?’  

‘What teachings have your grandparents shared about giving and receiving?’  

While you’ll recognize some of the concepts, this is not a rebranded version of western financial advice. Money, in this model, is a tool for regeneration, balance, and sovereignty. 

As Brascoupé says: 

“Money isn’t separate from the rest of your life. It’s deeply connected - to relationships, wellness, and healing. When we use money in ways that support balance, community, and future generations, it becomes a tool for healing”

Braiding Mind, Body and Spirit: A Financial Wellness Bundle for Indigenous Communities has been made freely available in collaboration with AFOA Canada and Prosper Canada.

If you learn something or find value in it, and are, like me, a settler on stolen land, you can show gratitude for its teachings by sharing resources with organizations like Toronto Indigenous Harm Reduction.