Sharing her visions
For Indigenous seer Ms. Margo, a descendant of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, once-in-a-century gift is a beautiful blessing
Calming music echoed around the lime green and turquoise room. A mixture of earthy, herbal scents filled the air, rising to meet the handmade dreamcatchers dangling from the ceiling and wrapping around the back corner of the space, where various soaps, oils, paintings and dolls made of grass could be found.
A small table sat next to the window, with beaver pelts and a drawstring bag of animal bones on it. Sitting at the far end of the table was the building’s owner: Margo Anna Victoria Rhell Sanchez Seraté Smith Tindall Smith Greenbird Jablonowski, also known as Walking Wolf Eyes. But she said people just call her “Ms. Margo.”
Ms. Margo is a 58-year-old Indigenous seer who currently lives near Romeo. She’s half Chippewa, a quarter Ottawa and a quarter Mayan/Atzec. She said only four clairvoyants, or people gifted to see events from people’s past and future, are chosen for her clan every 100 years, and her parents knew when she was born it was between her or her twin sister, Marlene.
“I have lighter skin and lighter eyes,” she said. “My twin has very dark hair, darker skin, darker eyes. … So that’s how they knew it was one of us.”
Ms. Margo said she’s had the gift of seeing visions as long as she can remember. She said she remembers how it felt to be born, and has early memories of being bathed in the sink next to her sister. She also said she remembers her grandmother, Viola Smith, or “Granny Smith,” would whisper messages into her ear as an infant.
Ms. Margo grew up in Ferndale, with her father, Melvil Smith of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, and her mother, Esther, who is Mexican and Atzec. She said she grew up with both indigenous and Catholic teachings, and that influenced her to view religion differently.
“My mother and father were very open minded to all
religions and spirituality,” she said. “My father used to tell the story about Chief Red. … When white people came to Chief Red and said ‘You must believe this book’ ... at the time, he said ‘You have Protestant, Catholics, Baptists, and you all fight. We just believe.’
“So I think it’s just believing in what you feel is true.
(Being) honest, kind, caring, wise, loving… And how even though we go through tragedy, hurt, pain, sorrow, depression, we can have hope and emerge back up. So to me, it’s all the same religion.”
Ms. Margo said this viewpoint shapes her practices today, and that she understands others may judge her and what she does, but her religious viewpoints make it not affect her as deeply.
‘Overwhelming and beautiful’
Today, Ms. Margo said she offers psychic readings, such as messages from past people or predictions for the future, online through her website. She said when she does readings, she doesn’t even need divination tools and can just close her eyes and see the visions she needs to based on the questions the clients ask her.
“I just close my eyes and trust myself, trust God,” she said. “And I don’t remember all of what I say. It’s almost like going in a little trance, which is good because at times … it gets really heavy. So I’m glad that God does not have me remember it all or carry it on my heart. Sometimes it takes a little while to kind of release that heavy energy (after a session).”
She said questions about love and money are the most common, but she has many moments with clients that have stuck with her.
For example, she did a reading for a female client where she saw a woman and started to taste butter pecan ice cream (which, she noted, is a flavor she doesn’t like).
After Ms. Margo told the client what she saw and tasted, the woman broke down crying.
“She goes, ‘That was my partner, she died. That was the last thing she ate,’ ” Ms. Margo said. “I got goosebumps, I freaked myself out. When things like that happen, it is overwhelming and beautiful ”
Ms. Margo said she does have some divination tools at her disposable, such as animal bones like bird talons and whale teeth, but she doesn’t necessarily need them. She said these tools were passed down to her, but didn’t come directly from her family members.
“They all represent or mean something, depending on how it’s laid, and what it’s laid next to,” she said. “Some have been stolen or taken from me, or lost. Some people toss them up in the air like it’s confetti.”
Sharing her gifts
On her website, Ms. Margo sells protection oil made from sage and chamomile, as well as goat milk soap with other herbs included in it. She also sells various handmade items such as dreamcatchers, drums, prayer dolls and paintings.
Out of all of those items, she said the protection oil is a best seller, and she said it was
actually created because of one of her nephews.
“He had bad asthma and we couldn’t smudge around him,” she said. “He would get an asthma attack. I had a dream and vision to have sage oil and chamomile because I thought chamomile would help calm and relax him. I bought those two and put Vitamin E oil in it too so you can wear it and always be protected. He grew out of the asthma, but now I still sell the crap out of it.”
While her indigenous heritage shows up in craft and work, Ms. Margo said it also has shaped her as a person. She said growing up, her family was discriminated against in the city, and only in recent years she’s seen people start to respect indigenous culture and want to learn more about it.
“It’s not something I tell people every single day,” she said. “(But) It’s a great honor. It’s really honoring your ancestors in your heart. When you say honor, you’re not just honoring who you are today, you’re honoring the past and the future.”
Ms. Margo said at her house, she hosts drum circles both for adults and for children. She said the family and community aspects are very important to her.
“Back in the day, you would never call anybody,” she said. “You would just drive by and knock on the front door and visit people. They don’t do that nowadays. I have two people and they’re both natives that will do that still.
“That friendliness, that respect, the spontaneity, regardless of what that other person might be doing in their own home and everything. ... They’re there to visit the person, not the home.”
Ms. Margo plans to be in Mount Pleasant for a Psychic and Holistic Expo happening from 9 a.m to 6 p.m on Nov. 16 and 17 at the Morey Courts Recreation Center. She said she will have her own booth and will be selling the same items from her online shop.
Those interested in attending and meeting her in person can purchase tickets on Eventbrite.
