Thursday was a day filled with a lot detailed information about different aspects of education. The morning reading was very intense and it created a lot of great dialog about our tribes and our own values. One area that hit home was the part about how to be "fully Onkwehonwe" in modern society. There were different opionions about the subject but this is how it spoke to me.
In order to be fully Onkwehonwe in a tribal sense-- we have to pay close attention to our tribal values and practice them to the fullest. In my tribe some of the values is love, respect, and community. Those values are always preached but rarely practiced, especially by those who are doing the preaching. Tribal life has changed so much over the years, and mainstream values now tower over our tradtional teachings. Money, politics, and selffishness has taken over and little by little our communities are becoming detached from "our mother."
To be Onkwehonwe is to live a life fueled by your tribal values and do what is right for you, your family, and community. This transition will take a lot of self reflection because there are so many values and perspectives that need to be evaluated-- it can't be done over night. I feel that our communities would be more healthy and productive if "everyone" took that leap into a new way of thinking and living. Traditionally, everything our mother gave us was sacred and positive, but she has taken a lot away from us because we were not using her gifts in the way she intended. As a Laguna Pueblo person, we have to hold onto what is left of our mother's gifts-- and one way to honor her is by living the life she set out for us.
Leroy, I agree! It is so difficult to witness how powerful core values and keeping true to tradition are preached, yet the one's preaching are the farthest from taking their own advice! I oftentimes find it very frustrating especially knowing how small communities can be when it comes to gossip. The one's preaching not to gossip, and to be good to one another, especially are purposely blind to their own actions as well as their children and grandchildren.
ReplyDeleteThis is having very negative effects on our youth. A lot are growing up without a sense of what it means to be Cree, Laguna Peublo, Navajo, etc. Some of them only have a sense of our tribes through what the popular media wants them to know. They don't have a person teaching them about tribal protocol or values. In school they get a little bit of teaching of culture and then they go home where it isn't practiced and then they wonder, its worth. Hopefully as we continue down this path of fighting the good fight to get our young ones to understand who they are and where they come from they will come away with a better sense of their tribe and themselves.
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