Two things I can't help but admire and notice
in the Native Americans I've met in California: They include the
kids in everything, passing on their heritage in events like this;
and elders are respected and well taken care of.
I wish the joy on this little girl's face, dancing with her relatives,
showed up as well as I remember it in person. Her grandfather,
on the right, who traveled a considerable distance to attend this
pow-wow, was a real delight also.
I've attended this particular Fiesta several times, and have been
happy to see it expanding as years have passed. Also, during the
span of 15 years or so that I've been going to this reservation,
kids have started for the first time studying their native language,
and more people have started learning again the older crafts,
such as traditional ways of pottery-making.
I've been fortunate, in spending considerable time as an environmental activist, to work together with a number of Indian tribes, and individuals, in both Southern California and Arizona. I find a prevailing attitude among non-Indians that the time of our Native Americans is long past, that they only existed as any significant or important population back in the *Cowboys and Indians* days we see in the movies. Our limited historical perspective blinds us from taking a look at Native Americans today. Are we afraid of what we might see if we take a good look?
What have I seen myself? A thriving and spiritual people, still fighting oppression from the dominant culture around them. A people of tremendous patience, who are appalled at the white-mans ways of greed for money and the warehousing of elders into institutions. A people who look to Mother Earth with trust and affection, as a living being to be cared for and nurtured, as She nurtures us. A people who do not appreciate hip young white folk who try to be Indian shamans, but who have great appreciation of environmental activists, who may be better equipped then themselves to fight in courts and in government agencies to preserve land held sacred to tribal peoples. I see a people who believe in the power of prayer, and who practice it often, in a variety of colorful and joyful ways.
In todays American society, I see a business run culture, willing to strip bare the land for immediate profit, hardly thinking of what kind of mess we are leaving for our grandchildren, and all but forgetting how differently, how lightly, our own grandparent's, or perhaps great grandparent's, generation lived on the earth, before the huge expansion of industry in the twentieth century. Amongst Native people, I see people who follow an ethic of *Think seven generations back with respect, and act for the benefit of seven generations into the future.*
Within Native cultures, I see a people who maintain family links through the generations, as shown in the Pow-wow photograph above. Children are raised with the idea *Respect you elders* as a primary key to life. As a Native American grows into old age, he or she is almost undoubtedly not only taken care of by children and grandchildren, within a multi-generational home, but is still revered as head of the household.
Of course there is exceptions to all of the above. We all know the image of the drunk Indian. But somehow we pull a blind eye to how that very same drunk Indian can pull himself together again, and live a respectable and honorable life. And we pull a blind eye to those who quietly go on living a life of sharing songs and rituals of their peoples, which uplift the spirit, and carry on the sacredness of all life down through the generations.
Mostly, I believe, Native Americans prefer to share their sacred songs and dances only with other Indians, but often too, Pow-wows are held where all people are invited, such as the Pow-wow I often attended photographed above. Many such events are listed on the internet, and are often held even within cities ~ on college campuses and in city parks, as well as on Reservations. They are an excellent starting place to meet up with the Native American Way.
Jay Mohler
jay@ojos-de-dios.com