Teaching Our Children: Elders' Meditation: April 2, 2009

"If anyone has children, they better teach their children to follow the traditions that we're leaving behind because it is later than we think with all that's going on."

--Juanita Centeno, CHUMASH

The habits, attitudes and beliefs that carry the human through the trials of life are developed at a very young age. If we are taught respect at a very young age, the odds are we'll be respectful throughout our whole lives. If we are taught to dance at a young age, we'll dance our whole lives. If we are taught to sing the traditional songs while we are young, we'll sing those songs throughout our whole lives. And who do we drum and sing songs to? Our children. This is how we keep it going.

Great Spirit, today, teach me to teach the children

Our "Elders" are now passing, going back home to Creator. Their time here is over, so what are we going to do? We have taken them so much for granted, we figured that they would be the ones who would teach our children, that we wouldn't have to worry, we could just sit back and take it easy.

Well, guess what? It's time those of us on the Canka Luta Waste get up off our seats and follow in the footsteps of those who are going on. It is up to us to teach our children. It is up to us to take what we have learned (if anything) and pass it down to the younger generations. It is no longer about "us", it is about our children's children, the next 7 generations and our non-two legged relations. It is about the continuance of life on this Unci Maka (Mother Earth) as we know it.

We ARE The Elder's now, and we better wake up soon and figure it all out or step aside. We are now responsible....we can no longer pass off the responsibility of raising capable children. We are the ones to set the example if these ways are to continue in the "Traditional" manner, so that chaos does not ensue....

We are the ones to set the example, not be the exception. We are the ones to be the bright and shining example of what it means to be the solution as opposed to being a part of the problem.

Yeah so it's like that. Mi Takuye Oyacin