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“GRANDFATHER, I WISH TO UNDERSATAND”
GRANDFATHER, why do people call me mixed blood?
Grandson, it is because you are part elk and part bear. You are swift like the elk and stand your ground like the bear. You will succeed where others fail. In you lie the strength of several tribes. Your father's people are afraid of the bear but your mother embraces it. Your mother's people share their breathe with the horse while your father runs from the wind. Your heart holds the fireplace of several nations. You are a mixed blood my Grandson. Your heart shares the blood of the elk and the bear. Have the courage to follow her.
GRANDFATHER, has every dawn looked so beautiful?
No Grandson, there was a time when daybreak brought more heartache, more pain, and more loss. When mothers carried their dead daughters. Fathers carried their dead sons. Older brothers carried younger brothers and sisters. At night, your ancestors would lay next to their dead relations. As the new day approached, they would pick their dead up hoping the new day permitted them to be buried. As the soldiers led your ancestors to unfamiliar lands, your people never cried. They never used the soldier's horses or wagons. They never looked at the soldiers. They just walked and prayed.
GRANDFATHER, why do the spirits make our people suffer?
Grandson, to live is to suffer. To survive is to find meaning within the pain. To die is to once again be born.
GRANDFATHER, you have taught me that I must learn to be a warrior, find a wife and bare children. I have prepared myself as a warrior. But how do I recognize my wife?
Grandson, in her eyes, you will see my great-grandchildren. In her tears lie the hopes, dreams, and memories of our people. In her voice, firmness like a mountain unshaken by the storm yet gentle as the grass swayed by a breeze. Her physical abilities match your own. She humbly carries the weight of her family and people upon her shoulders. Her faith cannot be overcome by misfortune. She is silent for she possesses all qualities of mind, body, and soul. Her heart soars like the eagle, flows fierce like the buffalo, and fights like the bear. Like their mothers before them, she understands that her people were born into their arms and we leave this world in their arms. Grandson, your wife has prepared her whole life for your arrival. You will know her.
GRANDFATHER, how will our people succeed in a land that sets them up to fail?
Grandson, the Great Spirit wants to see all of his children do well. He gave each of us abilities on Mother Earth to reach the stars. For the white man, he was granted vast intellect. For the black man, he was given great strength. For us, Grandson, we are blessed with our spirituality. We understand and can use our Mother Earth, Father Sun, Sister Moon, and Grandfather Darkness to our advantage. Follow the footprints of your ancestors. Through their blood, sweat and tears, you will never fail.
GRANDFATHER, how will I ever learn how to lead when all I know is to survive?
Grandson, it is simple. Seek wisdom but beware for power follows wisdom. And foolishness follows power. And destruction follows foolishness. Wisdom will lift you high among your people. Power will destroy everything sacred. Know the strength of wisdom above power. Seek wisdom, Grandson.
GRANDFATHER, why do you have to leave?
Grandson, your Grandmother is waiting for me. She has been lonely without me and I have been without her. Don't cry for I won't be far. You can feel me in here, your heart. You can see me in your children. You can speak to me in your prayers. I have lived long enough to watch you become the man you are.
GRANDFATHER, I do not understand why the Great Spirit gives us things. And why He takes things away.
Grandson, understanding cannot be found in the land of the living.
GRANDFATHER, I love you. Please don't go.
Source: nativepeoples.com
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