Manataka American Indian Council®
WHERE DO
YOU PUT YOUR INDIAN WHEN YOU ARE ACTING WHITE?
By Grandfather Dragging Wolf
Many years ago when I asked my Grandfather
(Dragging Wolf) why he did not buy him self some new cloths and dress up a
little, he smiled and said.. ..it is time for a lesson child. Just yesterday
I was asked the very same question that I had asked Grandfather so many
years ago, so, with out further ado...it is time for a lesson. I hope this
enlightens you as much as it did me.
Grandfather and I walked a distance to a large oak tree who's branches
nearly touched the ground and sat beneath it. Grandfather patted the trunk
of this enormous tree and asked.....if we took all of the leaves from this
tree and put them on the willow over there, and brought all the willow
leaves over here. Would this still be an oak tree? Would the willow still be
a willow?
As I pondered this question he drew out his pipe and slowly filled it with
his favorite Cherokee blend tobacco, as the aroma of rich southern tobacco
billowed around us he asked me one of the most important questions of my
life.
"Where do you put your Indian when you are
acting white?"
I looked quickly at him wondering what I was supposed to say, my Indian?
Where do I put it?
Softly he said, many people work very hard to be some thing other that who
they are, they must have the finest cloths or the biggest hat, but all of
that finery does not change who you are.
You can not take who you were born as and put it away until you decide to be
your self again.
When you wrap a box
for a birthday or Christmas, you work to put the wrapping on perfectly so it
will be pleasing to another's eye, but once the box is unwrapped it is still
the same box, the wrapping does not change the contents. People may darken
their skin or lighten their hair, but they still can not change what is with
in the box. You may work hard to act or look white, but to accomplish this
you must first put your Indian away, and so I must ask...how and where?
So when you are working hard to be some one else, what do you do with the
Indian you were born to be? If you continue to cover up who you are you will
soon forget where you came from.
Being born Indian or
White or Black or Asian is not a choice, it is a privilege. Our Great
Creator honors us with life , we are to honor HIM by being the best
caretakers of that life we can be. This Life gift is not ours to keep and
hide away with fancy wrappings or pretense, we are to embrace life around
us, be proud of who we were born to be, and honor our Great Creator. The
drums will always beat loudly in our hearts even through the noise of the
white world, and every time your feet touch our Mother's breast our souls
will feel the pull of those who walked before us.....
So when you go to buy that fancy suit or dress ask your self, do you dress
because it makes you feel good, or do you dress to hide?
Grandfather Dragging Wolf, Qualla Boundary
A persons true wealth can not be measured by what they
have gathered into their lodge, it can only be measured by the many hearts
that smile when the person enters a room. ~Grandfather Dragging Wolf