In honor of Indigenous People's Day

Photo credit: CDC-Kaiser ACE Pyramid

To honor our ancestors and our future generations, I’d like to take a moment to honor this special day by wishing my third child, Gene Floyd, a very happy 7th birthday, 10/14/24!

It is important to remember that everything we do in our lives today, has to benefit the next 7 generations. In understanding our historical pasts, we know that our previous generations have been healing from traumas endured as traditional lifestyles have merged into the new American way of life. However, now that we have survived the aftermath of the turn, we have to move forward in a way that will benefit our future generations in terms of walking in two worlds. 

For my son Gene Floyd, this becomes even more important and urgent for meeting his needs to carry on for the next generations. He bears the name of his togo’o (mother’s father), Gene Harry, and his hoobe’e (great grandfather) Floyd Harry. With both of them passed away, and only having me, his mother, left to teach him what has been taught and passed down to me, to pass down to him, no time must be wasted. 

After a few near-death experiences I underwent these past few years, I had to fight to stay alive, because without me, who would teach my children? Nobody else knows what I know and need to teach them, because these are teachings that are passed down orally through family generations. I’m not the same as the rest of my family members, so can’t assume they would teach them the same things. I have to ensure that my children learn from me, and if not, then they will receive the pan-American Indian and assimilation teaching model of who we are and what our language is. 

However, this would be an inappropriate fit for my children, as it doesn’t teach exactly who we are. We are a combination of many tribes, and our family history is unique to our family. My togo’o, Floyd Harry, passed away when I was 14. Losing him was so hard to watch an important piece of history, language, and culture go with him. During his life, it was always hard for me as a child to leave him at the ranch each day to attend school. I always felt I learned so much more from him. My two eldest children and I had to endure the same experience, when my father, Gene Harry, became sick with cancer. It was very hard on me and my father to still have to send the children to school when we all just wanted to spend time together while we could. 

So, when it became my time, where I was in the same situation of fighting for my life, and the school demanding I send my child, rather than keeping us together to spend time and learn from each other, I knew that the urgency of the matter could not be taken lightly. If I were to go today, my children would no longer have me, my father, or my grandfather to learn from. They would be left to seek answers to questions others cannot answer. The morals and values that were passed to me from my father and grandfather would be replaced with others. A way of life that me, my father, grandfather, and great-parents knew for centuries on back, would be gone in a blink of an eye. 

That’s how critical Indigenous People’s Day is for me and my children. If I were to be gone tomorrow, they would be left to assimilate. Without current educational options to ensure that they are taught the teachings I need them to learn in our current state, homeschooling is our only option. 

Homeschooling allows me to reinstate our traditional ways of knowing and teachings by establishing the Poe’nabe (leader/head of household) system. It allows me to teach what is important and valued in my family’s line, which includes a Western, multi-cultural, and muti-linguistic lifestyle. It was highly favorable among my Northern-Wel-mel-ti (Northern Washoe) ancestors to speak many languages and excel in two worlds. Having a strong identity and knowing where you come from is an expectation of all my ancestors, as evidenced in our traditional introductions, as we take pride in stating our family lines. 

So, yes, Indigenous People’s Day is every day, through each season, and each calendar school year. When schools are not responsive to student and family needs, they further endanger the next generations by creating adverse effects that impact our families. For example, when students are struggling and falling further behind in school, they tend to take unhealthy risks, placing them in unsafe situations. This contributes to American Indian's high rates of high school dropouts, suspensions, and then missing and murdered Indigenous women and men. 

For my son, Gene Floyd, and his brothers and sisters, it is critical to use each moment we have to cherish each other and learn from each other, as when I’m not here, they will be here to teach their children. If I don’t teach them, the line stops here, and assimilation wins. We must honor our ancestors, by continuing to pass our knowledge on to our children, knowledge that has been among our people since time immemorial. We are now at a stage where thousands and thousands of years of knowledge can be gone in an instant. 

A recommended video to watch is Impact of Unresolved Trauma on American Indian Health Equity by Donald Warne, through his examination of how childhood ACEs (adverse childhood experiences) impact American Indian health equity. 

Impact of Unresolved Trauma on American Indian Health Equity

References:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). About the CDC-Kaiser ACE study. CDC. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/aces/about.html

Harvard Indigenous. (2021, February 23). Impacts of Unresolved Trauma on American Indian Health Equity. [Video]. Youtube. https://youtu.be/AcC5X50gCcw?si=a_C_qXnZwUM7Anm9

Warne, D., & Lajimodiere, D. (n.d.). American Indian health disparities: A case study. North Dakota State University. https://www.ndsu.edu/fileadmin/publichealth/files/Warne_Lajiomodiere_SPPC_Final.pdf. Accessed 14, Oct. 2024.