Elders Are the Gems of a Culture, Do Not Abuse Them

It is a well known fact to Cherokee People that it is not only the younger generation that is our most valuable asset but our Tribal elders as well. Elders are living beings with knowledge, experiences and visions of the past who we are blessed to walk with and learn from. They are true gems forever embedded in our history and survival. Our elders guide our lives well into the next generation.

They’re our advisors, our confidantes, and our link to what was and what will be. This link, crucial for our minds, bodies, and spirits, can only be shared with us through their stories of life, tradition, and sacrifice.

Kiowa author M. Scott Momaday summed it up best in his book, House Made of Dawn, saying of his grandmother, “When she told me those old stories, something strange and good and powerful was going on. I was a child, and that old woman was asking me to come directly into the presence of her mind and spirit; she was taking hold of my imagination, giving me to share in the great fortune of her wonder and delight. She was asking me to go with her to the confrontation of something that was sacred and eternal. It was a timeless, timeless thing; nothing of her old age or of my childhood came between us.” (1968, p.84)

This connection to the past and future our elders provide us is far more special than many realize. Lots of times people don’t grasp the power and importance of this connection until an elder takes the journey on to the spirit world and that individual is left with just memories.

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Elders are the Gems of Our Culture; Do Not Abuse Them