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| Graphics & Backgrounds By: |
| Elders are not self selected. They are chosen by their people because of their life experiences and their willingness to be of service to others. Interestingly enough we also use a form of the word "elder" in anglo society, but it is "elderly" and has a negative connotation. My people are the Cherokee. I was not raised on a reservation. My heritage came to me when one of my ancestors married a young woman who had left the Cherokees before the removal actually happened. During the time when there was much bloodshed and fear. She and her older brother were taken from a campground near Chattanooga Tennesse (when she was one. and he two or three) and raised by a couple (the woman was thought to be Cherokee) who acted as an underground railroad for other Cherokees wishing to escape. None of this is documented because that's not the native way. It came in storytelling, handed down from generation to generation. When I committed my life to the direction that The Great Spirit (I use this and God interchangeably because to me they are one in the same) had in mind for me it was actually after years of trying to make my own decisions, which were usually in an entirely different direction. Traditionally in the Western World there is a great emphasis on "self will" which at times can be self deluding. We assume if we do work with others in mind, we will not be able to attend to our own issues. However, it is only by not being self focused that we can feel how we are part of the "web of life". |
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