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https://indiancountrytoday.com/archive/how-to-honor-the-seven-generations>
"There isn’t a day that goes by in Indian Country that we don’t hear something
about the Seven Generations. From respected leaders like NCAI Chair, Brian
Cladoosby, to just about every Native high school or collegiate valedictorian
giving a graduation speech, someone you encounter today will likely invoke this
ubiquitous phrase.
Just who are the Seven Generations and how do we show proper respect for them?
And what does this concept have to do with our modern nations, particularly,
for the seventy Native governments that have cut individuals or entire families
from their citizenship rolls? After more than twenty years of following this
trend, it is clear that much can be learned from nations that respect their
ancestors, themselves, and those to come. Such nations exemplify the true
meaning of the Seven Generations by maintaining their integrity as peoples.
Vine Deloria, Jr. spoke of the Seven Generations in very practical terms. In
his cantankerous way, he would express extreme annoyance at the romanticism of
the concept as it was popularly used. Because, as explained to him, the
generations we are sworn to protect and revere are the seven we are most
immediately connected to.
Think about it for a moment. It is possible that many of us have known or will
know our great-grandparents, grandparents, parents, our children,
grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Even if we aren’t fortunate enough to
have been in the physical presence of those who came before us, we usually have
stories, songs, and photos that have been shared so that we feel a connection.
We also want to make sure our kids and grandkids are healthy, safe and aware of
where they come from. So, counting our own generation—ourselves, siblings, and
cousins—we are accountable to those seven generations, not some imagined
futuristic peoples two hundred years down the road.
Deloria’s articulation of the Seven Generations makes so much more sense on a
human scale and does away with the destructive myth of mystical, all seeing
Natives. In truth, our peoples were visionary but not in a passive, new-age
way. We actively tended our families and our clan-ties by holding the lives,
memories, and hopes of all Seven Generations close. Each generation was
responsible to teach, learn, and protect the three generations that had come
before it, its own, and the next three. In this way, we maintained our
communities for millennia."
Via Muse.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
