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Resiliency In Action
- 1. Native American Heritage Month 2013
- 2. Maintaining Our Cultural Identity 18th Wing Native American Heritage Month Committee presents By SrA Esteban Salmón
- 3. Today there are over 3 million Native Americans in the U.S. There are 18.5 million in North America Approximately 50 million Indigenous peoples in the Americas
Notas do Editor
- Cover Slide
- Introduction Good morning everyone. I’d first like to say Matétera-bá, or thank you in my tribe’s Native language, to the 18th Wing Native American Heritage Month committee for their hard work in organizing and putting on this event. *initiate applause* I’d also like to thank everyone who came out this morning to support Native American Heritage Month. It means a great deal not only to myself as a Native American, but also to the millions of Native Americans living today to have your support, thank you.
- Being “Native American” To begin, I’d like to first clarify the meaning of the term Native American and what it truly means to be one. *Read Slide* When the majority of society today thinks of Native Americans, they typically think of only the native people’s of North America. When in fact the term Native American refers to all indigenous peoples of North, South and Central America. Being Native American can also differ depending on which tribe you’re talking to or the individuals from that tribe. But to me, when I think of the meaning of being Native American, I think of things like stories, food, family and friendship; but most importantly, resiliency. This is picture of the famous Apache warrior Geronimo years after his captivity and isolation. Geronimo is one of my favorite Native Americans not because of his fame for resisting America’s expansion of the West, but as an excellent example of resiliency.
- Tribes of North America This is a map of the more commonly known Native American tribes remaining in North America. I say remaining because I feel it is important to never forget the hundreds of Native American tribes and clans that have long since literally become extinct due to the many cultural shocks and disasters they have fallen victim to.
- Native American Romanticism Native Americans have been highly romanticized throughout the last century. It’s societies common misconception that Native American’s are born with a “sacred knowledge” or “birth right to nature”. This is done primarily through traditional Native American stories that have been highly fictionalized and misinterpreted as traditional fairy tales. Although Native American culture can be portrayed quite beautifully through art, most of today’s society misinterprets these portrayals as being literal depictions of Native people’s beliefs and ideals. Thus adding to the romanticism and idea of their sacred birth right.
- Native American Truth The reality is, Native people’s are simply the culmination of living and having a relationship with their land mainly through the observance of nature and especially through their agriculture. In this photograph, you can see a traditional Raramuri women and her children living on the same lands their ancestors have inhabited for centuries!
- Native American Resiliency through Cultural Capital Resiliency is key to the survival of today’s Native American’s and their respective cultures. Native Americans do this by becoming sources of cultural capital. Cultural capital is all around us, it’s in our adventures and misadventures. It’s in our food, our hobbies, and our talents. But most importantly it thrives through our stories, how your story of “I” becomes the story of “us”. It can be as simple as telling a story to a relative or as complex as organizing a family reunion of epic proportions! Regardless of the source, all it takes is the knowledge and willpower to become a source of cultural capital. All of us here on Okinawa have the privilege to go out and experience the immense amount of culture here on island, and as members of the military we have the potential to travel and discover even more cultures. Through this we immediately become strong sources of cultural capital, it’s whether we choose to share it that can help that culture live or die. Two Raramuri children during their Easter celebrations. Resiliency also lives and dies through our youth.
- Native American Resiliency Today Today, Native Americans are remaining resilient through fashion, art and music. But in more indigenous parts of North America, adaptation is less noticeable but remains ever present. The picture in the lower right is an example of a home built within the canyon walls where my people the Raramuri inhabit still to this day and in the same fashion.
- Navajo Thunder Story I’d like to tell you a story my father told me during my childhood. It’s a story from the Navajo about the origin of thunder. *Tell Thunder Dragon Story* Now to this day, whenever you hear the sound of thunder, you’re hearing the dragon’s mighty roar because he still has the boy’s arrow stuck in his heart; and the boy continues to ride him through the sky. Why did I tell you that story? I told you that story because to me, it’s an important piece of cultural capital that I wanted to share with you with the hope that maybe one day you’ll pass along the story to someone else, perhaps even your own children. It’s stories like this that keep native cultures alive and also continues to add to the story of “us”.
- I am of Raramuri ancestry from my father’s side. I also have a little bit Apache from my mother’s side which my father always warned his friends of. He used to say, “Never turn your back on an Apache.” Advice he himself still practices to this day. Here is a young Raramuri man during a traditional Easter ceremony. Notice how the Raramuri dress very specific to their environment. This same concept can be seen throughout almost all Native American cultures as it was crucial to their survival. The literal meaning of Raramuri is “foot runner”. The Raramuri ancestry in their region can be traced back nearly 4,000 years! The Spanish were the first Europeans to encounter the Raramuri in the early 1700’s. Since then the Raramuri have survived wars with the Spanish and French, and also avoided famine and disease by simply relocated deep into the mountains and to eventually what is now Copper Canyon. They have survived these cultural shocks mostly due to the very harsh conditions they endure in and around Copper Canyon.
- This is Copper Canyon which resides in Chihuahua, Mexico. This is the home of the 70,000 Raramuri that inhabit it. Copper Canyon’s total volume is larger than that of three Grand Canyons as well as over 1,000 feet deeper in some parts.
- The Raramuri are internationally known for their long distance running prowess. To them running is a means of survival. They utilize endurance hunting in which the hunter will literally run down deer and other animals to their point of exhaustion. During ceremonial runs, they have been known to run distances exceeding 300 miles a single session! Even Raramuri women compete in races still wearing their traditional dresses. They also run as a means of communication delivering messages between villages because of the harsh conditions in the region, horses and more modern means of travel are impractical, even today. The Raramuri are the inspiration behind the book “Born to Run” by Christopher McDougall and also the idea of minimalistic running due to them running in simple leather sandals tied to their feet and ankles. *Tell Leadville Marathon “Smoke Break” story*
- Minimalistic running is all the rage today in regards to more natural running and overall foot comfort.
- Today the Raramuri have adapted and “improved” their minimalistic footwear by upgrading from leather soles to ones made out of old car tires.
- Scientists have always been puzzled as to how the Raramuri can run for such long distances in a single session. Initial predictions pointed at genetics, but it’s now believed the Raramuri’s diet is a key factor. This includes mostly of corn and beans and also a strange addiction to instant noodles? They also drink tesguino or corn beer which is essentially a drink packed full of carbs and other minerals, and a little alcohol. But make no mistake, during ceremonies, tesguino is made with immense amounts of alcohol. They also regularly consume the highly organic and nutritious chia seeds. The Raramuri diet also consists of little to no meat.
- Cultural capital is all around us and can be found in the most unexpected places.*Mention Arizona Russian Festival.org* Even an individual or groups interest in fictional events can have just as much of a personal impact to their culture as factual and real experiences. The boy in the lower right is proudly demonstrating his cultural resilience, either that or his sister just stepped on his iPod or something.
- Our stories we create in the profession of arms are crucial to the survival of our military culture. Where would we be as military professionals today without the wisdom and knowledge from our senior officers and enlisted members, as well as from our veterans?
- Just as Geronimo did against the United States, TAKE ACTION! Not only for other cultures but also for your own. I challenge everyone here to become a source of cultural capital within their respective communities, where ever that may be. As military members, we are given the privilege to take part in various cultures and communities around the world
- I’d like to read you a quote. Being Indian is an attitude, a state of mind, a way of being in harmony with all things and all beings. It is allowing the heart to be the distributor of energy on this planet; to allow feelings and sensitivities to determine where energy goes; bringing aliveness up from the Earth and from the Sky, putting it in and giving it out from the heart. –Brooke Medicine Eagle
- I hope I was able to bring everyone here into the heart and mind of a Native American, that what it means to be Native American is also what it means to be us, Airman, Soldiers, Sailors and Marines. What it means to be fathers, mothers, sisters and brothers. I challenge everyone here to discover their true story, tell it to as many people as they can and then challenge those people to do the same. This is resiliency in action, and also to our core what it means, to be a Native American. Resiliency In Action Native American Heritage Month 2013 Kadena AB Okinawa, Japan By SrA Esteban Salmón