Reclaiming our Past, Present, and Future: through Storytelling

There are some moments that are easy to recall and others that you have to reach from the depths of your imagination to remember. The brain seems to prioritize the important memories, but even then, we can seem to recognize certain details from our recollections that don’t seem significant at all. But who is to determine all of this? The answer to this question can be told through storytelling. It is important to keep in mind that you can’t have a sufficient story without utilizing memory, tradition, and history. This can look different for every individual storyteller, who may come from various tribal and indigenous ancestry. There are many differences, but the one similarity is that storytelling is the way for Native peoples to reclaim their own past, present, and future. Despite the tribe, nation, borders, or recognition, storytelling is how Native peoples everywhere will continue to persevere and persist while enduring constant hardships. It is even how those who passed on and did not make it, can still remain and strive through us.

The strength of our ancestors can be felt when we need it the most. This is especially true, in settings of academia. Due to the fact that there is not much representation for Native American students in higher education, it is extremely difficult to be the only Native in a class full of whites. This happens way too often, and the feeling of disrespect and erasure can be felt on a weekly basis. It even happened to me. There are times when this memory will be evoked, uncontrollably. It must be important to remember. It was during my freshman year in Intro to Native American Studies 20. The professor found out who the Native American students were in the class, and we soon became their point person to speak on behalf of all Indigenous Nations. During our class discussion, the topic of Beringia arose. However, instead of calling on one of the Native students to speak on how we felt on this topic, the professor opened up the discussion to the whole class. One of the athletes who was taking that class for an “Easy A” raised his hand. The look of ignorance was resting on his face, as he boldly states, “I think the whole ‘Americans are immigrants’ concept that I’ve heard Natives in this class speak about is bullshit. If science proves that Native Americans came here from the Beringia land bridge, then technically they’re immigrants too.” That is when the feeling of anger overwhelmed my thoughts. I chose to sit in silence. After reading from Sand Creek, this memory is more significant than ever.

In from Sand Creek, this is a reoccurring theme that Simon J. Ortiz is trying to fathom; it does not have to be this way. Although the situation seems inevitable, we can change the course by virtue of storytelling and reclaiming our history. It is presumed by Western intellectualism that Indigenous people be completely left out of every conversation. Which is absurd, considering that American history should be Native American history. As Ortiz said in from Sand Creek, they “deemed that they should be systematic. Exclusive”. It could have been so different if they just included us, or at least gave us space to speak our truth. Ortiz continues, “yes, they could have been important”. They could have, but instead they lost what was most important to them, which was their compassion and anger. So, what does this all mean? For non-Natives, this can serve as a constant reminder. For Natives, this is to admonish us that we are not them, and we can choose to be better. Just because they lost all sense of their emotions, does not mean that we did too.

The concept of having warrior in our blood is empowering and captivates the significance of persistence. As well as the use of corn, Ortiz does a beautiful job at conveying the resilience and constant adaptation of Native American peoples. This has affected tradition in many ways for Native people all over. Due to the ongoing circumstances of colonialism, Native American people were forced to forget our magnitude and honor. In from Sand Creek, this is reiterated throughout, by acknowledging the fact that Native peoples are lost because of colonialism. However, the point that Ortiz is attempting to enact is that Native Americans can begin to find themselves with the help of our continuous tradition. He even goes as far to say, “Don’t fret now”, even though this causes enormous grief for Natives everywhere. He said this with respectable intentions by following with the lines, “Strive for significance. Cull seeds from grass. Develop another strain of corn”. He is saying that instead of worrying and being sad, put that energy in finding purpose through contributing to our customs. Which does not necessarily focus on tradition as an element of the past, but as a continuing process that we contribute to on a daily basis.

The overall theme of from Sand Creekis not to condemn or castigate anyone, but rather to emphasize the deception of European ideology and serve as a steady remembrance for the adversity that Native American people face. Including the tribulation of the past, current, and forthcoming generations of indigenous peoples. The relevance of Ortiz’s work can be recognized through his affirmations for Native people to reclaim our awaited revolution, which begins on an individual level. We are the revolution, and we are the change. Ortiz then goes to make an important objective, that “the future will not be mad with loss and waste though the memory will be there; eyes will become kind and deep, and the bones of this nation will mend after the revolution” (86). While the cognizance of the obsolete society we live in will remain, our mentality will evolve into a healing mechanism for the broken. Once we recognize our true power and strength, we can find liberation through this basic understanding.

As soon as we reach these ambitions, America will no longer be capable of defining us; we will determine that for ourselves. America has always been here, but we were required to conform into the malicious America that was brought by the colonizers. We were forced to assimilated, acculturate, and neglect our own America, in order to uphold the current settler state. This was very much intentional, and it would not be possible without our generous contributions. Which is why it crucial for us to remember that colonialism occupies every aspect of our lives, and if we want change, we have to make them for ourselves or we will continue to be enslaved. By participating in the current state of America, we continue to reinforce the same tactics used to suppress and displace us. It doesn’t have to be this way. We can trust in our dreams, as they are “lifelines and roadways” to our future. Unlike the [Western] American Dream, which is constituted in racism and discrimination, this dream will strictly be our own. According to Ortiz, “that dream shall have a name after all, and it will not be vengeful but wealthy with love and compassion and knowledge” (95). It is not about getting revenge, but about continuing our legacy of generosity. He affirms, “and it will rise in this heart which is our America”.

If more people understood this concept, real change could be made in our everyday lives. The type of sovereignty that could be generated from this is limitless, because we get to define who we are to the fullest extent. We would be so secure in who we are, that no establishment, government, or authoritarian can diminish that. We would not need any recognition from the federal government, because our ancestral recognition will be enough. Our culture and traditions will continue to thrive, and our history will begin to rewrite itself. As we tell our own stories, the purpose will no longer to satisfy the masses, but to mitigate our own trauma. The same trauma that is often passed down with our stories. It is not to eliminate this trauma for good, but rather lessen the initial blow. Without this trauma, we could not recognize our strength. Therefore, we continue telling our stories, not just for ourselves, but for those who went before us and the next seventh generations to come.

Sand Creek