WELCOME TO THE

SWEAT GAZETTE

~ Serving the Ventura County Native American Community ~ ~ Summer issue ~ This page created June 25, 1998

painting by Marguerite Fields

Inside this Issue

Raising children on the Red Road ... by Harry Peterson.

Lakota Children's song ... translated phonetically by Josephine Fire Lame Deer.

Lodge and Talking Circle information

How well do you really know your child?

Raising Children on the Red Road

By Harry Peterson

When I was asked to write this article, I told Cretia she was crazy. But, the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. I was born white and raised in the white man's world. Now, I am married to a traditional woman. This lends me the opportunity to view things from both sides.

To be really honest, of a child is raised in a good way there is no difference in raising a child on one path or another. However, many of us white people have forgotten that our children are our richest treasures.

A big difference that I see is that the Native American remembers and teaches the children to live in harmony with everyone and their surroundings. We need to help the children know how to live their lives. We also need to teach and explain to the children consequences. We need to show them that how we live our lives effects us, our surroundings, and other people.

My little son has a book that sums it all up. This book is available to all children, not just the Native American children. It is called 'I LOVE YOU SUN, I LOVE YOU MOON' by Karen Pandell. On every page you see a child looking at different things in his world: a star, a bug, a flower, or something else. Corresponding to the drawings, each page says: I love you bug, I love you moon, and so on throughout the book.

Teaching our little son to love all who share our earth, whether it be another person or an object is our goal. We seek to teach him to cherish everything that the Creator has given to us. We seek to teach him to not treat anything as different and outside of that love.

The advantage I see to raising our son on the Red Road is, he will be involved in the ceremonies of the 'People'. He will be taught their meaning. Through the ceremonies he will come to understand the importance of all things. With this knowledge, he will be given the tools to help him make important decisions. These decisions will impact him, his family, and others around him.

I was raised in a Christian world. We were taught we MUST go to church. We MUST follow certain particular guidelines. According to this traditon, if we followed these exacting guidelines we would go to heaven. The problem as I see it is that I was given no spiritual tie to anything throught this fear based religion. Further, I was given nothing to love in what I was doing. All I really learned was to live in fear.

On the Red Road, we are involved daily with our spirituality. WE are taught to live in harmony with Mother Earth and our Creator. ***

~ Lakota Children's Song ~

INKPATA

NAVAJIN

AN SHIN CHICUN ZE

MAYA MAYA

LEKSHI SKUN WANA

(N is nasal, unpronounced noise, as in French)

THE STORY: A little girl, unhappy with her parents and family decided to run away. She and her little brother grabbed their rabbit skin blankets and left. From the top of a distant hill, she looked back at her family and waved her blanket saying good-bye. They slept one night under a big tree. They got scared and ran home as the sun came up.

Transliteration of song and translation of Lakota words to english phonetic spelling were done by Josephine Fire Lame Deer. Josephine has said that this is the first song she ever learned in Lakota. She has started to teach her little son this song.

How well do you really know your child?

Answer the following questions. Then go to your child and ask her/him to answer the questions. Now, being very honest with yourself, decide if you really know this very special child who has been given to you by the Creator to raise to adulthood.

What is your child's favorite color?

Who is your child's hero?

Who is your child's best friend?

What kind of books does your child like to read or like to have read to her/him?

What is your child's favorite leisure time activity?

What is your child like best and least about herself/himself?

What is your child's greatest fear?

What is your child's favorite food?

What has your child accomplished for which she/he is very proud?

What has your child done for which she/he is ashamed?

Does your child feel her/his peer group like her/him?

What does your child like most and least about her/his looks?