Native Families on Lessons Learned from Elders

Wherever I worked, they'd pick on me because I was an Indian. Because they don't know where you come from. They think you come from teepees and the plains. When you grow up with that type of thinking, you have to prove that you belong right here. This is my grandmother and my papa. My grandpa right here and my aunt. My auntie isn't my blood relative, but she is my auntie. I am an enrolled Yakala member and also a Sioux, Okanagan, Penticton, Indian, Banff descendant. This is my younger brother. What she said is, I'm all of that too. Who's this off screen? My name is Wolf. What role have elders played in your lives? I grew up with my grandma, my kusla. She's the one that helped raise me. Growing up with her, it was always like the lingering smell of cigarettes and Pepsi. You're always raised to respect your elders. Elders are the ones you listen to and they're also the ones that you kind of fear a little bit. I see kids disrespect their parents. I just want to go over and slap them to the floor. Were you ever scolded by your elders? He's very sensitive. I don't chew him out. She is the golden child. I would say like, I can't do that. She would snap at me. Can't's not a word. I'm like, what do you mean? She would say, no, it's not a word to you. You were walking through the door and I accidentally called you by your first name. And I just see his facial expression just change because it's like a sign of disrespect. You know, you always look at your elders as someone that you address properly. That's something we grew up with. You ask them if they got something to eat. You ask them if they want something to drink. It's passed on down from the elder down to the littlest one. I have such a strong cultural identity by being taught that you have to honor all of your relations. What are some lessons your elders have taught you? They tell you when you're growing up and you're the oldest, you have to set the example because you want them to aspire to be bigger. His generation would tell me people are going to treat you differently because they don't know where you come from. They think you come from teepees and the plains. And so we have to prove that you belong right here. It's easy in Indian land to get lost, but there's usually people that will help you get back on your feet. My mother was very abusive towards me mentally, physically, emotionally. I wanted to die. I called Auntie. I was like, I need help. She was like, of course, you're coming with me. Supporting Frankie in his journey. It's like putting my values and my beliefs into action. Like she's the mother I wish I had. The day we buried her, it started snowing. Snow was her favorite. Her funeral was the most beautiful funeral I've ever seen. So many people came in. To me, that says a lot about who she was as a person. What would you say to your grandma if she were here? You were right. I can do anything that I set out to do. What do you think your granddaughter will be like as an elder? I have confidence in her that she will be like me, not because I'm conceited. But because I'm like grandma. I told you this before about grandma. Open your hands. She gently gave me this. Gently take it to your... It's like a handful of sand. Each grain is a teaching. If you lose a grain, you distort it. And now, that's your duty. Because we cannot lose any more of our culture. What Auntie has taught me has made me want to help others. Because it's a part of our culture too. It's passing it on. It's not just passing on our knowledge. It's passing on any kind of support that people need. Believe me, a lot of us need support. So this is Christine Jim, our Kusla. So it's really beautiful to see kind of how her as a person has influenced this family, me, and now you. In honor of Native American Heritage Month, I have a blanket that I want to wrap you guys with. Oh, oh my god. I love you. Thank you, honey. We have never been blanketed. You've got to be part of our blanket.