The 21st Century Indigenous Person

The Mohawk Proverb, Mankiller’s favorite, “It’s hard to see the future with tears in your eyes,” which she shared at the end of her video gives us insight into what she believes – there is a future for Native Americans, and they will not let tears cloud their vision. Her attitude is one of encouragement, but we must also acknowledge that her motivation is not only for the natives and that they will make room for the non-natives including them in their forward movement into a new season of self-determination.


It is important to note that Mankiller does not sugar coat the historical trauma that the Native Americans suffered; she reaches out to her audience and brings them into the events without criticism or judgmentalism sharing the facts of the past and leading all into the contemporary momentum of the Pan Indian movement. Mankiller gives the audience a glimpse into the partnerships that can develop when work is conducted outside of a vacuum. She states that the Arizona tribal government had partnered with their neighbors on several issues including their own. A battle for land and city rights, led by the Healer River people, which they never gave up. Mankiller shares her admiration and honors them as a model for other tribes to emulate. Her story confirms that the fight becomes weak when you stand alone. Advocacy requires an inclusive collaborative and a shared sense of responsibility for one another.

Mankiller instills the concepts of preservation and continuity of a cultural renaissance by closing with the following points that are a reflection of the 21st Century Indigenous person:



•         Being an indigenous person of the 21st century means managing to find many moments of grace, comfort, and joy in family, traditional stories, language and ceremonies despite an incredible history of oppression and a staggering set of contemporary problems.

•         Being an indigenous person of the 21st century means trusting on thinking again, believing in ourselves, looking within our communities for the solution to problems, articulating our own vision of the future and having the skill sets and leadership to make those visions a reality.

•         Being an indigenous person of the 21st century means despite everything, we are still able to dream of a future in which all people will support the human rights and self-determination of indigenous people. Land and resources have been colonized, but dreams can never be colonized.

•         Being an indigenous person of the 21st century means sharing traditional knowledge and best practices with indigenous communities all over the world using present technological tools and others as they become available.

•         Being an indigenous person of the 21st century means becoming a physician, scientist, and astronaut who will leave her footprints on the moon and then return home to participate in ceremonies her people have had since the beginning of time.

•         Being an indigenous person of the 21st century means not going around with anger in our hearts over past injustices but to acknowledge, understand, and know it or to become paralyzed into action by the totality of problems we now face.

Tears cannot keep our eyes firmly fixed on the future. (Wilma Mankiller)



________
Reference:
Mankiller, Wilma. (December 10, 2013). “Wilma Mankiller: Challenges Facings 21st Century Indigenous People.” ASU Libraries Classic Presentation. YouTube. Accessed on 12/11/2018 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9K_rVUmV7Y8&feature=youtu.be.                                                                          



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