My grandparents raised me and they were Shaker and Washat religion.
Everything we did was extremely traditional. When the springtime came we would
gather roots in the mountains and we would travel to Puyallup to gather raspberries
and beans. The food that we collected we would use as our food source through
the entire year. My dad and grandfather would fish in the Yakima River for salmon.
We believed The Creator gave life to all things and all thing deserved respect.
I have tried to pass on traditions to my kids, but they are busy
with different activities at school and with church so there are a lot of
things they don’t have yet like their Indian names. Sadly, our Elders are dying,
so my boys may never be given their Indian names. Our traditions are fading
quickly.
Savannah
Occupation: StudentAge: 21
Enrolled Yakama Tribal Member
I feel like people who
don’t know what Indians believe are always shocked when I tell them I don’t
live in a TeePee. I don’t know if people just don’t care to learn about us, or
what the deal is. It annoys me how everyone is so worried about offending other
peoples religions and cultures but they never think about ours. I grew up on
the reservation with my mother and grandmother. My grandmother is the assistant
minister for the Satus Shaker Church, which is quite a big deal and means I was
raised very traditionally. I was taught how to bead when I was young and my
mother continues to teach me, I still have a lot to learn.
I don’t feel pressure to conform to anything really. I surround myself with people who believe the same things I believe so I am able to be myself. Most of my friends are native and we see some of our traditions fading away. I have a brother who fully embraces tradition and another brother who wants nothing to do with being Native so it is hard to tell what is to come for our Tribe.
When I start a family I will teach them the ways of my elders no matter what the rest of the world thinks of it.
Raymond
Occupation: Retired
Age: 86
Occupation: Retired
Age: 86
Enrolled Yakama Tribal
Member
My mother was taken by
the government at age 8 and put into a boarding school at Fort Simco. The
school she was put into taught her English and she was not allowed to learn
Yakama dialect. These types of school were created to redirect Indian culture
away from the traditional teachings. Because my mother was taught by white
people and taught not to act Indian I was not raised with traditional native
influences.
The government accomplished what they wanted because my mother did not pass on anything traditional to me but her love for stick games. Stick games are a traditional Native American hand game of hiding bones and choosing which hand holds the correct bone. I enjoy watching people play because it reminds me of my mother. But my father raised me to be a cowboy and that is what I am. I don’t see myself as an Indian, although all my life I was raised around them and worked with them so I have picked up the culture.
I see traditions dying off quickly, it is sad to see the good days leaving us.
The government accomplished what they wanted because my mother did not pass on anything traditional to me but her love for stick games. Stick games are a traditional Native American hand game of hiding bones and choosing which hand holds the correct bone. I enjoy watching people play because it reminds me of my mother. But my father raised me to be a cowboy and that is what I am. I don’t see myself as an Indian, although all my life I was raised around them and worked with them so I have picked up the culture.
I see traditions dying off quickly, it is sad to see the good days leaving us.
Roberta
Occupation: Retired
Age: 82
Occupation: Retired
Age: 82
Enrolled Yakama Tribal
Member
I was taught not act or
look Indian. It was a bad thing back then and you didn’t want
people to think you were
Indian because you would be shunned. My mother bought all of us kids
long sleeve shirts and big sun hats to wear during the summer. We tanned so
easily in the sun, she didn’t want us to get dark and look Indian. We all knew
we were Indian but we were never taught to be proud of it.
My grandmother was
orphaned at a young age, so she raised in the boarding school at Fort Simco and
taught English she was also taught she wasn’t to be proud of her heritage. She
was told her father was a white man and a scout. He helped guide the travelers
over the mountains to protect them from Indians. An Indian killed him while he
was scouting, so I was told not embrace being native.
My grandmother passed down a ceremonial dress, to my mother and then to my oldest sister and that was the only thing she ever gave us that had anything to do with being Native. I attended my first native funeral ceremony two years ago. I am sad to see the traditions slipping away.
My grandmother passed down a ceremonial dress, to my mother and then to my oldest sister and that was the only thing she ever gave us that had anything to do with being Native. I attended my first native funeral ceremony two years ago. I am sad to see the traditions slipping away.
Occupation: High School Student
When I think about myself as being Native American I feel there is a huge amount of pressure on me. I feel like the Elders frown down upon me. I think the Elders feel like I am letting our people down by not acting like a normal Native. Most of my friends who are non-native find my traditions to be pointless, but it doesn’t bother me too much because I know they will respect me no matter what.
Our family traditions have been slimmed down but
I cherish them a lot. The main family tradition that has been passed down is
the use of a sweat house. A sweat house, is a hut my family builds and inside
we have a pit with heated rocks and we pour water on them to cause it to steam
up inside the hut. We sit inside of it and pray, we usually do it before
hunting or fishing or bad times in our family. We pray that the aches and pains
sweat out of us preparing us for the time ahead. Another tradition my family
practices is holding feasts, we have large feasts for kills, deaths, first
catch and name giving ceremonies.
I will pass these traditions on to my children,
because I feel like some many traditions we have lost and I don’t want
something so amazing to die.
Devalyn
Age: 15
Age: 15
Occupation: Student
Enrolled Yakama Tribal
Member
I feel that since I am
Native I have more pressure on me than others do. I try and live my life like
any normal teenager, but I have teaching to remember that I must live by
everyday. These teaching are from my Elders they don’t come from books or a
classroom. I feel like I am living in two worlds sometimes. I don’t want to
behave like non-natives because the Elders expect me to carry on these
traditions, so I have to keep myself in balance everyday.
My family and I
participate in the Toppenish Creek Longhouse. We are in line with the gathers,
which means we go and dig roots as well as collect berries. The elders have
taught me our language, as well as what types of plants can be used for
everyday thing, such as the rosebush for protection.
I plan on passing all my
traditions I have been taught down to my children. Passing on our traditions is
what makes us strong as a Tribe. Some of the unwritten laws we live by remind
me everyday I am a stronger person, and they were taught to me for a reason to
be carried on for generations to come.
