NativeTime: Hidden America

So this is my last consideration of the year. Recently it has showed on tv a documentary of Diane Sawyer about children who live in Pine ridge, one of the poorest Indian reservations, one of the LAKOTA ones.

I am aware of some people have different point of view about it and I do respect it. I am not here talking as Lakota people, I could not do this, I am not one of them. Here I just comment my own point of view, as the audience and as someone who LOVE and RESPECT these people, their culture and legacy. I see many people loving this great nation and having a strong identification with them ( I am totally included on it ), but I wonder if everyone out there who wants to be connected to their culture and spirituality is really aware of who they are nowadays…

The Lakota people have a beautiful culture and a sad history , there are still warriors , the ones who struggle hardly to keep their culture and people alive but sadly many of them are struggling another batters…Sometimes I find myself wondering how they got this point…I am not there, so I never would know the answer…I just know that their strength are still there , their values are still there…

This documentary from my point of view was very touching , I do not agree that only showed the negative points as poverty, high level of suicide and high level of alcoholism …It showed a very strong generation of children, ready to keep their culture and values alive, it´s a lesson for the rest of the world. The brightness on them, faith and strength give hope, eventhough we see endurance and a early maturity on them .Also personally I do not think it´s negative to show their real condition of life, I do not see this as an exploitation, by the contrary, it´s an alert , and can serve as a calling for many people out there who for some reason are really in love with this nation and try to be close to them by taking part to spiritual cerimonies which carries the Lakota name .

If you want to feel so connected to them so there is a whole package to be taken, and maybe there is something you can do to help them to keep all of this alive. Again, I am not here talking by them…I talk by myself, by what touches my heart . I deeply respect if you think in a different way.

I posted about the Lighthouse Project which help them throughout the year, it could be a good opportunity to do something for them. I know that the subject of help can be a little bit complicate and I cannot go deep in it, but I can say this is a honest project created and led by people, native ones with good heart who know their people necessity .

I just think that we are so amazed by their deep culture and spirituality, we love and feel touched by the stories , we want to take part of their cerimonies so we must also know how to help , remember that one of the codes in a tribe is to help each other…so to be connected to them is to help too, we can not keep on ignoring the reality and just having the romantic ideas of indians sitting outside a teepee and smoke the pipe looking at the stars and clouds. sorry I had to mention this because I always heard it when people are talking about the Lakota people…I really wish it was true, maybe some of them still do this…but believe me, this is not the real life and this I can say even not being one of them and even not living among them.