STORIES / Okara’shòn:’a
All deception and lies
The Earth is our mother in our Creation story. She gives us all this unconditional love and that gives us all these things from water, to animals, to corn, and beans and squash. Tell me then, what gives you the right to say that you’re going to buy it and that you have the right to sell it?
Death Feast
I never attended a death feast until my younger brother, Irvin, passed away in December of 2009. A few days later, his wife, Dale, called me to tell me that she was hosting a 10 day death feast and she was inviting me.
Otherworldly experience
When I was about six months pregnant with my daughter, I had a very surreal experience. It was late at night and I was watching the Academy Awards. My boys were asleep. I was sitting on the sofa all by myself.
Left handed twin
In our Creation story, the left-handed twin is the Creator’s brother. I don’t hate him. He’s still my grandfather. But Christianity says, “No, you’ve got to hate the Devil, be at war with the Devil.” All this made up stuff to confuse the hell out of humans.
Day and night
In order to comprehend the Longhouse creation story, you have to see the birth of the twins as sacred energies.
Our spirituality
There is so much to be taught and there is so much to bring back. I think a lot of it has to do with our spirituality and understanding life. It isn’t life affecting you, it is you affecting life.
Dawned on me
I always remember how it started. I was working, it was very shady during those summer days. And all of a sudden, it dawned on me, what I wanna be.
Creation story
I don’t know if Spirit up there, somewhere, is watching over us. When things happen, you go back to your Creation Story, and Creation Story tells us that when we’re born, we come from Spirit World, and we come into this physical world to have an experience of what it’s like to be physical.
Rock audition
There’s a Tlingit legend that if you don’t pass the knowledge, Creator will turn you into a rock. I don’t want to be a rock.
The Baptism Book
My mom baptized me, but when I got older, I re-learned my culture, my history and my language. So me and another friend of mine, we went to the church to go talk to the priest.
