This is for the youth

Page 4

People and Places

Oki. Can you believe that it's November? This year, time has really flown by. I have a general theme for my column this month. It's for all the youth across Indian Country. They are our future. We must teach them respect, trust and love for themselves. I understand the feeling of peer pressure and insecurity of not knowing who they are or what they should be. I have a poem I wrote many moons ago. I wrote this for the lost youth. It's called Where have all the children gone?

Where have all the children gone

their eyes are imposed blackness

their tongues severed

leaving no words

Where have all the children gone

leaving us lonely and empty

leaving us with questions

and giving no answers

Where have all the children gone

in a world with no respect or trust

they live with the unknown

they live in chaos

Children are the future but why oh why

do they leave with bitterness and hate

listless for no ears that will listen

no eyes seeing them as they are

A child, a small adult

with a mind and spirit as you and me

needs teaching from you

needs love from you

child, will you need me as I need you?

This brings me to the first stop I made. I talked with a lady from the Nishnawbe Aski Nation in northern Ontario. In the New Year they are organizing a conference on suicide prevention. In Indian Country there is still the epidemic of suicide among our people. I think this conference would help the youth boost their esteem and for us older people to understand what the youth need to say or be.

In my own youth, I have had thoughts of suicide. I thank my Creator for putting people in my path to give me the strength to overcome those thoughts. If you want more information on this conference, you can call Ethel (nice name) at (807) 623-8228.

I've headed down south to the mesas and desert of Tucson, Arizona. I met up with Fred Synder who is one of the organizers of the New Millennium First Peoples World Fair and Powwow. This is a celebration of the First Nations from all over the world. He told me of some of the events that are going to held. Before the stroke of midnight on Dec. 31, they are going to have a concert with many different Aboriginal artists. Starting at midnight, they are going to have the world's biggest round dance.

Throughout the following week, there are many different themes for each day, including the Seventh Generation Youth day, Golden Age and Veterans' day. There will be symposiums for arts and entertainment and forums on education, economics and tourism. This event is focused on the youth, letting them know their culture is still strong and will be for many generations ahead.

To end the week, there will be a powwow. He also asked me if I could let the word out to drummers and dancers to go down and represent their tribes. So, if anyone decides to go down and needs company, ahem ahem.

If anyone out there wants more information about this great event, you can call Fred at (520) 622-4900 or if you know anything about the internet, they have a website: http://www.usaindianinfo.org/

Hey, I've got a joke for you. Actually I wrote this joke in one of my old columns from Windspeaker. I mean, this joke is very old. I hope you like it

These two old women were going to the Indian agency to pick up their treaty money. Back in the old days, many Native people didn't know how to write, so the Indian agents let them use an X for a signature. These two women were up to get their money, when one of the ladies was looking over her cousin's shoulder she exclaimed, "Wah, cousin, I didn't know we had the same name!"