Tag Archives: culture

Monday Memories: Generation to Generation

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The inspiration for this poem comes from an essay written by William E. Farr, “Troubled Bundles, Troubled Blackfeet:  The Travail of Cultural and Religious Renewal.”  This essay is part of a larger collection of writings that link Montana’s past with its future in the book, MONTANA LEGACY.

Courtesy of Pinterest.

Facing an uncertain world

Life asking questions of “when”

Intertribal wars threaten

Hostile danger setting in

 

Preserving Blackfeet culture

Each passing generation

Saving sacred heritage

Hold for next generation

 

Ritual artifacts cache

Spiritual lives won’t rest

Supernatural visions

Medicine dreams will attest

 

Honoring warrior life

Holy treasures speaking out

Collected and safeguarded

Sacred bundles carry clout

 

Filling with key elements

Common and natural sought

Feathers, hides, shells, horns added

Teeth, wood, bones . . . each with a thought

 

Passing on these rituals

Mother Earth, Creative Sun

Guarding life’s sacred relics

Legacy, father to son

 

Sample of a bundle’s contents (courtesy of Pinterest).

Originally published November, 2020.

Margaret Mead Quotes

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Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

There is no greater insight into the future than recognizing . . . when we save our children, we save ourselves.

Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.

Margaret Mead (1901-1978) was an American cultural anthropologist.  Her birthplace was Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  She was best known for her studies and writings about the culture and people of Oceania.

Dee Brown Quotes

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Dee Brown (Courtesy of Pinterest)

To survive, the weak must feed on the hearts of the strong.

Nothing lives long . . . only the earth and mountains.

Dee Brown (1908-2002) was an American novelist and historian.  Published in 1970, his most famous publication was the book, BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE.  It detailed the history of western expansion in the United States through the eyes of the Native Americans.

Endless Grassy Sea

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Courtesy of Pinterest.

Virgin prairie

Endless grassy sea

Fertile, untouched

Living always free

 

Nature’s preserve

Blessed grassy sea

Native people

Worship what they see

 

Gift forever

Treasured grassy sea

Timeless, precious

Mother Earth agrees

 

Standing knee high

Faithful grassy sea

Glory days sing

Praises fill with glee

 

Man’s encroachment

Constant grassy sea

Days now numbered

Earth makes her plea

 

Plowing under

Cherished grassy sea

Another farm

Way of life now flees

 

Forever gone

Priceless grassy sea

Winds of time change

What should always be

 

Pockets remain

Endless grassy sea

Memories breathe

Yesterday foresees

 

Remnants of the original American prairie can be found in places such as the Tall Grass Prairie Preserve in Oklahoma. (Courtesy of Pinterest)

James Weldon Johnson Quotes

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Photo by MART PRODUCTION on Pexels.com

Music is a universal art; anybody’s music belongs to everybody; you can’t limit it to race or country.

The final measure of the greatness of all peoples is the amount and standard of the literature and art they have produced.

James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938) was an American writer and civil rights activist.  He was actively involved in the leadership of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People).  He wrote lyrics for the hymn, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” which later became known as the national anthem for African-Americans.

Generation to Generation

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The inspiration for this poem comes from an essay written by William E. Farr, “Troubled Bundles, Troubled Blackfeet:  The Travail of Cultural and Religious Renewal.”  This essay is part of a larger collection of writings that link Montana’s past with its future in the book, MONTANA LEGACY.

Courtesy of Pinterest.

Facing an uncertain world

Life asking questions of “when”

Intertribal wars threaten

Hostile danger setting in

 

Preserving Blackfeet culture

Each passing generation

Saving sacred heritage

Hold for next generation

 

Ritual artifacts cache

Spiritual lives won’t rest

Supernatural visions

Medicine dreams will attest

 

Honoring warrior life

Holy treasures speaking out

Collected and safeguarded

Sacred bundles carry clout

 

Filling with key elements

Common and natural sought

Feathers, hides, shells, horns added

Teeth, wood, bones . . . each with a thought

 

Passing on these rituals

Mother Earth, Creative Sun

Guarding life’s sacred relics

Legacy, father to son

 

Sample of a bundle’s contents (courtesy of Pinterest).