Whisper n Thunder
The Whisper of Native American stories, the Thunder of stories that demand to be told.
Gangs on the REZ
GANGS ON THE REZ
by Thunderhands
It may seem surprising to some to know that gang influence and all that goes with it, is big on the reservation with a large percentage of the young Native people. Gangster or "Gangsta" mentality is rampant. I want to write this with a balanced point of view and that means considering all factors involved.
Let’s first consider why and how this might have happened. Obviously conditions on the “rez” or reservations are a ripe breeding ground for this type of seed to grow. Begin with the well-knownand documented fact that hopelessness abounds on most reservations and within their community, especially in the outlook of those in the younger generation. I recently read a Minnesota public news piece that said, "American Indian children are at the bottom of nearly every national indicator of well being. Indian kids commit suicide at twice the rate of the general population. They're more likely to be poor, have health problems or die violently. Alcohol and drugs have ripped apart Native families with the kids suffering the most."
This is no secret, but a longstanding problem whose symptoms revealed themselves a long time ago with rampant alcoholism. The root causes are: being faced with a situation where you seem to have no future, no compassion, poor housing, and lack of leadership. Couple that with a dim view from the public, and a lack of caring from outside the reservations on all levels. This is a recipe for disaster. Another factor is that the gangs outside the reservation see this as fertile ground for their own agenda. Law enforcement agencies or tribal police on reservations are understaffed and sometimes complacent. Gangs use this as an opportunity or an inroad to use the land, the young, and the hopelessness as an opportunity to spread their sickness.
Most reservations are near a major interstate highway or city. This allows for easy access to those who have an eye out for willing individuals and bad situations. From a young Native’s point of view gangs and drug dealing offers them a way to be important, accepted by others, and to make money by any means possible. Their vision is one of riding around in a high priced car, getting high, and having a woman on each arm. It also offers them a way to fulfill their inbred desire to be some kind of warrior or chief. This never happens, because they either spend their money on drugs, or bail, to get themselves out of jail. They never get ahead. I am not blaming them; there is no judgment at all. Even though they have choices it's not entirely, and in fact mostly, not their fault. Here are some reasons why.
The primary reason or concern is a lack of sound guidance from their own families and communities. But perhaps it would be even more concise to say, because of the conditions on the reservations they have turned a deaf ear to the few elders who do care. The percentage of "Holy Men" and those who can lead, has dwindled or died off, and this is serious. The tradition has always been to listen to the storytellers, the elders, and holy men, and receive inspiration and direction from them. This is not happening for the most part because of the fragmentation of families, hopelessness, corruption among the councils or leadership, and again, attrition of the holy man.
What should and must be instilled in the young people are "the old ways." This would inspire in them a sense of pride and purpose. This would remedy many things concerning what type of vision they have, what type of warrior they should be, and how to walk the "Red Road." The vision should be a spiritual one such as that received through the ritual of "seeking a vision." The warrior-ship should be one of proud ancestral tradition and honor, which would include being a spiritual warrior. Being a spiritual warrior would include fighting off temptations, and protecting their ways and people. When you're a spiritual warrior you have a humble attitude and receive guidance from Great Spirit, the land, the elders, and other traditional ways with a sense of gratitude and reverence.
This isn't easy for those who have fallen into the trap, for it means bucking peer pressure, letting go of so called friends or gang members, and moving to a direction of traditional thinking. This is what is called being a real chief, or one who leads with the best interest of his people. From a personal point of view I sometimes get frustrated with some of the young people I have talked to or tried to influence because they think your not ‘with it’ or not ‘cool!’ Sometimes I feel like saying wake up kola and replace the baggy pants with buckskins, grow your hair long, and stop talking the gibberish or gang lingo. Raise you spirit or consciousness. Take pride in being a traditionalist! If you can't find a Holy Man or “Wichasa Wakan” read their words in the many books that they have spoken in. Read "Lame Deer Seeker of Visions," "Black Elk Speaks,” “The Sacred Pipe,” “The Biography of Fools Crow,” ‟The Lakota Way,” and scores of other words and books that will set you on the Red Road.
But they might say, I can't read very well because I never learned. Then I say, listen to people who can read and are older and wiser (oral tradition), or learn to read. It isn't for lack of trying that people like myself and others have made an attempt to get through to the younger ones. Their mind set is, and I quote: "Yo brother! that's book learning, that ain't what's up. That ain't being street wise! You got to get a ghetto pass my man!" How do you break through this barrier of what I call "mind set," that has been ingrained since they began to walk. Their worldview has been formed, their minds are sleeping and can't see beyond their own false ego. This same ego has allowed them to feel some purpose, some sense of belonging that they never had, and they are understandably reluctant to let go of it. The alternative is giving up on them and saying, “you’re not worth it.” That's not an option - ever! The chain must be broken, because of the possibility of the same mindset being passed on to their children.
You could look at this situation as a sickness being passed to the Native people just like when smallpox was given to them on blankets. You have the dumbing down of consciousness on the outside, or the world at large, and it is passed to those who have less resistance to this insidious form of sickness. With the gangster mentality comes the life style, which includes rap music, and a different kind of language or slang that is no language at all! Words and intelligence diminish to gibberish or babble. The sacred power of words is lost. The combination of shortcuts for texting on the phone, and gangster lingo reduce the intelligence factor, not enhance it! For example; The words this and that, have been replaced by "dis an dat." The word your is you now "ur," The word because is now "cuz." I am just scratching the surface here because there is a whole set of abbreviations for violence and disrespect of gender. One of these would be "I'm going to cap him," which means putting a bullet in someone or shooting them. I won't expound further except to say that this kind of language and thought is destructive and becomes a way of thinking or again, a mindset. This is what we face when dealing with the mentality that has been formed. Instead of learning gangster lingo and rap they are missing out on their own language and traditions. They are walking a bleak road that will have a highly negative impact on their life. It makes me want to shed tears, for they are on a spiritual trail of tears! It makes me want to hug them and say please listen to another way.
What is the answer? Is it elusive or maybe non-existent? No! Persistence is one way, and shining a light on the problem is another. That's one of the reasons I write articles like this. But who is listening, who understands, who cares? I care, for one. You have to care with a passion! Those of you on the rez who are older or parents have to take the role of the holy man or woman. If you are reading this and you fit into that category, don't give up on your children. I don't care how old they are, sometimes age brings realization and a more receptive attitude. Sometimes I tell myself even if they don't have ears to hear now, maybe a word will sink in or a thought will come to them at a later time. I call these "oh yeah!” thoughts, or "now I know what he meant" thoughts.
The big picture of all this is that the indigenous people on the reservations need help, lots of help. When you raise the spirit of a whole community, then things begin to happen that seem miraculous. This does not apply to just reservations but the world community as a whole. It's prophetic and eye opening that the Hopi people speak of the microcosm and the macrocosm. There is a saying from their prophecies that whatever happens here (on the reservation) will happen out there. The traditionalist always said that the way of the Creator or deity should be followed and the Red Road should be walked. They always said that if warnings were not heeded bad things would happen, or that it was bad medicine. Now we see that bad things are happening outside the reservation and are making things worse on the reservation. It's a cause and effect, effect and cause situation. The sacred circle or hoop has been broken and needs to be repaired. Since the whole circle of the earth or planet as we know it seems to broken, the answer lies within ourselves. We have to look within for accountability, and what we are giving of ourselves. We have to have compassion and a sense of a higher vision at the same time, so we don't get caught up in the drama but see things from this higher point of view. The main thought here is don’t be complacent, be aware. This keeps our vision clear so we can help others and ourselves to walk the Red Road.
Nobody said that walking it was easy.
by Thunderhands
It may seem surprising to some to know that gang influence and all that goes with it, is big on the reservation with a large percentage of the young Native people. Gangster or "Gangsta" mentality is rampant. I want to write this with a balanced point of view and that means considering all factors involved.
Let’s first consider why and how this might have happened. Obviously conditions on the “rez” or reservations are a ripe breeding ground for this type of seed to grow. Begin with the well-knownand documented fact that hopelessness abounds on most reservations and within their community, especially in the outlook of those in the younger generation. I recently read a Minnesota public news piece that said, "American Indian children are at the bottom of nearly every national indicator of well being. Indian kids commit suicide at twice the rate of the general population. They're more likely to be poor, have health problems or die violently. Alcohol and drugs have ripped apart Native families with the kids suffering the most."This is no secret, but a longstanding problem whose symptoms revealed themselves a long time ago with rampant alcoholism. The root causes are: being faced with a situation where you seem to have no future, no compassion, poor housing, and lack of leadership. Couple that with a dim view from the public, and a lack of caring from outside the reservations on all levels. This is a recipe for disaster. Another factor is that the gangs outside the reservation see this as fertile ground for their own agenda. Law enforcement agencies or tribal police on reservations are understaffed and sometimes complacent. Gangs use this as an opportunity or an inroad to use the land, the young, and the hopelessness as an opportunity to spread their sickness.
Most reservations are near a major interstate highway or city. This allows for easy access to those who have an eye out for willing individuals and bad situations. From a young Native’s point of view gangs and drug dealing offers them a way to be important, accepted by others, and to make money by any means possible. Their vision is one of riding around in a high priced car, getting high, and having a woman on each arm. It also offers them a way to fulfill their inbred desire to be some kind of warrior or chief. This never happens, because they either spend their money on drugs, or bail, to get themselves out of jail. They never get ahead. I am not blaming them; there is no judgment at all. Even though they have choices it's not entirely, and in fact mostly, not their fault. Here are some reasons why.
The primary reason or concern is a lack of sound guidance from their own families and communities. But perhaps it would be even more concise to say, because of the conditions on the reservations they have turned a deaf ear to the few elders who do care. The percentage of "Holy Men" and those who can lead, has dwindled or died off, and this is serious. The tradition has always been to listen to the storytellers, the elders, and holy men, and receive inspiration and direction from them. This is not happening for the most part because of the fragmentation of families, hopelessness, corruption among the councils or leadership, and again, attrition of the holy man.
What should and must be instilled in the young people are "the old ways." This would inspire in them a sense of pride and purpose. This would remedy many things concerning what type of vision they have, what type of warrior they should be, and how to walk the "Red Road." The vision should be a spiritual one such as that received through the ritual of "seeking a vision." The warrior-ship should be one of proud ancestral tradition and honor, which would include being a spiritual warrior. Being a spiritual warrior would include fighting off temptations, and protecting their ways and people. When you're a spiritual warrior you have a humble attitude and receive guidance from Great Spirit, the land, the elders, and other traditional ways with a sense of gratitude and reverence.
This isn't easy for those who have fallen into the trap, for it means bucking peer pressure, letting go of so called friends or gang members, and moving to a direction of traditional thinking. This is what is called being a real chief, or one who leads with the best interest of his people. From a personal point of view I sometimes get frustrated with some of the young people I have talked to or tried to influence because they think your not ‘with it’ or not ‘cool!’ Sometimes I feel like saying wake up kola and replace the baggy pants with buckskins, grow your hair long, and stop talking the gibberish or gang lingo. Raise you spirit or consciousness. Take pride in being a traditionalist! If you can't find a Holy Man or “Wichasa Wakan” read their words in the many books that they have spoken in. Read "Lame Deer Seeker of Visions," "Black Elk Speaks,” “The Sacred Pipe,” “The Biography of Fools Crow,” ‟The Lakota Way,” and scores of other words and books that will set you on the Red Road.
But they might say, I can't read very well because I never learned. Then I say, listen to people who can read and are older and wiser (oral tradition), or learn to read. It isn't for lack of trying that people like myself and others have made an attempt to get through to the younger ones. Their mind set is, and I quote: "Yo brother! that's book learning, that ain't what's up. That ain't being street wise! You got to get a ghetto pass my man!" How do you break through this barrier of what I call "mind set," that has been ingrained since they began to walk. Their worldview has been formed, their minds are sleeping and can't see beyond their own false ego. This same ego has allowed them to feel some purpose, some sense of belonging that they never had, and they are understandably reluctant to let go of it. The alternative is giving up on them and saying, “you’re not worth it.” That's not an option - ever! The chain must be broken, because of the possibility of the same mindset being passed on to their children.
You could look at this situation as a sickness being passed to the Native people just like when smallpox was given to them on blankets. You have the dumbing down of consciousness on the outside, or the world at large, and it is passed to those who have less resistance to this insidious form of sickness. With the gangster mentality comes the life style, which includes rap music, and a different kind of language or slang that is no language at all! Words and intelligence diminish to gibberish or babble. The sacred power of words is lost. The combination of shortcuts for texting on the phone, and gangster lingo reduce the intelligence factor, not enhance it! For example; The words this and that, have been replaced by "dis an dat." The word your is you now "ur," The word because is now "cuz." I am just scratching the surface here because there is a whole set of abbreviations for violence and disrespect of gender. One of these would be "I'm going to cap him," which means putting a bullet in someone or shooting them. I won't expound further except to say that this kind of language and thought is destructive and becomes a way of thinking or again, a mindset. This is what we face when dealing with the mentality that has been formed. Instead of learning gangster lingo and rap they are missing out on their own language and traditions. They are walking a bleak road that will have a highly negative impact on their life. It makes me want to shed tears, for they are on a spiritual trail of tears! It makes me want to hug them and say please listen to another way.
What is the answer? Is it elusive or maybe non-existent? No! Persistence is one way, and shining a light on the problem is another. That's one of the reasons I write articles like this. But who is listening, who understands, who cares? I care, for one. You have to care with a passion! Those of you on the rez who are older or parents have to take the role of the holy man or woman. If you are reading this and you fit into that category, don't give up on your children. I don't care how old they are, sometimes age brings realization and a more receptive attitude. Sometimes I tell myself even if they don't have ears to hear now, maybe a word will sink in or a thought will come to them at a later time. I call these "oh yeah!” thoughts, or "now I know what he meant" thoughts.
The big picture of all this is that the indigenous people on the reservations need help, lots of help. When you raise the spirit of a whole community, then things begin to happen that seem miraculous. This does not apply to just reservations but the world community as a whole. It's prophetic and eye opening that the Hopi people speak of the microcosm and the macrocosm. There is a saying from their prophecies that whatever happens here (on the reservation) will happen out there. The traditionalist always said that the way of the Creator or deity should be followed and the Red Road should be walked. They always said that if warnings were not heeded bad things would happen, or that it was bad medicine. Now we see that bad things are happening outside the reservation and are making things worse on the reservation. It's a cause and effect, effect and cause situation. The sacred circle or hoop has been broken and needs to be repaired. Since the whole circle of the earth or planet as we know it seems to broken, the answer lies within ourselves. We have to look within for accountability, and what we are giving of ourselves. We have to have compassion and a sense of a higher vision at the same time, so we don't get caught up in the drama but see things from this higher point of view. The main thought here is don’t be complacent, be aware. This keeps our vision clear so we can help others and ourselves to walk the Red Road.
Nobody said that walking it was easy.
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