Our own grandparents
Geraldine Standup is a prominent traditional healer from Kahnawake. She has been providing spiritual guidance to Onkwehón:we for nearly 40 years, with decolonization being central in her practice of healing the inner self. (Courtesy: Tekaronhiahkhwa Standup)
Story told by Geraldine Standup
There’s so much to say. The education system, to me, teaches you how to make a living, how to make money, all of that. But it doesn’t teach you how to live a good life.
And that’s what we really need to see in our educational curriculum. Now, we live in a society that is so imbued with fear and anger and such ego. Ego-based living.
We really need to turn that around because fear and anger will not make you happy. And so I think going back to our understanding, our spirituality, back to our own grandparents, is basically decolonizing ourselves.
We are subjected to the greater society that is around us. We are subjected to television programming, and so that programming has programmed our minds. Our education is dictated by the curriculum and our education system is dictated by the government.
And so our minds are definitely put in a box, a governmental box.
Ionkhihsothokòn:’a
Geraldine Standup poses with her grandmother Margaret Beauvais on their family homestead, located near the creek behind the Protestant Church. The house still stands to this day in the back of the late Sonny and Leatrice Beauvais’ home. Photo was taken around 1949. (Courtesy: Tekaronhiahkhwa Standup)
Geraldine Standup iakoká:raton
É:so ká:ien nahò:ten’ akì:ron’. Tsi ní:ioht tsi tekkà:nere’ ne tsi ní:ioht tsi ronterihwahtentià:tha’ nahonterì:waienste’, ensarihónnien’ ki’ ka’ nón:we naiesaió’ten’ nok ahsathwistón:ni’, tánon’ akwé:kon neh nahò:ten’. Nek tsi iah tesarihonnién:ni oh ní:ioht ne ahsonhnhiióhake’.
Nok né: teiotonhontsóhon aietewatkáhtho’ nahò:ten’ tewateweienstáhkhwa’. Nòn:wa, tsi ní:tsi tiónhnhe’ akwáh tekaiéhston ne naiakoteronhienhtenníhake’, naiakona’khwen’énhake’ nok nakaonhà:’ak aiontatehià:rake’. Akaonhà:’ak iontatè:iahre’ tsi iakónhnhe’.
Teiotonhontsóhon nè:’e taonsetewakahrhaté:ni’ ase’kén tóka’ sateronhienhtén:ni tánon’ sana’khwèn:’en iah ki’ thaiesatshennonníhake’. Kwah í:kehre’ tsi tho sétewe’ tsi ní:tsi ionkwa’nikonhraién:ta’s, tsi nahò:ten’ tionkwehtáhkwen, tánon’ tsi nahò:ten’ ionkhirihonnién:ni ne ionkhihsothokòn:’a. Tho ní:tsi ientsítewe’ tsi ní: niionkwarihò:ten’ tsi ní:tsi ionkwaren’nhà:’on, tsi ní:tsi tionkhiiá:wi ionkhihsothokòn:’a. Tionkhiniarotáhrhon tsi iá:we’ sénha ronatiohkowá:nen ne tewaia’taktóntie’. Tionkwaniarotáhrhon ne tká:ra’s, tánon’ ne ká:ti’ teionkwa’nikonhraténies tsi tewaterò:roks. Tsi nahò:ten’ tewateweiénstha’ akò:ren rotíhson tsi ní:ioht tsi aietewatéweienste’, tánon’ tsi ní:ioht tsi káhson kakoráhsera’ tiononhtónhon.
Né: káti’ ne onkwa’nikòn:ra’ sha’té:ioht ne kahnhó:ton, kakoráhsera’ ionkwa’nikonhrahnhó:ton.
Translation by Sahawisó:ko’ Arquette