Our strength
Geraldine Standup, her mother Greta Beauvais, and Geraldine's grandmother pose together. Showing three generations. (Courtesy: Tekaronhiahkhwa Standup)
Story told by Geraldine Standup
A lot of the time, people who come to speak to me are focused on loss rather than gain.
When I was a teenager, I used to get in trouble with my grandmother all the time. So, I got lots of teaching.
She used to say to me, “Don’t think like that! You’re gonna make it happen.”
Now, when you hear it 100 times over the course of your teenage years, you begin to understand that your thoughts create your reality.
Getting back to the ego that sits in our skulls and has a penchant for living in the negativity of the past, you begin to understand that our ego is not our best friend.
Almost all Indigenous people have a deeply rooted spirituality that is the basis of how we see things in this world.
It’s that mentality that has helped us to survive horrendous stuff in these last 500 years. That is our strength - it’s our spirituality, our will, and our knowing that we are sovereign and that we are right.
It is righteousness that gives us strength.
KANIEN’KÉHA VERSION
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KANIEN’KÉHA VERSION ↓
Onkwa'shatsténhsera'
Geraldine Standup IAKOKÁ:RATON
Iotkà:te', ón:kwe entionkwatken'sè:ra' taiakwahthá:ren'.
Tánon' só:tsi ki' nè:'e tiako'nikonhrakontáhkwen tsi nahò:ten' iakohtón:ni né:ne iá:we tsi nahò:ten' eniakoién:ta'ne'. Iawén:re shitewátien', tiótkon shes akhsótha' teniatiaterihotáhrhoke'. É:so ká:ti' wa'onkerihónnien'.
Enionkhró:ri' shes, "Tóhsa ki' tho ní:ioht tsi sanonhtónnion! Entehserihón:ni' ne tho naiá:wen'."
Nó:nen é:so ienká:ienhte' nè:'e ensathón:te' tsi niiohseré:son's ne iawén:re tisá:ien', entewatáhsawen' ensa'nikonhraién:ta'ne'. Tsi nahò:ten' sanonhtónnion entkarihón:ni' tsi nahò:ten' tenhsatóhetste'.
Ienskatihéntho' thí:ken tsi tewanonhtonniónhkhwa', iorihwákon' ne awehià:rake' tsi nahò:ten' io'táksen teionkwatohétston. Entehsatáhsawen' ki’ wáhi aiesa’nikonhraién:ta’ne' tsi iah tió:konte' tha’tetewatén:ro ne tsi tewanonhtonniónhkhwa'.
Thó:ha akwé:kon nonkwehón:we iohní:ron tsi nahò:ten' tiakawehtáhkwen tsi nonkwá:ti ne atónhnhets. Né: ki' onkwa'nónhkwa' tsi ní:tsi teiakwakà:nere' ne tsi ionhontsá:te'.
Tho nika'nikonhrò:ten wa'onkwaia'takéhnha' tsi wa'tiakwatóhetste' teiotenonhianihténion kí:ken 500 niiohserá:ke ontóhetste'. Né: ki' onkwa'shatsténhsera' - né:ne tionkwehtáhkwen, tsi niionkwatste'niá:ron, tánon' tsi ionkwaterièn:tare' tsi iakwatáthawe' tánon' tionkwarihwaié:ri.
Ionkwa'shatstenhserá:wis ki' nen' nè:'e ne tsi tionkwarihwaié:ri.
Translation by Sahawisó:ko' Arquette