Respect, Responsibility and Reciprocity:
When I say I am Grateful

Boozhoo John,

In the last week, I’ve had some time to reflect on Thanksgiving and what it means to be grateful.

I recall a conference I attended where an elder delivered an opening address. A member of the audience praised her for her many accomplishments, remarking that she must be proud to be a strong Native woman. The speaker quickly replied, “I am not so much proud to be Native as I am grateful.”

Expressing gratitude on Thanksgiving is an American tradition, but for Native people, a profound gratefulness is quite nearly a state of being. We reflect on the extraordinary level of struggle and challenge our ancestors experienced, and we are genuinely grateful for the foresight our ancestors had as they considered and planned for future generations – as they planned for us.

But to have gratitude, the elders have said, is to also bear responsibility – no matter the cost – and stand up for all that gives us life. The ultimate thanksgiving is reciprocity.

When thinking about what our ancestors fought for – our freedom to vote, practice our culture, and speak our languages – reminds us how very fragile those liberties can be.

There is still so much at stake that we must continue to fight for: at least 50 percent of Native languages are seriously endangered according to the United Nations, one in four Natives live in extreme poverty, and the clean water crisis is a daily concern for Indigenous peoples at a global level.

So I remain grateful for how far we’ve come thanks to the courage of our ancestors, but we must continue their work with resilience, bravery, and most of all, love for one another.

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Miigwech (thank you) for being on this journey with us and helping us build a bright future for our seventh generation.

Our staff is taking some time to rest and plan out our work in 2023. We will hit the ground running in the new year to make sure that every voice is heard in the spring election on April 4. To support our work leading up to this vital election, you can donate here [[link removed]].

I am grateful for you.

The elder I refer to at the beginning of this email is Rosemary Ackley Christenson, a Mole Lake Ojibwe tribal member. The "Respect, Responsibility, and Reciprocity" concept behind gratefulness is part of her dissertation on Native American elder epistemology.

Sincerely,
Dee Sweet
Native Vote Manager
Wisconsin Conservation Voices

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