We met today with Hudlin Wagner, the current interim dean of students. Hudlin is Cherokee and she told us about her cultural heritage and her reservation in North Carolina. She cautioned us against lumping all tribes together in terms of culture and explained how even though she is native, she often feels like an outsider arriving on a new reservation and how Americans often homogenize tribes in our minds. She also cautioned us against making the assumption that if people are poor that they are miserable when in fact many lead "very rich lives."
Hudlin grew excited about the prospects of us meeting with elders on the reservations and laughingly encouraged us, "If an elder gets ahold of you, you're gonna be hearing stories! Really try to seek out elders because boy they're beautiful story tellers." She chuckled and explained that stories and oral history often may seem disconnected or take a long time but often have a very powerful meaning.
Hudlin mirthfully told us a story that I have to relate here. This was told to her by an Apache elder in Arizona. Hudlin was there making a documentary with several other women and the elder asked one woman if she had a man. The woman replied, "No, I don't have a man. At this point in my life I'm afraid I may be single forever." The elder asked, "Do you know how the female eagle gets a mate?" At this point the woman began to assume that the elder was moving to a different subject. "The female eagle sees three males perched in a tree and she goes to the ground and picks up a stick. She flies way way up high and then drops the stick and the three males all take turns trying to catch it. She keeps going down and getting heavier and heavier sticks to drop until only one male is able to catch the sticks. She chooses that male because he has the most strength to devote to her and will stay with her through the most difficult challenges." Then the elder paused for a while and said, "You should find a man who can catch your heaviest stick".
Hudlin presented us with a box of pure tobacco to offer as a gift should we encounter such a situation and also with a cluster of beautiful wrapped sage. She spoke a blessing for our safety in Ojibwe and expressed her excitement for our journey and our safe return.
By Chris Petit and David Holman