Ꭷ ᎢᏥᎪᎵᏰᏍᎩ
I don’t think I believe in rights, fundamental universal human rights that is... I understand those rights protected by ᏲᏁᎦ law, but what about before the law?
When they got off the boat, they pointed their collective finger at us and said "those ... have no laws, no religion, no government, ect...". This when I was younger this incensed me, but now I tend to agree with their initial assessment.
Law is ᏗᎧᏃᏩᏛᏍᏗ. That really is more akin to a goal or something’s foundation. Religion is ᏗᏁᎸᏙᏗᎢ. That sounds more like they are trying to do something, or worse playing at doing it. ᎠᏰᎸ ᎤᏙᏢᏒᎢ is not really government. It is the organization at the middle of things, not coercion, control or management of people’s lives. It took our elders in the Speakers’ Bureau six months to a year to find the right word for "control", and the context for that was in relation to manually maneuvering a basketball. One could say these are poor translations to describe universal ideas, but I posit that these are foreign ideas that don’t fit well into ᏣᎳᎩ ᎦᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ.
"ᏂᏚᏳᎪᏛ" or rights, are something that our people didn’t need at one time. We were Sovereign, not by constitutional right, or act of congress but by birth. ᎢᏗᏴᏫᏯ ᎨᏒ and we still are. No one is between us and ᎤᏁᎳᏅᎯ - we as individuals, voluntary members of families and communities are ultimately responsible for ourselves and secondly one another. We protected our own interests and the interests of our loved ones. There was no coercive mechanism for social control. Kinship ᎦᎵᏉᎩ ᏧᏂᏴᏫ was the resounding social organization and we were tied together by ᏣᎳᎩ ᎦᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ and ᎠᏂᎦᏴᎵ ᎤᏂᏃᎮᏛ. Our ᏗᎧᏃᏩᏛᏍᏗ was ᎡᎶᎯ ᎢᎨᏥ, the land itself. ᏂᏚᏳᎪᏛ ᎠᎴ ᏚᏳᎪᏛ was our way of life and culture ᎢᏯᏛᏁᎵᏓᏍᏗ.
ᏚᏳᎪᏛ is the way and the truth, all that is just and right. It was how we lived and still should ᎤᏁᎳᏅᎯ ᏕᏣᎳᏏᎦᏕᏍᏗ. We protected one another and sheltered one another, we were careful not to use one another up. We always looked for the best in each other and never let anything come between us, we knew that each person was created as unique and we shared in that value.
ᎤᏁᎳᏅᎯ gave us everything, gave all. We had no entitlements and needed no rights. What was ours was only borrowed and what we had was freely given. If someone tried to take my life, I defended myself, and if I failed my family would take a life in return. That is ᏂᏚᏳᎪᏛ and it wasn’t a right, it was a truth. ᏗᎧᏃᏩᏛᏍᏗ ᎢᎦᏤᎵ ᏚᏳᎪᏛ ᎨᏐᎢ
ᎤᏁᎦ ᎦᏅᏅ ᏧᏙᎢᏛ ᎢᏗᎦᏚᏩᎩ ᎢᏗᏴᏫᏯ ᎢᏥᏰᎦ ᏍᎩᎾ ᏂᏣᏛᎦᏃ
ᎣᏏᏳ
ᏩᏕ ᎦᎵᏍᎨᏫ ᏥᎪᏪᎸᎦ
I don’t think I believe in rights, fundamental universal human rights that is... I understand those rights protected by ᏲᏁᎦ law, but what about before the law?
When they got off the boat, they pointed their collective finger at us and said "those ... have no laws, no religion, no government, ect...". This when I was younger this incensed me, but now I tend to agree with their initial assessment.
Law is ᏗᎧᏃᏩᏛᏍᏗ. That really is more akin to a goal or something’s foundation. Religion is ᏗᏁᎸᏙᏗᎢ. That sounds more like they are trying to do something, or worse playing at doing it. ᎠᏰᎸ ᎤᏙᏢᏒᎢ is not really government. It is the organization at the middle of things, not coercion, control or management of people’s lives. It took our elders in the Speakers’ Bureau six months to a year to find the right word for "control", and the context for that was in relation to manually maneuvering a basketball. One could say these are poor translations to describe universal ideas, but I posit that these are foreign ideas that don’t fit well into ᏣᎳᎩ ᎦᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ.
"ᏂᏚᏳᎪᏛ" or rights, are something that our people didn’t need at one time. We were Sovereign, not by constitutional right, or act of congress but by birth. ᎢᏗᏴᏫᏯ ᎨᏒ and we still are. No one is between us and ᎤᏁᎳᏅᎯ - we as individuals, voluntary members of families and communities are ultimately responsible for ourselves and secondly one another. We protected our own interests and the interests of our loved ones. There was no coercive mechanism for social control. Kinship ᎦᎵᏉᎩ ᏧᏂᏴᏫ was the resounding social organization and we were tied together by ᏣᎳᎩ ᎦᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ and ᎠᏂᎦᏴᎵ ᎤᏂᏃᎮᏛ. Our ᏗᎧᏃᏩᏛᏍᏗ was ᎡᎶᎯ ᎢᎨᏥ, the land itself. ᏂᏚᏳᎪᏛ ᎠᎴ ᏚᏳᎪᏛ was our way of life and culture ᎢᏯᏛᏁᎵᏓᏍᏗ.
ᏚᏳᎪᏛ is the way and the truth, all that is just and right. It was how we lived and still should ᎤᏁᎳᏅᎯ ᏕᏣᎳᏏᎦᏕᏍᏗ. We protected one another and sheltered one another, we were careful not to use one another up. We always looked for the best in each other and never let anything come between us, we knew that each person was created as unique and we shared in that value.
ᎤᏁᎳᏅᎯ gave us everything, gave all. We had no entitlements and needed no rights. What was ours was only borrowed and what we had was freely given. If someone tried to take my life, I defended myself, and if I failed my family would take a life in return. That is ᏂᏚᏳᎪᏛ and it wasn’t a right, it was a truth. ᏗᎧᏃᏩᏛᏍᏗ ᎢᎦᏤᎵ ᏚᏳᎪᏛ ᎨᏐᎢ
ᎤᏁᎦ ᎦᏅᏅ ᏧᏙᎢᏛ ᎢᏗᎦᏚᏩᎩ ᎢᏗᏴᏫᏯ ᎢᏥᏰᎦ ᏍᎩᎾ ᏂᏣᏛᎦᏃ
ᎣᏏᏳ
ᏩᏕ ᎦᎵᏍᎨᏫ ᏥᎪᏪᎸᎦ
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