Relationships In Albert White Hat Life's Journey

999 Words4 Pages

Interconnected, associated, linked, corresponding, comparable, equivalent: all words to describe relationships in Native American communities and how they are important. Albert White Hat exemplifies how important these relationships are in his book, Life’s Journey - Zuya. In this book, Albert White Hat talks about O’mitakuye Oyasin, which means, “we are all related” (36). Whether it be plants, birds, or trees, they consider them as relatives and they work together for gathering food, providing shelter, clothing… the list goes on. Different living things and objects were respected and sometimes honored for their responsibilities in nature. Not only does Albert White Hat illustrate these relationships in his novel, Luther Standing Bear also portrays them in his book, Land of the Spotted Eagle. …show more content…

He even dedicates a whole chapter dedicated to home and family. We can see that relationships are vital in their community by something as simple as inviting other people into their homes to eat dinner. Luther Standing Bear explained how his mother would prepare food with some relatives and would ask his father to come and invite some friends over. His father would always bring older men and they would eat, sing, and tell stories. These feasts would strengthen the ties between his father and other people within the community. Not only do they reinforce relationships among each other in the community, but they implement relationships with nature everyday in their lives as