HOPE FOR OUR FUTURE

HOPE FOR OUR FUTURE

Deuteronomy 4:40 "Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land the LORD your God gives you for all time."

It was a wonderful ending to a lot of work. As the drummers sang their first song, about one hundred dancers started down the eastern entrance as the grand entry opened the evening session. As I looked at all who were entering the circle, I started to see that all the pain and all the planning and all the problems that it took to have this pow wow was well worth the effort. The songs sung by both our southern and northern drums could not have been more powerful. Each beat that caused our feet to hit the floor was well worth the pain I felt as I danced around the circle. I looked at the dancers and it seemed like everyone was enjoying all that was happening as we danced, drummed and sang. But the thing that truly made my heart feel good was that over a third of our dancers were under 15 years of age.

It was such a joy to see our children out there dancing with pride in who they are. I was proud to know that in their own way they were learning what it means to be Indian in the 21st century. As I watched the children dance their special song I saw children from as young as two years of age dancing with pride. It is the future of our nation. It is the future of our tribe. Children with dreams and a desire to succeed in the future. Our responsibility is to make sure and guide our children, not by words but by the things we do. To help them obey God the Creator as we obey God the Creator. Moses said, "Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land the LORD your God gives you for all time." As I saw our children and grandchildren dance, I could not help but think of what kind of leaders we are producing by our lives. I saw the future of our people and I asked God the Creator to help me be the leader I should be to help them find the right path in this world.

Robert Soto, Lipan Apache and pastor