Sittin' in the sun with our elders.
By Sky Vasquez
I have been trying to write this post for...years. Well, maybe, just been sitting in my drafts for little over one year. My posts are like my artwork, I have to feel it to create it. But this week was the first week Portland was full of sunshine and I felt like it pulled me out of a deep, dark hole of gloomy clouds & rain which I thought I would never return. Okay, that is a little dramatic but yes, I am SO OVER winter.
I thought I would talk about one thing I love most about my rez and one particular healthy habit my native elders taught me. Sitting in the sun. In the past three years, I truly learned to appreciate this about my rez. Most days, the sun is shining and the sky's are huge and blue. Early birds can always see a sunrise and everyone can see, what usually is, an amazing sunset over the Eastern Sierra Mountains. If you don't believe me, just follow anyone from Bishop on social media for a few months and you will see dozens and dozens of sunset photo posts.
My folks like to wake up and drink their coffee out on the front porch. In the afternoons, they sit with the radio on listening to music or the news. We will bask in the sunlight, like lizards laying on rocks to warm themselves. We sit there and talk about what is happening in our lives, on the rez or with tribal council. What we did the night before and who we saw in town or at the clinic. (I always see so many people at the clinic) Sometimes friends or relatives drive by and we will wave. Occassionally they will even stop and get out to visit with us.
I love this about our rez. Just pull in for a quick visit. The last time I saw my Uncle Juggy before he passed away, I was sitting outside with my folks. He was driving by, like so many times before but this time he pulled in, got out and sat with us in the sunshine. He asked how I was doing with our new move to Portland. Then he told us about how he & his brother were hiking in the mountains and found the antlers that a dear shed. He chatted a bit more, then got back in his car and headed home.
It's particularly special when my elders come to visit my folks. I get to sit there in the sun and listen to them tell stories of when they were young. What they did on our rez and who they hung out with. Sometimes, I'll lay on the grass or we watch the B ride his bike back and forth on the road in front of the house. Now that Winuba Lane is no longer a dead end, we have a little more traffic but it's not near as busy as the city.
I've been teaching my son to sit and soak up the sun. Since we spend the school year in the Northwest, it's important to not take sunshine for granted. During the winter, on a day the sun may make an appearance, we go to the park and sit on a bench. Close our eyes and tilt our heads towards the sun. Just enjoy the moment. We get a lot more of it when we're back home on the rez but now we have to put on sunscreen. haha!
I thought I would talk about one thing I love most about my rez and one particular healthy habit my native elders taught me. Sitting in the sun. In the past three years, I truly learned to appreciate this about my rez. Most days, the sun is shining and the sky's are huge and blue. Early birds can always see a sunrise and everyone can see, what usually is, an amazing sunset over the Eastern Sierra Mountains. If you don't believe me, just follow anyone from Bishop on social media for a few months and you will see dozens and dozens of sunset photo posts.
My folks like to wake up and drink their coffee out on the front porch. In the afternoons, they sit with the radio on listening to music or the news. We will bask in the sunlight, like lizards laying on rocks to warm themselves. We sit there and talk about what is happening in our lives, on the rez or with tribal council. What we did the night before and who we saw in town or at the clinic. (I always see so many people at the clinic) Sometimes friends or relatives drive by and we will wave. Occassionally they will even stop and get out to visit with us.
I love this about our rez. Just pull in for a quick visit. The last time I saw my Uncle Juggy before he passed away, I was sitting outside with my folks. He was driving by, like so many times before but this time he pulled in, got out and sat with us in the sunshine. He asked how I was doing with our new move to Portland. Then he told us about how he & his brother were hiking in the mountains and found the antlers that a dear shed. He chatted a bit more, then got back in his car and headed home.
It's particularly special when my elders come to visit my folks. I get to sit there in the sun and listen to them tell stories of when they were young. What they did on our rez and who they hung out with. Sometimes, I'll lay on the grass or we watch the B ride his bike back and forth on the road in front of the house. Now that Winuba Lane is no longer a dead end, we have a little more traffic but it's not near as busy as the city.
I've been teaching my son to sit and soak up the sun. Since we spend the school year in the Northwest, it's important to not take sunshine for granted. During the winter, on a day the sun may make an appearance, we go to the park and sit on a bench. Close our eyes and tilt our heads towards the sun. Just enjoy the moment. We get a lot more of it when we're back home on the rez but now we have to put on sunscreen. haha!
Little Sky Vasquez is Paiute/Navajo and grew up on the Bishop Paiute Resevation. She spent her life working for a number of Native organizations & Native owned businesses in California and Washington DC. Always a smile on her face, a mother, artist and eternal optimist. Her and her son currently reside in Portland, OR.
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