Maybe You’re Not a Language Keeper
[ahpô îtokî namwâc kîtha kimiciminîn
pîkiskwîwin]
by Prestin Mercredi-Fleming
Maybe you're not a language keeper,
But know the songs.
Maybe you're not a basket weaver,
But know the roots.
Maybe you don't keep the medicines,
But you keep the children.
Maybe you're not a dancer,
But you make the regalia.
Maybe you don't keep a lodge,
But you keep the fire.
We don't need to be all of the things
To be Indigenous
To be worthy
To be valued
To belong.
We had societies and our
Roles were specific to our gifts.
Quit exhausting your Spirit
Trying to be gifted at everything.
It doesn't make you more Traditional.
Slow down and honor your strengths.
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About the Poem:
Prestin Mercredi-Fleming of Stanley Mission (born in Yellowknife) is the author of this resonant poem of affirmation, which has been translated into the Woodlands Cree traditional language.
Image: "Little Fawn - Cree Indian Girl" (1989) by American artist James Bama
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