Native Youth on Becoming Future Ancestors

 by Amber Benally, Rising Leaders Manager

In spring 2020, with the rest of the world, I was suddenly limited to the four walls of my home and isolated from the outside world. A year later, I give gratitude that it was not the books of academia but the teachings spoken by my grandparents around a ceremonial fireplace that helped me grow and reflect in these times of isolation. The time for reflection also helped me understand that, as young people, we all have a legacy to leave behind and one day we will be the ancestors of this land.

So what does it mean to become an ancestor? In Hopi tradition, the women are the caretakers of the corn and of the livelihoods of the family. In Diné tradition, our grandmothers are the heads of the home and the medicine for our families. So how are young people today following these sacred traditions to lay the foundation for future generations? As the world adjusted to life through a webcam, I met a young woman who exemplified the teachings I had heard as a child.

“Nu' Paaqupmana yan Hopi maatsiwa.” 

Her name is Paaqupmana, meaning “bamboo girl” in Hopi. She is Hopi and Tewa, from First Mesa, one of three Mesas that form the heart of the Hopi reservation. Her other name is Maree Mahkewa. A student in environmental sustainability at Northern Arizona University, Maree joined us for LeaderShift — an intensive environmental justice training program hosted by the Grand Canyon Trust’s Rising Leaders Program. 

I sat down with Maree to hear more about how she is channeling the teachings of her grandparents in her life. 

“Nu' Qaaöwungwa nikyang Tewa ep kiita.” 

As a member of the Corn Clan (Qaaöwungwa), Maree explained how her role as a woman is grounded in caretaking for the Earth. 

“In a matrilineal society on Hopi, we are expected to fulfill certain roles in the village to ensure the land is cared for."

This part of her identity is fundamental to the work she undertakes. “I had to pick and choose what is important to me so I have designed my academic pathway based on the teachings of my people,” Maree added. 

MAREE MAHKEWA

Currently, she is active in three roles meant to empower Indigenous youth while weaving in the teachings of her elders. First, with her family, she helped found Tutskwa Öqöltoynani, a beautification project translated as “Reviving the Earth” in her community of Tewa. The group initiated the First Mesa Inaugural Earth Clean Up to rid the mesa sides of trash and restore the fertile soil below. Next, Maree serves as an ambassador for land conservation at the Center for Native American Youth at the Aspen Institute, where she works to inform and educate communities about uranium mining on tribal lands. She also serves as a board member and youth ambassador at the Hopi Tutskwa Permaculture, a nonprofit initiative that is community-based and incorporates the wisdom of Hopi traditional ecological knowledge, appropriate technology, and permaculture design principles for Hopi youth and communities. 

“Our grandparents remind us of our responsibilities as Hopi people.” 

Native people are storytellers and it is our duty to uphold our peoples’ teachings for future generations. Maree explained, “My grandparents make the effort to ensure we understand our Hopi teachings. It’s important that one day I’ll be able to pass this knowledge to my own children. So I do my best to hear their stories and teachings while they are still with us.” 

MAREE MAHKEWA

Maree’s responsibility as a Hopi woman highlights an important sentiment among Native youth today. Indigenous youth, especially those who grow up on their ancestral homelands, are often encouraged to leave the reservation to pursue higher education and get a job off of the “rez.” But, as the year 2020 taught many Native people, the teachings from our grandparents and other elders are all we need to survive. The stories of seeds, songs about basket-making, or the teachings of a weaver’s loom began trending on social media. These teachings emphasize important qualities such as patience, proactive planning, and preparation for having our own families. For many young Natives, we were remembering and speaking our grandparents’ teachings and putting them to action. One way Maree puts her teachings into action is learning alongside the Hopi Tutskwa Permaculture Institute and working to highlight teachings about food. Food is a cycle and a way to better living. “Sustainability is keeping food local and sharing it with the community will lead to healthier communities and better lifestyles,” Maree explained. “We need healthier and happier people. As we’ve been taught [as Hopi] that the more work you put in, and prayer, the more you will get out. That’s a resilient system that will provide for generations to come."

“Being an environmental advocate means being an Indigenous person.”

For Maree, environmental advocacy is rooted in the identity of all Indigenous people. “We are a part of this earth, this world and among the living beings and cycles of nature, and without those we wouldn’t be able to exist,” she explained. “I am playing my role as a human and it is my duty to be a caretaker and a stewardess as Hopi.”

An astonishing thing is happening in Indian Country today: our Native youth are finding pride in their identities as members of the Hopi, Diné, A:shiwi (Zuni) and all other Indigenous nations. Survival has been a cornerstone of Native culture since 1492. But 2020 taught us that, rather than just surviving, Native youth can begin thriving in their identities. There is power in the lessons around the fireplace and the songs sung at the fields. Native youth have the knowledge to fulfill their role as stewards of the Earth. Maree reminded me of that and she is a living embodiment of those lessons put into action.