Blog # 2 -- "Boy"

Son, when you are older, buy the groceries on Sunday so that Monday through Friday you can feed your family properly. Saturday... pizza maybe. Don't wear colored bandannas until you're older. Help your woman cook the frybread and keep the oil clean. Make sure that the buckskin is tanned and that you never drop an eagle feather. Please, stay away from alcohol and the gangs that think they own the town, no matter what, son. But Dad, I don't hang out with them at all-- This is how you bead a medallion, this is how you speak our language. This is how you aim your bow, your gun, this is how you provide or your family. This is how you stay away from drugs and alcohol. If you get in a disagreement, settle it like a man, no a boy. This is how you survive in a world full of people who believe they have conquered us. Son, don't forget to braid your hair every morning as neatly as I braided yours when you were young. Do the same for your own son until he's able to do his own. Don't become a stereotype -- mow the lawn and keep the house and yard moderately clean. Don't be pressured. Don't drink, don't abuse, don't fight. Treat your woman like you would your mom or better. I better not hear about you getting drunk and hitting your woman. Cherish her. But don't let your woman do that to you either, son. Don't be that couple. Don't talk about things you've been instructed against talking about. Even if you're not sure, don't say it. Please be safe, my son. This is how you make stew and meat pies. This root will cure almost anything. Be sure to thank the spirit of the fish or animal you have killed in order to feed your family. This is how to earn respect from your elders, and this is how you in turn respect them. This is the way to keep yourself from alcohol and how to keep the Indian way. I know, Dad. I won't do any of that. You better not, son. Don't become like your father. Don't turn out like me.