Traditions and our heritage are incredibly important, because they allow us to remember our elders and honor their legacy. Traditional acts are made to find spiritual guidance, and to praise our ancestors. But sometimes some traditions seem foolish and unnecessarily difficult, causing modern children not to want to complete them, but they still decide out of a sense of duty for their heritage. The Medicine Bag by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve is a story about a boy who tells exaggerated stories about his grandfather, depicting him as a strong, stately man who has lots of adventures defeating his enemies and hunting animals. His grandfather sends him many interesting gifts, and his sister gets the same. They get moccasins and a drum. But one day, Martin sees his grandfather and is worried that how he really looks will dispel the myth and cause his friends to mock him. They take him in because he has heat exhaustion, and is near death. His friends honor him when Martin finally shows them, and he feels better. His grandfather gives Martin the sacred medicine bag, which has holy objects in it. Martin accepts it, but he doesn’t want to wear the ugly piece of leather, and his grandfather tells him he just has to keep it. This story by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve is a heartening story about finding our heritage and honoring it.
Our heritage is our link to the past, something that allows us to remember those who have done their traditions in the past and now have finally passed them along to you. They allow us to become more in tune with ourselves and accept who we are. By continuing traditions, we can learn the ways of our ancestors. In the Medicine Bag, Martin used to be kind of ashamed of his heritage, but he learned how important and sacred the medicine bag was. Once his grandfather perished, he was adamant in upholding the holy tradition of replacing the piece of sacred sage. He became more mature and he had grown, and his conversation with his grandfather and his final acceptance of wearing the medicine bag shows how he had matured. When his friends didn’t mock his grandfather, this comforted Martin because it shows that people will be accepting about his traditions. Sacred traditions should be upheld, and we should remember our heritage and be proud of it. No matter what race you’re from, you should always try to continue the ways of our ancestors. We can’t forget our heritage and we have to always remember our traditions.
Our elders and our ancestors are important, because they teach us their wise ways and bestow upon us their years of experience. Our elders can advise us on what is the best thing to do under specific circumstances, and their wisdom and stories will always be sought after. In the Medicine Bag, Martin had made incredible stories based off of what his grandfather had done or told him, and his friends were immensely entertained. Even when his grandfather came and didn’t look like the stately man Martin had painted him as, his friends still honored him respectfully and thought that he was a pretty great man. Cheryl’s friends didn’t even care that he didn’t match up with the man that they told stories about, they simply loved how he would patiently answer the questions and reward them with stories about great warriors, ghosts, and animals. Martin became proud at how respectful and polite his friends were, and at how his grandfather looked very dignified and glamorous, very similar to how Martin had depicted him. Our elders can give us wise advice and pass down sacred traditions, and they can tell great stories that allow us to understand the past better. Our ancestors pass down mysterious advice that helps us improve. We need to value our elders because of how they can benefit us by giving us guidance when we most need it.
We can’t sacrifice our cultural identity in order to feel like we belong, because then that would bring shame to your ancestors and your culture. By remembering who we are culturally and how we can make our elders proud, we can calm ourselves and minimize stress. This is beneficial because it can help prevent us from having an identity crisis. In the Medicine Bag, Martin was kind of ashamed of his culture and his grandfather being Sioux, but his parents knew the importance of his cultural heritage, and Martin gradually warms up to the idea of wearing the medicine bag, even though he still doesn’t want to. He accepts the fact that this was a sacred tradition, and not wearing it would be dishonorable and be a betrayal to all his ancestors. He was willing to do it for his grandfather, but his grandfather then tells him he does not have to, proving that his grandfather understands the new modern times and how their tradition will adapt to fit it. Understanding how times have changed and how we can adapt our cultural identities to match it is an important skill that allows us to belong without losing our heritage. Honoring our ancestors is something that we should always do, but as modern times change, our traditions can be slightly edited.
The Medicine Bag is a great story about the importance of heritage, our ancestors and elders, and our cultural identity. It teaches us how we should always remember our heritage, how we need to respect and listen to our elders, and how we cannot sacrifice our ethnic distinctiveness. This book is very knowledgeable and it teaches us how to honor our heritage while still keeping our friends through an interesting story. It has many crucial themes and lessons that help us learn the power of our traditions and why they are sacred. Remembering to honor our ancestors is important, and this story teaches us how we can do that by following traditions. The Medicine Bag is an important book that teaches us why we should value traditions, and I recommend it for readers of all ages.
Comments