One night as I was skimming through Facebook on my phone this painting came up. I looked at it with familiarity. I thought, "How do I know this?" Then it hit me. I remembered this from when I was a child. The picture above is 'Old Father Story Teller' by Pablita Velade. I remember looking at it as a child and wondering how big the man in the middle was.
It was a few weeks before this discovery that I began thinking about my cultural project for my Multicultural Folktales II class. I thought I would take the easy route and focus on the southwest region.
It wasn't until I was surfing Facebook of all things, that I felt inspired to dig into the stories of my culture. I grew up in the Pueblo of Ohkay Owingeh in northern New Mexico. I had heard a few stories as a young girl, but could not remember any.
I asked my father if there was someone that I should ask about storytelling traditions specifically. I sent a few texts and phone calls and was connected with one of the elder women from the community.
I recently had the privilege of sitting down and sharing coffee with this wise woman. I am grateful for her willingness to share with me her valuable knowledge. She has offered her continual support and help. She said, "Nothing is mine. I want to share it. I can't take it with me. With our culture we are Ohkay, without our culture we have no identity." I realize this is a great gift that I have been given.
By coming across 'Old Father Story Teller' I changed my plan of action. I am so glad I did. It has helped me to connect to my home in a deeper more meaningful way.
Leave a Reply