For as long as I can remember, my beloved father would always tell me, "Son, always know where you are coming from, where you are going, but most of all, who you are traveling with!" These words, planted like seeds in my heart, have become a guiding truth.
Now, at 80 winters, I understand their depth in ways I could not in my younger days. My father’s teaching is a compass, reminding me that life’s journey is not only about direction but about relationships. These sacred connections shape our path and, most importantly, the discernment to walk alongside those whose hearts are aligned with our own.
To know where you are coming from is to honor the sacred ground of your origins, the ancestors who walked before you, and the teachings that formed the foundation of your life. My father’s wisdom calls us to remember our roots, to draw strength from the tiospaye—our extended family and community—and to carry forward the sacred teachings of those who came before us. These roots are our identity and a source of resilience and purpose.
To know where you are going, is to walk with a clear vision guided by Wakan Tanka, the Great Spirit. It is a reminder that our steps today shape the future of the Seventh Generation. So, our journey must be intentional, balancing life's physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, and volitional dimensions. My father’s words remind me to align my path with the Creator’s purpose, ensuring that each step contributes to the healing and harmony of Mother Earth and our Human Family.
But most of all, my father taught me to be mindful of who I travel with. This is not just about companionship. Who we walk with shapes our journey—our thoughts, actions, and ultimate destination.
To walk with care means to seek companions whose hearts are aligned with the Creator’s teachings, who uplift and support the vision of unity, justice, respect, healing, forgiveness, and harmony. It is a call to discernment, to recognize that not everyone who walks beside us is meant to stay and that our greatest strength comes from traveling with those who embody respect, love, justice, compassion, and integrity.
In Dakota, the concept of wóčekiye—the sacred relationship—is central to this teaching. Our companions include human relatives and the more-than-human beings—winged, four-legged, and rooted—living on Mother Earth with us. This teaching reminds us to be mindful of all our relations, to nurture relationships built on reciprocity, and to journey in harmony with those who honor the sacred circle of life.
My beloved father’s wisdom, especially his emphasis on being careful about who we travel with, reminds us that our journey, companions, and destination are sacred. To walk this path with intention and discernment is to honor the interconnectedness of all creation, ensuring that our actions always restore harmony to Mother Earth.
My father’s words resonate as a profound truth! The people we travel with will either uplift our vision or weigh it down. Thus, we must surround ourselves with those who walk in beauty, respect, truth, justice, forgiveness, compassion, and love. This does not mean that we treat anyone disrespectfully or unjustly.
Through his teachings, my beloved father gifted me a vision of life’s journey as a sacred trust—a balance between honouring where we come from, walking with purpose toward where we are going, and, most of all, carefully choosing who we travel with.
