Respect
Written by: Cami Larochelle, CITC Reading Teacher, Scenic Park Elementary
I still can hear Ataataq’s, (my grandfather) voice speaking in his limited English. “When a person comes in the house, you ask: “You hungry? Thirsty? Feed them, no matter what they look like, handsome, pretty, ugly, Eskimo or not, rich or poor, set the table for them and feed them.”
We did not have electricity or running water back then. Our homes were heated by wood stove. Everyone participated in our subsistence way of living in St. Michael. Our travels via dog teams and walking throughout the cold winter days always made the offer of tea or food sound welcome. It wasn’t the gesture that was important, but the belief and value behind it.
My mother explained, “When you give, it’ll come back to you, never be stingy.” Another version of my grandfather and mother’s words is: Give and it will be given unto you, pressed down, shaken together and overflowing.
This value system is not a hand out, nor one of greed. It is a prosperous value of caring for one another with a grateful attitude for the One who provided.
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