評論
打印
I’m from the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, but I’ve lived in Denver for quite a few years.
我來自俄克拉何馬州東部的肖尼族，但我已經在丹佛住了好幾年了。
I have a friend that also lives in Denver who is originally from Oklahoma, the Cherokee Nation.
我有一個朋友也住在丹佛，他來自俄克拉荷馬州，切諾基族。
We got talking about how homesick we were, and he suggested that we go spend a couple of weeks with his grandma.
我們談到我們是多么想家，他建議我們去和他奶奶呆上幾周。
In the car for the 12-hour drive, we talked about everything we missed: fry bread and powwows and stomp dances and hearing our people speak our own languages.
在12個小時的車程中，我們談論著我們錯過的一切：炸面包、帕瓦儀式、重踏舞，聽我們的人民說我們自己的語言。
By the time we got to Oklahoma, I was so happy to be home.
當我們到達俄克拉何馬州時，我很高興回家了。
We were maybe three or four miles from his grandma’s house when he said there were a couple of things maybe he should tell me about.
在我們離他奶奶家大概有三四英里時，他說有幾件事他應該告訴我。
The first was that his grandmother might not be particularly fond of Shawnee people.
第一，他的祖母可能不是特別喜歡肖尼人。
This was because of a thing that had happened between our tribes in the late 1800s.
這是因為19世紀末發生在我們部落之間的一件事。
That might seem like a long time ago to some people, but she remembered.
對有些人來說，這似乎是很久以前的事了，但她記得。
The second thing was that she could be a little bit persistent about inviting people to go to church with her on Sunday.
第二件事是，她可以堅持邀請人們星期天和她一起去教堂。
Right away I knew what he meant. In modern-day Oklahoma, Native people have an eclectic array of spiritual beliefs.
我立刻明白了他的意思。在今天的俄克拉何馬州，當地居民有著各種各樣的精神信仰。
Some follow our traditional ways; others have joined various congregations.
一些遵循我們的傳統方式；其他人加入了不同的教會。
I grew up with an Irish Catholic mother and a Shawnee father, and so I was very open to all kinds of different spiritual beliefs.
我的母親是愛爾蘭天主教徒，父親是肖尼人，所以我對各種不同的精神信仰都很開放。
But as I grew up, it was our traditional ways that had spoken to my heart.
但隨著我的成長，我們的傳統方式說出了我的心聲。
However, when I went back home I’d still get a lot of invitations to go to church.
然而，當我回到家，我仍然會收到很多邀請去教堂。
Although I really appreciated it, I usually politely declined because there was always an undercurrent of hoping that I might be converted, and I really don’t like to disappoint people.
雖然我真的很感激，但我通常會禮貌地拒絕，因為我心里總有一股希望我能轉變的暗流，而且我真的不喜歡讓別人失望。
I promised my friend that I could be diplomatic with his grandmother if she was persistent with her invitations,
我答應過我的朋友，如果他的祖母堅持要邀請我的話，我可以圓融應對，
and I even thought that maybe I could win her over to liking Shawnee people.
我甚至想也許我能讓她喜歡肖尼人。
