Community means people working together for the 
highest good of all concerned. I was taught that I am related to all members of my community—all the people, animals, botanicals and minerals. All natural things of the planet are all my relations. I was at a Tribal community meeting one summer evening and an elder named Katherine was speaking to the youth. She was telling them not to paint graffiti on the “stone people” because they are our oldest living relations. They are the ancients among us. We do not paint gang symbols on the ancients because it is disrespectful. She talked a long time about the stone people and how they help us and support us in our lives. She talked about the beauty of the large stones and boulders around the reservation who live among us and the wisdom inside them. I had heard before that the stones are alive but never really gave it much thought until I heard Katherine tell her stories. I have developed a greater love for the great and small stones of the earth since hearing her speak. A good storyteller holds the attention of his or her audience. When they speak there is love in their words and they make eye contact with their listeners. Katherine’s name bears mentioning because she passed away recently. Even though we moved away several years ago, I felt bad when another elder called to tell me about Katherine’s passing. The other elder wondered how the community would get along without her. She said she didn’t think anyone else could ever take her place in the community. It’s true that none of us will ever be Katherine but we did hear her stories and it’s our responsibility to pass them on to others.
Whenever an elder passes on, I feel as though I am unworthy to try to tell the stories they told so well. Some people are talented basket makers, others are skilled potters or dancers, singers or healers. We all have gifts from the Creator that are meant to bring joy and spiritual discovery to others in our communities. There are great cooks, language teachers, business managers, mathematicians, plumbers, writers, teachers and every other form of talent expressed by humans.
A few are spiritual leaders who facilitate huge ceremonial events. A man recently came to our home to tell me that he wants to be a spiritual leader in the local community. I couldn’t help him because I don’t have the skill for that particular job. I wondered why he would ask an older woman who spends most of my time cleaning and cooking, how he could achieve this goal. He said that people come here to our home for help but he didn’t understand. They come here because we have meetings here for people in sober recovery and our meetings express a kind of Intertribal spiritual format. I didn’t invent the format that is used all over the country for Red Road meetings. I simply follow it. It’s used to bring recovery to American Indian communities.
I am not a leader. I clean the meeting room, make the coffee and put out the literature. The Tribal members who come here are intelligent people who can read the material and think for themselves. They are Yavapai/Apache and we live right on the edge of their reservation. I am Seneca, not Yavapai/Apache so I have nothing to do with leading their ceremonies and every once in a while I get invited anyway and it’s a great honor to attend. The visitor wanted to know how we promote our meetings and I told him we do not promote anything. Alcohol and drug addiction does the promoting of the need for these meetings. I am in recovery too and I need the meetings as much as anyone else who attends. The local Tribe is generous, kind and grateful to have the presence of recovery available to them. All I could tell him was to suggest he find a need among the community and try to serve that need. Find your place and serve humbly among the people. Perhaps filling a need has something with taking pride in making a tasty pot of coffee or cleaning and fixing the meeting room in a way that people feel safe here. All I know is that the community where I live has become a comfortable and purposeful place for me and I am deeply grateful to the Great Creator for my little spot in this community.
