There are people around us who have shaped who we are, they inspire us to achieve and reflecting on their values can help us recognize our own. Please share with us somebody in your life who inspires you and what values or teachings you think they exhibit.
- Share a story or person in your community that inspires you.
- What values does this story or person exhibit?
My mom, Stella Howard has shaped me during my early years and helped lay down the foundation of who I am. The characteristics and teachings that inspired me the most was my Mom was really involved in the church and willing to volunteer her time. As a single parent she still found time to be part of the church board, volunteer to help clean, volunteer to be a cook for children church services, and even ran the power point slides for the worship services. I am not sure how she had the energy to raise three children and be so involved in the church.
Not only did she volunteer, but she found time to encourage us to participate in the koo.eex that were occurring in the community (Haines, Alaska). The koo.eex can start at noon and go till 6 in the morning the next day and there are a lot of protocols and ceremonies done during that time. My Mom would have us stay for the entire koo.eex, because it was an honor to be invited and you showed the family who invited you respect by staying for the whole koo.eex. During the koo.eex my Mom would also have us sit with her and my Grandma most of the time.
When I was younger I didn’t understand why she wouldn’t let us go play with the other children outside the entire time. She told me once that we didn’t run around outside with the other children, because that would be rude to disrupt the koo.eex. We did not go to the koo.eex to go run around outside and play with the other children. I am very grateful for my Mom being strict, because it was very important for me to sit and learn about the koo.eex through experience.
She trained my sisters and I to be respectful of the family that was grieving and holding the koo.eex. She taught me to pay attention to what was going on during the koo.eex. I did not realize it was important for me to learn the protocols through experience rather than reading about it, because I probably wouldn’t have understood it very well. When it comes time to hold a koo.eex I’ll have those memories to draw upon and I might have to ask some Elders and community members for help in remembering all the protocols but I have the experience to help support me.