View source for Why We Teach the Laws

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== Why We Must Teach the Laws ==

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These words were shared by people who carry knowledge in their hearts.  
They remind us of something our Elders have long understood:
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“Many know these laws but refrain from posting them.  
If we do not teach these laws we will lose them, and that is disheartening.  
If we do not teach them, even our amsiiwa friends will not know how to react to our ways of life.

Unity amongst Indigenous people is required in this day and age,  
and the minimizing of these laws surely will—and is—diminishing our laws.”
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— Shared by a respected community member
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Ayaawx lives only when it is practiced.  
Not hidden.  
Not kept silent.  
Not stored away in the minds of a few Elders who are growing old.  
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== Silence Is Not Our Law ==
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Our people were never silent.

Our laws were taught:
* in feasts  
* in ceremony  
* in the way we behave  
* in the way we speak  
* in the way we correct our youth  
* in how we settle harm  

Today, we face something our ancestors never faced:  
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== Unity Requires Knowledge ==
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Another voice reminded us:

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“Unity is fundamental.  
Traditionally taught to those mentored.  
Their choices and actions show how the ways are followed…  
It’s not a matriarch tradition when division is forefront.”
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Unity is not created by force.  
It is created through shared teachings, shared values, shared laws.
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== If We Do Not Teach, Others Cannot Respect ==
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Even amsiiwa—our friends, our neighbours—cannot respect what they do not understand.
They may want to walk beside us, but without teaching, how would they know our boundaries?

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Respect comes from understanding.  
Understanding comes from teaching.
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== Teaching Is Protection ==
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When our laws are spoken, written, sung, and shared:

* our youth know how to behave  
* our families stay united  
* our stories remain strong  
* our culture survives  
* our allies know how to relate to us  
* our future leaders stand on solid ground  

Silence is not protection.  
Teaching is protection.
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== Our Elders Say: Teach the Laws ==
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“A law that is not taught is already half-forgotten.”
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To honour our ancestors, and to prepare the next generation,  
we must continue to speak, post, share, and carry the Ayaawx openly.

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This page honours all who speak up for unity and the survival of our teachings.
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