21 October 2009
Family Virtues Virtues are usually taught through the eyes of the wise, also known as the elder. In the book The Lakota Way, by Joseph M. Marshall III, his tribe teaches virtues though story telling. The virtues of the Lakota tribe and those of my family are more similar then I had anticipated, although we do have our differences. The Lakota Way, stories and lessons for living, is a book written in 2001 by Joseph M. Marshall III. Marshall dedicates his book to Kimberly Jo Schumidt and Joseph N. Marshall II. The stories he tells through out his book are those that have been passed down from his family about the Lakota’s and their virtues. Marshall’s stories are based on morals and virtues. While reading chapter 3, “Respect,” of The LakotaWay I came to find several similarities between my family’s view and the Lakota’s view. Koskalaka is a young man, in this chapter, who goes out hunting in the woods and stumbles across the Deer Woman whom his grandmother had told him about. His grandmother had mentioned that she knew a man who was never home because the Deer Woman took him, so he should avoid her as much as possible. The Lakotas are trying to teach respect to young Koskalaka. They are showing him that you should respect your family and those around you because one day you can lose it all. Like the Lakotas, my family has been taught respect through are generations. My family has taught us that family comes first and we must respect each other and ourselves. They have said that if we do not respect ourselves then neither are we respecting our family name. I asked my mom what respect was when I was younger and she said,“respect is not something to just play around with, you should always give people the respect they deserve and treat people the way that you would like to be treated. You shouldn't disrespect people and always keep in mind how you would feel if someone were to disrespect me the way that you are