7th Generation America's Children of Change

The 7th Generation: Native America’s Children of Change

When I gave the title Children of Change to my memoir, it related mainly to my own experience and to that of those who I knew spent their formative years in much the same way as I did. I didn’t give much thought to all of those around the world who are also children of change and who, backed by those now armed with the history of their forefathers, want to empower today’s youth to re-discover their innate sense of self and to honour who they really are.

This thought took me back to a chance meeting while holidaying in Italy in 2019. I was travelling by train between Cinque Terre and Milan and I struck up a conversation with the couple opposite me. As is often the case when speaking with strangers, I discovered a wealth of information about this couple. The gentlemen’s name is Jim Warne and the lady is his lovely wife.

I was to learn that Jim is a proud descendant of the Oglala Lakota native American tribe with a firm belief that his customs and culture must be regenerated in today’s native Indian youth.

Jim is a graduate of the Arizona State University, was a professional footballer and was included as a member of the 1987 Rose Bowl championship team. As well as being a motivational speaker, he is also an Emmy nominated film maker and producer. More remarkable is the fact that Jim has used his career as a professional athlete and as a role model, to make a difference in the lives of today’s Lakota youth.

The 1890 massacre at Wounded Knee changed the lives, the customs and the spirituality of the Lakota tribal people for each of the generations that followed. It removed many of the tribe’s spiritual leaders and combined with the enforced, restricted lifestyle that followed, led to a loss of their tribal language, stories and culture. The belief and pride in who they were, had all but perished.

Jim’s mother Beverly was raised in the Pine Ridge school in South Dakota, which like most others in existence at that time, was run by the church on government money and was guilty of cruelty and neglect of its students. So much so, that many died as a direct result.

Jim believes in the prediction of his forefather, Black Elk “that the spiritual circle that had been broken by the massacre and the ensuing captivity of his people would be healed by the 7th Generation that followed the massacre.” The current generation is the 7th.

Jim and his Lakota peers asked themselves how they could empower their youth to keep their tribal heart: to stay Indian while still maintaining a contemporary lifestyle. They believe that there must be discussion and there must be truth to bring balance back to the tribal circle and that it is imperative that their youth be educated in order to bring back pride in who they are. There is strong belief that the 7th Generation will take their culture forward, thus mending the spiritual loop.

Today there is a small school in Pine Ridge, South Dakota which has five little ones enrolled, all under two years of age. Within the walls of this environment, only Lakota words are uttered and only Lakota customs are practiced.

The first words spoken by these babies as they grow, will be Lakota. They will speak and think in their native tongue as well as in English and they will cherish their Lakota customs while growing up in contemporary society. They will learn to honour who they are: a prime requisite for success in life. They will then be free to choose their own paths to trod.

It is Jim’s firm belief that this small group will replace the mindset of “entitlement” with “empowerment” and that they will never again lose who they are. Jim and his fellow Lakota members forecast that a member of this 7th Generation will one day be President of the United States of America.

To view 7th Generation click here: https://www.amazon.com/7th-Generation-Jim-Warne/dp/B07BFW14CZ

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