I Will Always Remember

By Ernest Ohlhoff, NRLC Director of Outreach

There are relatively few events in our lives that have such a profound effect on us that they become part of our daily remembrances. Hardly a day goes by without something happening that reminds me of my recent experiences with our Native American people. Although it was only a few days in 1999 and again in 2000, the time I spent with more than 1,500 Native Americans at the Tekakwitha Conferences has had a tremendous impact on me.

In 1999, I came to the Tekakwitha Conference held at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, to learn - - to learn about the people, their traditions, their history, their beliefs, their problems, and their way of life. What I learned changed much of my thinking.

In 2000, I came again to the Tekakwitha Conference in Lincoln, Nebraska, to learn more and to begin to share the pro-life message. And again, it changed me.

The Native American people I met are a very kind and respectful people. Abortion, to most, is unthinkable. Abortion is against nature and contradicts their whole instinct about respect for life at all its stages.

At each conference I made it a point to eat meals with someone whom I did not know in order to learn more. In every case, I was greeted warmly, freely accepted into the general conversation, and made to feel very much at home.

There were many children at these conferences and I still marvel at the respect they showed for their elders. At each meal the children would seek out the elders and make sure they were fed first.
Some would go through the cafeteria lines and bring platters to those who were unable to walk, while others would clear the tables after the meals. It was not a requirement thrust on them - - it was their way of life.

Why am I taking time with this background, you may ask? Because knowing the people and understanding the history, traditions, and habits will help us to take a more effective approach to presenting the pro-life message.

The pro-life message presented to Native Americans such as those who attend the Tekakwitha Conference does not need to focus on the wrongness of abortion, euthanasia, etc. Almost all already believe it is wrong to take any innocent human life.

The focus should be more precisely on why it is important for Native People to become actively pro-life in their communities and reservations. And why it is important for all Americans to hear and heed their message.

It is extremely important for Native People to speak out on the life issues of abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, assisted suicide, and health care rationing. I believe many Native People assume that because they would never personally consider abortion, euthanasia, etc., it is not important for them to speak out.

But it is. American society is being engulfed by a culture of death. In a Los Angeles Times poll taken in June 2000, approximately 57% believed abortion was murder and yet an astonishing 43% said that the position closest to their own was that abortion should be legal under all circumstances. Unfortunately, many Americans are willing to look the other way because they do not want to speak out against the new "golden calf" of our culture - - "Personal Choice."

Our Native People have so much to offer our culture. We need their support and their wisdom as we struggle to build a culture of life in America.

Their respect for life, for their elders, and for the environment reflect a beautiful continuum of life that needs to be heard in our society.

My fervent prayer is that the Native People will join the pro- life movement and offer their powerful traditional witness on behalf of restoring the respect for innocent human life.

If we are not successful in changing our nation's atrocious culture of death then I fear the worst. Either each of us will be safe from all of us, or sooner or later none of us will be safe from any of us.