IT IS HARD TO FORGET by Robert Soto

April 23, 2010

IT IS HARD TO FORGET by Robert Soto

James 1:23-24 "Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like."

It seems like everywhere I go there are constant reminders of times past. Ghosts of the past that remind us that this vast parcel of land that is known as the United States of America once was Indian lands. So to remind us of that, they put Indian names on many places. Indian names that reflect the fact that we were once here and are now no more. Names that remind us as Indian people that we were once here and lived in the land. I'm not sure how to impress in your hearts if you are not Indian how it feels. I have tried many times to express in my heart how I would describe this feeling that haunts a lot of our Indian people. But I remember once a friend taking me through a place that they once owned. They had lost their home to the economy. As I walked around the building I could feel a sense of hopelessness and defeat. Each room was filled with memories of their brief time there.

So here we are, two hundred thirty-four years since becoming a nation and we still carry the memories and the whispers of the souls of those who once inhabited the land our feet walk upon. It might not have been our territory, but it is still land that once belonged to a people that maybe were not connected by tribe or language, but by blood. A common blood that made us and makes us who we are, American Indians. So how should we deal with this? Should we just live and forget and pretend that nothing ever happened? Should we say, 'move on with life' or, 'it must have been God's will for if it was not He would have stopped it?' I'm not sure what the answer is, but I do know one thing: America cannot ignore that it happened and that there must be some personal responsibility for what done. I guess ignoring the problem would be like what James said when he wrote, " "Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like." America cannot continue to walk with a filthy face pretending is clean.

Robert Soto, Lipan Apache and pastor of:

McAllen Grace Brethren Church
The Native American New Life Center
Chief of Chiefs Christian Church