One of the earliest lessons in life that I remember was that I always respect my elders. To which I feel they deserve not only my respect but the respect of everyone. For these are the leaders and story tellers that have paved the path that I now walk upon. Not just in my professional life but in my personal life as well and not just tribal elders but elders from all ethnicity groups.
I have always cherished the time I spent with the elders of not only the tribe but elders as a whole. There are many lessons to be learned from their words. Their wisdom and patience are tools that I use almost every day as I continue in my journey of life.
As a child, one of my father's best friends was an elderly man from the Siletz Tribe. His name was Gilbert "Gib" Baker. He was a very large man and I remember him to be loud. One of the most important lessons I learned during those impressionable years of my life came from Gib. That was the ability to have a sense of humor even in situations when a sense of humor might not necessarily fit. I remember him smiling and cracking jokes even at the most inopportune times. I respected Gib and my respect for him came easy, along with the many elders that have played a role in my life. My respect for them has never been in question nor will it ever be.
Being the youngest member of Tribal Council means that all eight of my colleagues are considered my "elder". And six of the nine of us are over the age of 55 which in terms of the tribe is recognized as elder status. One thing I have noticed since being elected is that there is a fine line between "disagreeing" and "disrespect". As I stated earlier, one of the most important lessons of my life was to respect my elders. Now that I am in a position where I often have to disagree with my elders, I understand that it could be misinterpreted as disrespect. However, it has nothing to do with respect. It is simply a difference of opinion and I feel I need to share my opinions and participate in discussions to not only do this job but do it with integrity. I can honestly say that I have some level of respect for each of my eight coworkers and have never treated any of them disrespectfully. Whether or not they respect me, I do not know. I would hope that they do.
When I graduated high school, the most meaningful and important message given to me was from an elderly gentleman by the name of Lester LaBonte. He wrote in a card to me, "Make Big Tracks".
I don't know how big my tracks are or ever will be, Lester, but I hope they make you proud.
Thank you for reading,
Toby
P.S. The results of my most recent poll are as follows:
50% of the voters stated Healthcare should be the most important budget item while 50% felt Education should be the most important.
