Youth: there is a big world out there

The year 2008 has been an interesting year for me as I look backward. After all, hindsight is 20/20 as they say and I can see clearly now.

My birthday is approaching very quickly and I can imagine people are saying behind my back that "he's getting old." It's true that we all are getting older as each day passes and it is our duty to enjoy each day and be kind to each other.

I remember visiting with tahansi Lionel Bordeaux on occasion and he would say that he was happy to be still alive when so many others have gone before us for one reason or another.

You see life on the "rez" can be challenging at times as we have a lot of unemployment and other peripheral issues to contend with.

If life has gotten tougher for me as I approach elder hood I know that life for Lakota youngsters is no piece of cake either. I have had the honor of speaking to young people and I used to tell them to be sure and have a back up plan for life. If their present course in life does not materialize then they have to have an alternate route to achieving their hopes and dreams.

I cringe when I see young Lakota tribal members simply languishing on the Rosebud where we have limited opportunities.

I tell them there is a big world out there that is just waiting for their arrival. As one gets older we know that our days are not unlimited and it is best to use them wisely.

I grew up here and the best thing I did when I hit 18 was head for the military which was a great maturing experience.

I do not necessarily recommend the same route for Lakota youngsters, but the point is that they need to do something, anything as they plot their futures.

After having served in Vietnam I was one of the few veterans who exhibited a great deal of perseverance and I stayed in college for virtually 12 years continuous.

To this day, I do not know where I inherited such persistence from but it had to do with growing up in such poverty.

I only knew that going to college was a way to make up for the past hardships I experienced that come with occasionally living in a one room shack and going to bed hungry more often than not.

All these experiences for better or worse have contributed to who I am today and it has been fun to try to transmit those ideas to Lakota youngsters.

Were I to do life over again, and there are no "do overs" I am not so sure that I would come home to Rosebud, but that is intriguing fodder for another day.

Yes, 2008 has been an interesting year as me as our family has experienced some illnesses, suffering and we are still grieving the loss of brother Carl in 2007.

On the other hand, I need to express my gratitude to Amanda, son Beaux, Yvonne, Bryan, mother Victoria and my young colleagues at RST tribal education for fairly good year as my birthday once again approaches. In Lakota it would be said that mitawa anpetu wana iyehantu.

Dr. Archie Beauvais (Sicangu Lakota) a Vietnam Veteran and former Dean of Education and Tribal Studies at Sinte Gleska University is a graduate of Harvard University and currently serves as the Director of the RST Lakota language preservation project.