Andre Cramblit: Seek the knowledge of traditional leadership

Like many lessons learned, becoming a leader does not happen in a single moment. The qualities of leadership are seen when the experiences of life are looked at as a complete continuum.

My Great Uncle (Xúkam in Karuk) Leonard Super was a wise man, one of the most intelligent people you would ever meet, although he only completed sixth grade. I remember him reading the dictionary simply because he wanted to know what everything meant. Uncle, along with My Great Aunt Violet, were like my Grand Parents as my Mother’s Father and Mother died when she was 16 and 4 respectively and I never got the chance to be around them. Auntie and Uncle helped raise me, taking me home to our Tribal community every summer, taking me with them to ceremonies and to visit their Elders, where they only spoke in the Karuk language. I remember my uncle, who died in 1992, as a great teacher. He would punctuate every lesson with a thump of his gnarled, logger’s fingers against my head, or my ear if it were in reach. This is a traditional instructional method among the Karuk people. There is even a verb for it, aknup--to thump with ones fingers.

“Put the tools away when you are done with them--THWACK, look for the calm areas around the rocks when you cross the river-- THWACK, Don’t fight the fish so much--THWACK, You shouldn’t throw rocks, those may be your relatives--THWACK say hello to your Elder--THWACK, run--THWACK, don’t run-THWACK, --THWACK, --THWACK, --THWACK.” I was growing to be one of the wisest people on the river with all the lessons I was learning. He taught me to be observant, to learn, to follow our traditional “laws”, how to be a Karuk, how to be a human being.