Video
Gullah Geechee Youth Cluture Quest
Transcript
Ranger Ted: The, uh, Gullah Geechee culture is uh, very unique because it really uh is the most well preserved example of a traditional African customs that exists here in the United States but the challenge is to have a younger generation continue to be engaged in the preservation of the culture and then take that preservation into the future. So we really wanted to provide opportunities to bring some of the elders together with younger Gullah Geechee descendants and share their stories their artistic abilities their food ways but also what is so unique and so special about that culture and the idea of preserving it. Speaker 1: I didn't #1 understand that my culture was different than many others until I left home. If you don't have elders who are familiar with their culture most of our Gullah Geechee children don't no that they’re even Gullah Geechee. A lot of people don't even realize where the Gullah Geechee culture itself is established from Jacksonville NC down to Jacksonville FL 30 miles inland in all the sea islands. Speaker 2: Serving the Gullah Geechee corridor interacting with Gullah practitioners diving into archival research trying to accurately and precisely tell narratives of the Gullah Geechee culture. Speaker 3: Everyone's opened up their their hearts and their communities and have allowed us to see into them I, I, I don't take it lightly. Griffin Lotson: Bringing the young people and old guys like myself to tie in the history and I feel proud that I've lived long enough that I can hand down real history. Not so much what I've read in a book but what I've lived and what I've experienced by talking to people much older than I am. Speaker 4: My great grandmother Willamina she grew up in a farm in South Carolina and I would remember the stories of how she would say a they take a little seed and it would feed generations. Working with my son now I'm showing him how we can find deep connection in reverence with the land. We are able to find true healing through that. Speaker 5: It really feels like I am fulfilling a legacy of generations of those that have come before me and that have witnessed and endured so much in their lives just to walk in the places that my forefathers once walked and to know that everything that they've done for my freedom. Speaker 6: the importance of sharing these techniques and teaching these techniques to our children they aren't grandchildren uh if we don't these techniques will be lost forever. Speaker 3: I personally would like to use all the knowledge I'm getting and use it in a pragmatic sense tying together that Gullah Gechee is the people and not necessarily the land. Speaker 4: My ancestors worked so hard and they persevered to be here. Without them I wouldn't be here and there's so much to be learned throughout their story. So I am a living and walking story and testament to their perseverance, their resilience, and I owe it to them to myself my son my mom to preserve that and be that and share that there is love in all these spaces what I believe is that the future of our communities is very bright. It's going to take us to just continue connecting and collecting and sharing the history and the stories with the world. It's just really important to understand your culture. And this is not just Gullah Geechee. I love to share my culture and show the pride that I have so that other people can understand how important theirs is and take pride in themselves as well on who you are and you'll be surprised of what you become because you will flourish. When you learn your roots trees have strong roots, without those the branches won't form.
Description
Gullah Geechee Youth Culture Quest: Gullah Geechee youth & elder culture bearers educating and learning from one another to help precipitate continued stewardship of Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage for the future.
Duration
4 minutes, 39 seconds
Credit
NPS
Date Created
06/13/2024
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