Comments on: Hopi Nation http://alrobles.manilatown.org/2008/07/24/page-9/ a project of Manilatown Heritage Foundation Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:49:08 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.1 By: honey http://alrobles.manilatown.org/2008/07/24/page-9/comment-page-1/#comment-174 honey Fri, 05 Jun 2009 03:45:45 +0000 http://alrobles.manilatown.org/page-9/#comment-174 I never knew Al Robles personally, nor have I ever met him, but reading this website and hearing so much about this man (the tributes, the stories) has opened my eyes to a truly unique person - as well as the kindness and warmth coming from outside of my own community. I am a young, urbanized Hopi/Tewa/Dineh woman, and though Al is a Filipino San Franciscan whom I never crossed paths with, he has not only my respect as an elder but also my admiration for being an individual who obviously cared about ALL oppressed peoples coming from a variety of backgrounds. Most importantly, he should stand as a role model for youth and younger members of communities everywhere: we need to not only respect and care for our own elders, but stand in solidarity with all seniors--being that they are some of the most underserved people in this country--just like Al. So Al, I never had the privilege of meeting or knowing you, but I want to honor your legacy by leaving this message. Thank you for paying tribute to our ongtupqa and for visiting my rez. I can tell by your beautiful poem that you knew you were not in a "national park" when you saw the canyon, and this nearly brought tears to my eyes. Your life experiences have touched my heart. May the coming journey be just as beautiful. - mel 'honey' ortiz I never knew Al Robles personally, nor have I ever met him, but reading this website and hearing so much about this man (the tributes, the stories) has opened my eyes to a truly unique person – as well as the kindness and warmth coming from outside of my own community. I am a young, urbanized Hopi/Tewa/Dineh woman, and though Al is a Filipino San Franciscan whom I never crossed paths with, he has not only my respect as an elder but also my admiration for being an individual who obviously cared about ALL oppressed peoples coming from a variety of backgrounds. Most importantly, he should stand as a role model for youth and younger members of communities everywhere: we need to not only respect and care for our own elders, but stand in solidarity with all seniors–being that they are some of the most underserved people in this country–just like Al.
So Al, I never had the privilege of meeting or knowing you, but I want to honor your legacy by leaving this message. Thank you for paying tribute to our ongtupqa and for visiting my rez. I can tell by your beautiful poem that you knew you were not in a “national park” when you saw the canyon, and this nearly brought tears to my eyes. Your life experiences have touched my heart. May the coming journey be just as beautiful.

- mel ‘honey’ ortiz

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