Gilbert

Gilbert looked at the photos and smiled. “I think I was maybe 13 when this happened.”   The “this” he is referring to is his first powwow.

Rummaging through some old pictures, a staff member at Ashley House recently found some older photos of Gilbert and asked him to share the story behind them.

“It was a long trip—we left while it was still dark, and it was summer, so we got up pretty early. I got to nap part of the way, but it was really hot.”  The trip was Gilbert’s first time going to a Powwow.  “I was worried at first. This is part of my tribal family, but I hadn’t spent a lot of time with them.  I didn’t really know them and didn’t know what to expect.”

Gilbert’s family is large and scattered across the state. Due to an accident when he was just 11 months old, he is a quadriplegic with medically complex issues and needs daily skilled care.  His mother is a member of the Swinomish Tribe, and his father is a member of the Colville Nation. While he had spent time with his mother’s tribe, before this trip, he’d spent little time with his father’s tribe and family on tribal lands. 

What does he remember about that trip?

“I remember the tribal members gathering around me; they gathered in a circle and gave me a traditional tribal blessing.”  His sisters performed a tribal dance that was dedicated to Gilbert, and he watched and learned as tribal members gathered, and celebrated their heritage together. They welcomed him and prayed for him. 

“My grandpa sang a blessing in the old language. Everybody was so quiet for the song,” Gilbert said.  And then his family shared a homemade huckleberry pie made by his grandmother, who picked the berries while thinking of him. “It was so good!” 

A lot has changed since that first trip; Gilbert has participated in the Powwow several times; but he has also engaged with local tribal events in the Puget Sound area and grown from being a teen-ager to being a high school graduate and young adult. But he still thinks about that trip.  

The Tribal Council presented Gilbert with a Pendleton tribal blanket, an eternal gift from the elders. When gifted, these blankets are an important acknowledgement of friendship, respect and gratitude “It was so emotional for me; everyone, Percilla, Katy, Mike, everybody all cried.”

“I didn’t grow up with my tribe or my family. When I think about my family, I remember that my grandfather sang his blessing to me, and my grandmother picked berries to share a pie with me. When I look at my blanket, I remember my tribal family.” 

He paused for a moment. “I have my parents and my brother and sisters. They are one family. I have the Colville Nation and the Swinomish Tribe. They are my tribal families. And I have the nurses, the care givers, and the other kids who lived with me as I grew up. They are my Ashley House family.”

Gilbert currently lives at our Young Adult House in Edgewood, where  he enjoys watching the Seahawks play football, and hanging out with his  friends and family.