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Transcript: Martin Waukazoo

Alcoholism as a blessing that led to an awareness of losing traditional ways

[Waukazoo:]
Alcoholism is a blessing, because it did make us— it was a rude awakening that we were losing our way. We were losing our cultural identity. We were moving away from our medicine, our traditional ways, and that was an awakening that we were going down the wrong road.
[Lindberg:]
Did you make the extra effort to retrieve it?
[Waukazoo:]
Oh, yes, and it gave us the opportunity—you know, fortunately all was not lost. There was still that revival. There was a revival of our culture and our traditions, and bringing back that pride and identity, and the dances and the ceremonies, and then also begin to look towards our elders for the advice and the wisdom that they had.