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Roles of EldersFrankSome of the roles that elders held in the past, we don't have those any more. Because you were mentioning about marrying your cousin, you know, we had elders that looked after family trees, knew who you were related to, and then watched, and if you went for your third cousin, they'd come and tell you, "No, you can't marry her!"RikkiYeah, that's right.FrankAnd your family history, they'd come and-what is the name for the storytellers??sxwoxwiyám?JeffYeah,?sxwoxwiyám.Franksxwoxwiyám. There was old people that travelled from village to village, the?sxwoxwiyám, and they're storytellers, but they carried the history of our people, and they'd tell it in funny ways so you'd sit there and listen. And they'd add funny twists to it so you'd stay interested. Like if you go to a classroom in, like, a college, you know, things get so boring that you don't want to sit there and study it, because they don't make it funny. But if you, it was a skill to be an elder that could teach your history. He'd sit there and he'd make you laugh. And today, you know, even in my big house in …, I like to make people laugh, but my kids, my daughters, you know, they think I get too crazy, and they'd hire another speaker!All<Laughter>Frank"We don't want to get Dad out there, he gets too crazy, you know?"?All<Laughter>FrankAnd even on my tribal meetings, you know, I always crack jokes, you know, and I think it took a long time for our manager of the Chilliwack tribe to get used to me, you know. Now he's getting to like that, you know?All<Laughter>RikkiThey have a better time, and they listen to you.FrankYeah, they have a better time. You know, we go in there for a four-hour meeting, and we don't know it's that long. You know, like last night, we were there four hours, Jeff and I, but, you know, everybody wanted to go home, "What for, we're having a lot of fun?"All<Laughter>RikkiI was just going to ask Terry, "So how old were you when you received that name,?Siya:mchess, or?Chiamchus?"TerryOh,?Siya:mchess. I was about 17, I think.RikkiAnd what did that feel like for you, when that, that whole-can you set it up for us a little bit?Terry It was sort of, sort of a jaw-dropping thing. Like, I hadn't asked for it. For names, you don't ask for anything. You don't, you know, you don't name yourself.RikkiNo?TerryThe elders, they name you, and there's no questions asked. I hadn't asked for anything. I guess my grandpa saw something in me. My mom approached him about the name, and he agreed to pass it on, and so it went.RikkiSo, what did it, what kind of setting was it that it happened in? Was it at a family gathering or-Terry-it was a big traditional winter gathering, and the whole ceremony went on then.? ................
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