Tiyospaye Quotes

“It seems to me that the greatest difference between whites and Indians is the way that they treat those in need and their ideas of relationships. We might be poor, or even blind drunk, but somehow we take care of each other. If you have no roof over your head, you can knock on any door and somebody will take you in. They will give you their own bed or couch to sleep on. They feed you what they themselves are eating. And they won’t make you feel that it’s charity. It is just done automatically because there is a feeling that we are all in the same boat. There are no class distinctions. You might be only a sixth cousin but still be welcomed as a relative, part of the tiyospaye, the extended family.”
― Mary Brave Bird, Ohitika Woman