My Oral Tradition

My oral tradition is just many stories passed down from many generations. This past spring break I went and sat down with my Grandpa, which is my dad's dad. He showed me tons of old pictures he had of a lot of people who are dead now. He even had a picture of my great great great Grandpa and Grandma. I had never seen them before in my life. Although my grandpa didn't know much about where my family has come from as far as ancestry, he told me numerous stories about his life and his dad's life. He also had ideas about where we have come from because of what his dad told him.

When my grandpa and I started talking he told me that his dad used to tell him that we aren't foreign to this land, we were already here as Native Americans. Now he also said that he isn't positive about this, that this is what he was told. Then he continued with telling me that we came from the country of Mexico, and moved to the land around the Tijeras Mountains and the Sandia Mountains. We were already on this land when people came here and started making it there own in the 1800's.

Then he continued on into his dad's life. His name was Florival Gutierrez. He lived in the mountains of Albuquerque which are also known as the Sandias. He lived there when, what is now presently called Old Town, was an Army Post for Albuquerque. Also when Tingley Beach was a Lake that overpowered the golf course next to it, and when th Rio Grande flowed majestically and freely. He told me a story of my great-grandfather of when he would have to take a trip that took a whole day into Albuquerque to sell wood in a wagon. That whole wagon full of wood was worth $5 and so that is what he sold it for.

The next part of my history that I learned about was my relatives that had come way before I was born and when my grandpa was little. He informed me that one my great-uncles is still alive and is living in Los Angeles, California. He is my great-grandpas brother, and is the last sibling that is still alive. Then he went on to tell me about his brothers and sisters, some of which are still alive and well and others which we have both never even met.

After everything was said and done, my grandpa told me, his parents had a total of 19 children. There were 8 brother's and 11 sister's in total. Right now in the current present there are 6 brother's and 8 sister's that are still alive. Most of the children were born in the mountains on their ranch. By thst time my great-grandpa had bought land from there and homesteaded it. It was the life my great-grandpa had wanted butsomething went wrong, maybe to many children? To much responsiblity for him? He left my great-grandma with 12 children still living at the house at that time. She had to take care of her family and was living off of a volunteer job as kindergarten assistant. She paid for food with the help of food stamps and welfare.

In the end my family has made it through thick and thin. This is only my dad's dad side of my history too. I have so much blood from everywhere running through my veins right now that it's amazing I'm not related to everyone in this room as well as them being related to me. I really do think that someday in the future my great-great-great grandchildren will be looking back at pictures of me and saying, "Wow, I wish I could have gotten to know her because there is so much to learn about my families past." When I sat down this past spring break with my grandpa that is exactly what he was telling me about his great-great grandpa.