English · Chapter 16
Study notes aligned to the official NEB syllabus.
Frank LaPena (1937-2019) was a Native American painter, poet, traditional singer and dancer, and university teacher. He belonged to the Nomtipom Wintu people of northern California and for many years taught art and ethnic studies at California State University, Sacramento. His paintings and poems draw on Wintu ceremony, landscape and memory, and he spent much of his life working to keep Native dance and song alive. "Sharing Tradition" is a reflective personal essay in which LaPena considers how the traditions of a Native community survive: not in books, but in the memories of elders and in the willingness of the young to listen. It is prescribed in Unit 4 (Essays) of the NEB Grade 11 Compulsory English course.
LaPena begins from a simple observation about Native American life: tradition is oral. Stories, songs, ceremonies, the meaning of places and the proper way of doing things are not written down. They are carried in the memories of elders and handed to the next generation through speech, example and shared participation. The elders therefore hold a special position in the community. They are the keepers of what the people know about themselves, and the essay treats their role with deep respect.