The Geechee people have a very strong connection to their land. Not only have their families lived there for many generations but the enitre family works hard on the land care for it and to grow crops. I don't feel like there are any connections with my family and land. My mom and her husband of moved to 5 different houses in the past, and my dad and his wife have moved a few times too. As soon as someone in the family passes away the first thing people think of is getting rid of everything inside so they can sell the house and move on. There is nothing that is passes down from family to family in different generations. I do not even know if my family has ancestral land. I guess it affects my identity because I am not a 100% sure where I come from. To the Geechee people their land is the base of their whole life. There is really nothing that is more important to them. Their culture and way of life supports that. If they don't live there it changes who they are. In the book it talks about how papa is not himself once they move to Hog Hammock. He did what he had to do for his family but it changed him. His happiness was not the same. The article talks about how the government is trying to push out the Geechee people. The Geechee people fight so hard because they feel like they are basically one with their land.
Hey Lauren two things stuck out to me when I was reading your post; first I liked how you stated that to the Geechee people their land was the base of their whole life. I definitely agree the land was everything to them. And I can relate to your comment about not completely knowing where you came from. Both my maternal and paternal grandfathers died before I was born so I never got to directly enjoy the cultural heritage they brought as immigrates and there was never any land or house passed down through our family. But I find it encouraging learning about the Geechees and their fight to keep their heritage alive.
ReplyDelete-Melissa