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Elders are very important in cultures that teach through the oral tradition. The elders are the people with the most knowledge. They have gained it over their lifetime and they are needed to teach the younger generations. They are the educators.
More and more of Native American children's education come from books rather than from elders. Children need to go to school because there are new skills to learn for survival in today's world. They need to learn skills such as reading, writing and using computers, because these will help them get a job or earn the money they need to do other things.
Over time, less of their knowledge will come from the oral tradition of their own culture. The elders do not have as important a role as they used to in passing along their knowledge to younger people. In some communities the children do not speak the language of their elders, which makes it difficult for elders to teach them. These changes mean that much important traditional knowledge is being lost. .
This is a crisis for many reasons. The knowledge that is being lost can provide people with a sense of identity. Knowing who you are can give you pride in your culture. Elders have knowledge that is needed for survival. They know a lot about the land they live in. They know where to find animals to hunt or trap because they know of places where animals will go to find food. They know how to find their way around the land because they know the landmarks. Traditional knowledge has many uses in our world today.
Because it misses so many major elements, written transcription alone cannot satisfactorily convey or replace oral tradition. Often, problems with translation distort the the stories. Without explanation, the tales lack social and communal significance. They often lack meaningful visual imagery as well. But the world should have the opportunity to somehow share in Native American oral tradition. Anthropologists now face the difficult issue of implementing an alternative, yet feasible method of documenting their stories.
