读者文摘:最美的赞歌(1)（在线收听）

I’m from the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, but I’ve lived in Denver for quite a few years.

我来自俄克拉何马州东部的肖尼族，但我已经在丹佛住了好几年了。

I have a friend that also lives in Denver who is originally from Oklahoma, the Cherokee Nation.

我有一个朋友也住在丹佛，他来自俄克拉荷马州，切诺基族。

We got talking about how homesick we were, and he suggested that we go spend a couple of weeks with his grandma.

我们谈到我们是多么想家，他建议我们去和他奶奶呆上几周。

In the car for the 12-hour drive, we talked about everything we missed: fry bread and powwows and stomp dances and hearing our people speak our own languages.

在12个小时的车程中，我们谈论着我们错过的一切：炸面包、帕瓦仪式、重踏舞，听我们的人民说我们自己的语言。

By the time we got to Oklahoma, I was so happy to be home.

当我们到达俄克拉何马州时，我很高兴回家了。

We were maybe three or four miles from his grandma’s house when he said there were a couple of things maybe he should tell me about.

在我们离他奶奶家大概有三四英里时，他说有几件事他应该告诉我。

The first was that his grandmother might not be particularly fond of Shawnee people.

第一，他的祖母可能不是特别喜欢肖尼人。

This was because of a thing that had happened between our tribes in the late 1800s.

这是因为19世纪末发生在我们部落之间的一件事。

That might seem like a long time ago to some people, but she remembered.

对有些人来说，这似乎是很久以前的事了，但她记得。

The second thing was that she could be a little bit persistent about inviting people to go to church with her on Sunday.

第二件事是，她可以坚持邀请人们星期天和她一起去教堂。

Right away I knew what he meant. In modern-day Oklahoma, Native people have an eclectic array of spiritual beliefs.

我立刻明白了他的意思。在今天的俄克拉何马州，当地居民有着各种各样的精神信仰。

Some follow our traditional ways; others have joined various congregations.

一些遵循我们的传统方式；其他人加入了不同的教会。

I grew up with an Irish Catholic mother and a Shawnee father, and so I was very open to all kinds of different spiritual beliefs.

我的母亲是爱尔兰天主教徒，父亲是肖尼人，所以我对各种不同的精神信仰都很开放。

But as I grew up, it was our traditional ways that had spoken to my heart.

但随着我的成长，我们的传统方式说出了我的心声。

However, when I went back home I’d still get a lot of invitations to go to church.

然而，当我回到家，我仍然会收到很多邀请去教堂。

Although I really appreciated it, I usually politely declined because there was always an undercurrent of hoping that I might be converted, and I really don’t like to disappoint people.

虽然我真的很感激，但我通常会礼貌地拒绝，因为我心里总有一股希望我能转变的暗流，而且我真的不喜欢让别人失望。

I promised my friend that I could be diplomatic with his grandmother if she was persistent with her invitations,

我答应过我的朋友，如果他的祖母坚持要邀请我的话，我可以圆融应对，

and I even thought that maybe I could win her over to liking Shawnee people.

我甚至想也许我能让她喜欢肖尼人。