When i hear the phrase "sacred land", I automatically think of my grandparents house in Virginia on the Chesapeake Bay. When i was 6 i drove down to Virginia with my father and two uncles to help my grandfather build this house. My grandfather had owned a company that built houses for years but wanted to build a house with his 3 sons. Once the house was finished i went on vacation there for two weeks every summer with my brother. It wasn't just any ordinary place to go, it was family land and it was our own little piece of paradise. It was a house that would be kept in the family for generations to come.
This piece of land is located in a small country town called Deltaville, Virginia. Deltaville is the stereotypical small country town with a population of around 1200 people and farm after farm. The nearest supermarket is over a half an hour away and cell service is scarce. This town defines what it means to be in "the middle of no where" and that is the best part. It is the perfect place to escape to and block out modern society. It really allows you to enjoy the beauty of the ocean and beach, and enjoy the company of family. Some of the best quality memories i have with my brother growing up took place on these vacations solely because we were forced to spend time together. If we were to get bored we would find something to do TOGETHER and always make the best out of it. Ocean tubing is one of the things we enjoyed doing together the most. It is always a constant competition of who can stay on the longest.
Another thing my brother and I really love to do together is search for shark teeth on the beach. We did research on the teeth we found and learned out they are millions of years old even dating back to prehistoric times. We even found a tooth that we later identified as a meglodon shark tooth. These sharks are extinct now and have teeth up to 7 inches long. These sharks were the biggest sharks to have ever lived weighing up to 50 tons and extending to lengths of 60 feet. Finding these teeth on the beach is pretty hard with how well they blend in but for some reason my brother and i were always very good at it. These are some of the teeth we found.
This is a place i will always be able to call my own. No one knows this place better than my family and no one ever will. This piece of land has its own secret fishing spots, sand bars, and shark teeth that no one else will ever know about. What makes this land so sacred is the fact that it was created within the family, and will always remain family land. Most of all it is a place that my family and I have left our mark on. We have shared memories and laughs here, and it will always be a place to call home.
This is very similar to the ideas explained in chapter 16 of "God is Red". This chapter explains all about the Native American lands and the reservations that the government kept in place for them. The Native Americans have left their marks on these areas as well having survived off of them for 100's of years. This differs from my sacred place however because these lands are all the Indians know. My sacred place is considered another home, but i know life elsewhere. These Indians have been on these lands of all of time and they don't know what its like to live anywhere else. They were there far before anyone else discovered this continent and they should not have been required to move or give up any of their land. They left their mark on their land just as others have left theirs on their own sacred place.The difference between the two is that a sacred place is a place to go to where you can always feel welcome, the native Americans sacred place is their permanent home.
Your post really showed how deep of a connection you have with the land and I could immediately see the similarities to how the Native Americans connect with their land. The part about finding the shark teeth was really interesting especially about the megalodon shark! It sounds like you have intense feelings for this land and treasure it like the Native Americans treasure their land.
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