I Am a Future Ancestor
Knowing this changes how I live my life.
YES! Magazine
My father died when I was 7. He was tall, had a black mustache, and had a camera hanging from his neck. At least that’s how I remember him.
To be clear, later when I became an adult, I found out he hadn’t actually died. Just disappeared from our lives. I thought he had died—from alcohol, stuck between his pain and his desire to be a good man.
I began a healing process recently to better understand my role as a father of my own son, Tonatiuh. My son’s name means “the one that brings the light, the sun.”
Digging deep into that trauma is difficult, but my traditional teachings as an Indigenous man tell me there is a larger purpose for my healing. Because all living and dead things are connected, my healing and being able to live well honors not just my ancestors, but also the future generations.
For them, I will be an ancestor to honor. Knowing this changes how I live my life.
Josué Rivas created this photo essay for the Death Issue, the Fall 2019 edition of YES! Magazine. Josué (Mexica/Otomi) is an award-winning Indigenous documentary photographer, cinematographer, and film director specialized in working on stories that challenge the mainstream narrative about Indigenous people. He is the founder of the Standing Strong Project, made possible in part by the 2017 Magnum Foundation Photography and Social Justice Fellowship. His work can be seen on his website josuerivasfoto.com and on Instagram @standing_strong_project.
This article appeared on YES! Magazine on September 10, 2019. It is published under a Creative Commons license.
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