A Conversation with Community Leader Cliff Sebastian

I recently shared an episode of Along The Seam with Armenian filmmaker Naré Mkrtchyan. Naré reminds me that personal history is a bridge builder and a source of connection. There is so much relationship to be found in the painful pages of persecution.

Following this theme, I want to share another conversation that exemplifies how much we can learn from others about collective memory. Many years ago when visiting the Pequot Museum in Connecticut, I met Cliff Sebastian who is a member of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation which is one of the oldest Native Tribes in the New England area. Cliff later joined me on Along The Seam to reflect on inheriting a history that is thousands of years long. He reminds us that while a community may have experienced systemic, identity-based violence that one’s history doesn’t have to be experienced primarily through that lens. “Remember that that’s not the zenith of your history,” he said in response to his own memory. “It’s not the end of your history. It’s not the main part of your history.”

Cliff’s story is an American one that comes with centuries of unjust pain and violence, but also hope. As I re-share this 2022 conversation, I want to pull out a perspective that has helped my own nervous system. He shares:

“In Native American communities throughout America, there’s this concept of seven generations. You’re supposed to live not just for yourself, but make decisions presuming that it will affect people seven generations from now.”

Long before having a child, this way of thinking about my role in the world has been a calming perspective for me. What Cliff has inherited from his family history has greatly helped me find a healthy relationship with my own.

Cliff used to work for the Pequot Museum, but at the time of this interview he was the Project Director for the Primary Prevention Project—an initiative that helps individuals who have fallen victim to the opioid crisis. You can listen to the episode (#8) wherever you get your podcasts by searching ALONG THE SEAM, or right here. The transcript for our conversation is below. Please note: these transcripts are edited for brevity and clarity, and for paid subscribers. But podcast episodes are always free for all. You can find a full archive of episodes at www.alongtheseam.com.