Category: First Nations
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Thoughts Concerning the Fourth of July
The Fourth of July! This is one of those holidays, along with Columbus Day and Thanksgiving, I struggle with. My father struggled with it as well, although, the truth be known, he seemed to love Thanksgiving. Indeed, many Native people have very complex, often humorous and contradictory, experiences of the holiday.
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Microaggression, Erasure, and Genocide
Perhaps the speaker himself did not notice his erasure of our collective history. After all, our national zeitgeist, like that of a trauma burdened family, is to move forward, forgetting the past as soon as possible. Microaggression is subtle, riding beneath normative cultural messages, and stealthily attacking the hearts and souls of it’s targets. Microaggressions…
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Companionship, Tears, and Vision
As shamans, healers, and caring neighbors, we are often unable to stop dams, genocide, and even the suffering of every day life, as much as we might wish to. Still, we can acknowledge the humanity of others who suffer, always pointing to their sanity and wholeness. We can offer moments of companionship and joy, and…
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Mouse, Crow, and the Dreamtime
We are clearly in the presence of the mythic. We are reminded the Dreaming continues to unfold in our world and lives. Who would have guessed trapping field mice in our cabinets would open doors to the sacred?
