Boozhoo and welcome to your Heart Berry Beadwork/Moccasin making tip of the Day. Today we are at this exciting step of pulling out our tracing paper. We get to actually see what our project will look like!! Also I ramble on about being an imperfect beader.
I didn't grow up in a wigwam. Shocking, I know. I grew up on Reservation Road. That is not a metaphor. I LITERALLY grew up on Reservation Road. In my great grandparent’s house using the little yellow outhouse. Saturday I met an elder who very proudly and sweetly glowed about her granddaughter. She told me she is a sixth generation jingle dress dancer. I told her that is amazing... and I am grateful their family made it so far intact. But my reaction to her was tainted with a little bit of jealousy, resentment, and shame. She left me wondering whether I am worthy of this dress, this dance, this way of life… To my knowledge there are no jingle...
Today in the city of Duluth, rang in by Mayor Emily Larson, the Imagine Duluth team revealed three new innovative public art projects. The utility cabinets in Canal Park, the area's tourist district are now covered in art from House of Howes artist Sarah Agaton Howes, Adam Swanson, and Angel Sarkela-Saur. On the corner of Canal Park Drive and Lake Drive is Howes' piece described as "this piece reflects our story of how we rebuilt our life on the gift of a turtle's back. How would we operate differently if we knew we lived upon a living gift? This great water with the incredible ability to give life also has the great capacity to sweep it all away. Our role...
We are often referred to as Anishinaabe/Indigenous/Native people as living in two worlds. I reject this notion and believe we live in one. We are the people of confluence and adaptation. Last week during a residency at an elementary school a student asked me "Why do you have the Indian things?" "Do you have electricity?" I told her "We are all of these things. We are living both our ancestors ways and we have internet. My kids learn their language and play fortnite. WE GET TO BE IT ALL. Isn't That amazing??" Instead of seeing ourselves as the recipients of endless trauma and deficit perhaps we should consider how we are the thriving recipients of thousands of years of adaptation,...
