Spirit of Indigenous America

Ahavati said:Image credit: Zitkála-Šá, aka Gertrude Simmons Bonnin (Yankton Sioux) by Gertrude Kasebier, platinum print. Mina Turner ca 1898, 287543. National Museum of American History

Happy Birthday to Zitkála-Šá, also known as Gertrude Simmons Bonnin (Yankton Sioux) was a dedicated activist for #NativeAmerican rights. A gifted writer, she was an outspoken critic of Indian boarding schools, having experienced as both student and teacher their policy of forced assimilation.

In 1926, Zitkála-Šá founded the National Council of American Indians, a pan-Indian organization dedicated to social and political reforms.

Her birthday was actually the 22nd; I had this scheduled to post but overlooked it. She should not be forgotten.



I'm sorry I miss this
Thank you for a beautiful post

Beautiful pieces of art.

Flathead Reservation artist showing stories of Native American women

KALISPELL — A Flathead Reservation artist is telling the stories of Native American women through her own artwork on exhibit at Kalispell’s KALICO Art Center.

We talked with Monica Gilles-Brings Yellow about her collection of paintings showcasing Native American “Origin Stories.”

https://www.kpax.com/news/local-news/flathead-county/flathead-reservation-artist-showing-stories-of-native-american-women?fbclid=IwAR18Mhyj_dx6O2woTPZ0cZmsqyeU-Lul0J6FOpT6bqOV7_ucn5Iv3w8IJUQ

Ahavati said:Beautiful pieces of art.

Flathead Reservation artist showing stories of Native American women



https://www.kpax.com/news/local-news/flathead-county/flathead-reservation-artist-showing-stories-of-native-american-women?fbclid=IwAR18Mhyj_dx6O2woTPZ0cZmsqyeU-Lul0J6FOpT6bqOV7_ucn5Iv3w8IJUQ

Absolutely wonderful works of power , statement , and beauty...

This is the level of fine art , mixed with a statement of purpose...

I would love to acquire one of her works...

Yet I can only imagine the price tags...

Ahavati said:Beautiful pieces of art.

Flathead Reservation artist showing stories of Native American women



https://www.kpax.com/news/local-news/flathead-county/flathead-reservation-artist-showing-stories-of-native-american-women?fbclid=IwAR18Mhyj_dx6O2woTPZ0cZmsqyeU-Lul0J6FOpT6bqOV7_ucn5Iv3w8IJUQ

Wow
Thank you Ahavati!!
Beautiful artwork !!

US Poet Laureate Joy Harjo’s Latest Album Arrives as a Witness to the Emotional Undertow of the Moment

At a time when poetry has been an unexpected solace, Harjo sets her verses to a soundscape influenced by jazz, funk, and Mvskoke tradition.

Read and listen to poet, musician, artist, and memoirist Joy Harjo and inevitably you too will start to picture words and songs physically tracing the roads and waterways of the country, over time. It seems a natural way for America to be seen by the 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States, particularly for one who is indigenous to its lands. Harjo, a member of the Mvskoke (Creek) Nation, is the first Native American writer to hold the position, and only the second laureate to see her appointment extended to a third term.

[ . . . ]

https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2021/03/joy-harjo-album-united-states-poet-laureate

!!!

NASA is naming the rocks and soil on Mars in the Navajo language

https://nbc-2.com/news/science/space-news/2021/03/12/nasa-naming-rocks-soil-on-mars-in-the-navajo-language/#:~:text=CNN%20%E2%80%94%20NASA%20is%20naming%20landmarks%20and%20geological,rock%20named%20%E2%80%9CM%C3%A1az,%E2%80%9D%20the%20Navajo%20word%20for%20%E2%80%9CMars.%E2%80%9D

Just Confirmed :

https://youtu.be/9kbIC0ChSHE

Haaland becomes first-ever Native American in presidential Cabinet

https://youtu.be/CnBEF9q59r0

Telling Her Story :

Meet The Cabinet: Rep. Haaland Could Be First Native American Cabinet Secretary |

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://amp.azcentral.com/amp/7276657002&ved=2ahUKEwjzv6PRwYvwAhWKs54KHc1dCOkQFjANegQIJxAC&usg=AOvVaw2oo8FgOg1v2Cc4ng5JJ34O&ampcf=1

This story has a positive influence for  the country at this time

If I could lay before you the dearest gift this morning,
It would be a time of no beginning and no end.
It would be life filled with good health and peace
and inner joy that can only come from the Spirit.
You would quietly refine your thoughts and words
so that you never draw to you anything but the finest.
You would rest deeply and breathe in sweet peace.
You would know the tremendous difference
between the material and the spiritual,
turning from anger and frustration to a safe haven of love.
You would always be the most loyal friend, not to me but to yourself.
All the issues of life rise out of the heart,
so this is a gift from heart to heart.
I have expressed my heart to you.

I have nothing to take back.

~  Chief Joseph, Nez Perce

art: Ricardo Chavez-Mendez

LAKOTA CODE OF ETHICS~~

1. Rise with the sun to pray. Pray alone. Pray often. The Great Spirit will listen, if you only speak.

2. Be tolerant of those who are lost on their path. Ignorance, conceit, anger, jealousy - and greed stem from a lost soul. Pray that they will find guidance.

3. Search for yourself, by yourself. Do not allow others to make your path for you. It is your road, and yours alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you.

4. Treat the guests in your home with much consideration. Serve them the best food, give them the best bed and treat them with respect and honor.

5. Do not take what is not yours whether from a person, a community, the wilderness or from a culture. It was not earned nor given. It is not yours.

6. Respect all things that are placed upon this earth - whether it be people or plant.

7. Honor other people's thoughts, wishes and words. Never interrupt another or mock or rudely mimic them. Allow each person the right to personal expression.

8. Never speak of others in a bad way. The negative energy that you put out into the universe will multiply when it returns to you.

9. All persons make mistakes. And all mistakes can be forgiven.

10. Bad thoughts cause illness of the mind, body and spirit. Practice optimism.

11. Nature is not FOR us, it is a PART of us. They are part of your worldly family.

12. Children are the seeds of our future. Plant love in their hearts and water them with wisdom and life's lessons. When they are grown, give them space to grow.

13. Avoid hurting the hearts of others. The poison of your pain will return to you.

14. Be truthful at all times. Honesty is the test of ones will within this universe.

15. Keep yourself balanced. Your Mental self, Spiritual self, Emotional self, and Physical self - all need to be strong, pure and healthy. Work out the body to strengthen the mind. Grow rich in spirit to cure emotional ails.

16. Make conscious decisions as to who you will be and how you will react. Be responsible for your own actions.

17. Respect the privacy and personal space of others. Do not touch the personal property of others - especially sacred and religious objects. This is forbidden.

18. Be true to yourself first. You cannot nurture and help others if you cannot nurture and help yourself first.

19. Respect others religious beliefs. Do not force your belief on others.

20. Share your good fortune with others.~Sacred Dreams

“We were told that we would see America come and go. In a sense, America is dying, from within, because they forgot the instructions of how to live on earth. It's the Hopi belief, it's our belief, that if you are not spiritually connected to the earth, and understand the spiritual reality of how to live on earth, it's likely that you will not make it.

Everything is spiritual, everything has a spirit, everything was brought here by the creator, the one creator. Some people call him God, some people call him Buddha, some people call him Allah, some people call him other names. We call him Tunkaschila... Grandfather.

We are here on earth only a few winters, then we go to the spirit world. The spirit world is more real than most of us believe.
The spirit world is everything. Over 95% of our body is water. In order to stay healthy, you've got to drink good water. ... Water is sacred, the air is sacred.

Our DNA is made out of the same DNA as the tree, the tree breaths what we exhale, we need what the tree exhales. So we have a common destiny with the tree.

We are all from the earth, and when the earth, the water, the atmosphere is corrupted, then it will create its own reaction. The mother is reacting.

In the Hopi prophecy, they say the storms and floods will become greater. To me, it's not a negative thing to know that there will be great changes. It's not negative, it's evolution. When you look at it as evolution, it's time, nothing stays the same. You should learn how to plant something. That is the first connection.

You should treat all things as spirit, realize that we are one family. It's never something like the end. It's like life, there is no end to life.”

~Floyd Red Crow Westerman

Someone once inferred I was a hypocrit for honoring the US flag after what US troops had committed against my ancestors. My explanations and reasonings fell on deaf ears because the person had already made their mind up that I was a hypocrit and was looking for an excuse to validate that conclusion. Perhaps this will shed a bit more light:

My name is Jose Garcia Acosta. I am a United States Navy Chief. I am also Apache as my grandfather is from the Mescalero Apache tribe.

Someone said it is disgraceful for me to wear a uniform for the USA if I am Native American. Let me tell you this. I am Apache and American. We do not come up with excuses not to serve or go to battle for our people. I served with many great people and many gave of their last breath for what they believed.

So you sit back and come up with all the cowardly excuses you can to avoid serving, but don't you freaking dare tell me I should be ashamed of serving. I served for all people. I served alongside great African Americans that still experience racism, but serve to protect our people against the enemies that do not distinguish race when they murder Americans. I served and know many Native Americans that served and some died bravely in battle while you cowardly insult us.

There maybe issues in this country that need addressing, but this country needs brave people to stand up instead of look for excuses.

I am United States Navy Chief Jose Garcia Acosta. Proud to be American and prouder to be Mescalero Apache.

If you have a problem with that, let me know or better let's meet in person. Perhaps you will come up with another excuse why you can't.

When you have more scars than medals. That's when you know you fought with all you have and are.

See this flag. It stands for the country I and many served. When at war or other missions we served for all Americans. I did not say I want the freedom I fight for to go to only one race or religion.

I did not serve for just Democrats or Republicans.
I respect this flag not for the cloth, but for what it stands for.

Freedom.

If you know me, you probably believe it is not a good idea to try to burn this flag in my presence. I am also a qualified firefighter and will do what ever I have to to extinguish a fire!

Think about it.

Hopi Indian Chief White Eagle commented a few days ago on the Job id situation:

"This moment that humanity is living through can be considered a door or a hole. The decision to fall into the hole or go through the door is yours.

If you consume information 24 hours a day, with negative energy, constantly nervous, with pessimism, you will fall into this hole.

But if you take the opportunity to look at yourself, to rethink life and death, to take care of yourself and others, you will go through the door.

Take care of your home, take care of your body. Connect with your spiritual home. When you take care of yourself, you take care of others at the same time.

Do not underestimate the spiritual dimension of this crisis. Adopt the perspective of an eagle that sees everything from above with a broader vision.

There is a social demand in this crisis, but also a spiritual demand. The two go hand in hand. Without the social dimension, we fall into fanaticism. Without the spiritual dimension, we fall into pessimism and futility.

You are prepared to go through this crisis.
Grab your toolbox and use all the tools at your disposal. Learn to resist by the example of the Indian and African peoples: we have been and continue to be exterminated.

* But we never stopped singing, dancing, lighting fires and having joy.

Don't feel guilty for feeling lucky in these difficult times. Being sad and without energy doesn't help at all.

* Resilience is resilience through joy!

You have the right to be strong and positive. You have to maintain a beautiful, cheerful and bright posture.
This has nothing to do with alienation (ignorance of the world). It is a strategy of resistance.
When we walk in the door, we have a new view of the world because we have faced our fears and difficulties.

This is what you can do now:

- Serenity in the storm,

- Keep calm, meditate daily,

- Make a habit of encountering the sacred every day.

Demonstrate resilience through art, joy, trust and love. "

Image: Josh Koster

With dancing, humor and eagle feathers, this St. Francis man, Ronnie Preston, is keeping his Native heritage alive through a one-man storytelling show

Ronnie Preston does it all: He sings, he dances, he tells jokes, and he preserves Indigenous history nationwide.

The 50-year-old St. Francis man, a member of the San Carlos Apache tribal nation, has been touring the country as a Native cultural educator for more than 15 years. Dressed head to toe in tribal regalia, Preston puts on a one-man show that includes Indigenous singing, dancing and storytelling to teach about Indigenous history and break harmful stereotypes.

"I was tired of seeing people come to me with that one-track mind of what Indigenous is," Preston said. " I don't hide behind fairytales. I share stories that are real. And our stories need to be told."

He doesn't just educate on stage. He's also a teacher and activist off stage, and his passion has had a big effect on his community, young and old, Indigenous or not.

'They'll remember Ronnie.'
Ronnie Preston, of St. Francis, is a Native American cultural educator who travels the nation as a one-man show. He is pictured here in his tribal regalia, which features eagle feathers, porcupine hair, otter fur and bear claws.
Preston was born in Milwaukee, but moved to Arizona and Minnesota before settling back in Southeastern Wisconsin, where he met his partner, Deanna Porter. His day-job has changed over the years, but he remains committed to his first passion: education.

"It just makes me happy. I feel grateful," Preston said.

While the stories he tells depend on the crowd and their energy, his shows usually follow the same pattern. Preston performs dances, such as the grass dance, and sings while beating his drum, which he tells the crowd signifies the heartbeat of the earth.

https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/south/2021/07/21/ronnie-preston-st-francis-keeps-indigenous-history-alive-show/8026521002/?fbclid=IwAR32mcZsFcPELZqdtTn-ticejzy51z_GYRdzXl2P7rla4WFYbMU2OKJ_-Vo

Sean Sherman's First Brick-and-Mortar Restaurant Is a Tribute to Indigenous Foodways


“We believe that there should be Indigenous restaurants everywhere because no matter where, we’re on Indigenous land,” says Sherman, who just opened Owamni in Minneapolis.

https://www.foodandwine.com/travel/restaurants/sean-sherman-owamni-restaurant-opens?fbclid=IwAR06GusP1AJFuyAjPYg8uISGVLJep1d_kmPrAK00WCEk9uuhvX5ikCvNJDg