July - 2015

#DearNonNatives: Listen

#DearNonNatives: we isolate ourselves for protection - stop hurting Native people #DearNonNatives your theories are weaponized. #DearNonNatives: your activism is grounded on our homelands. Remember that. Honor that. #DearNonNatives: English Only is colonialism #DearNonNatives your systems are still stealing NDN children. Your systems need to crumble. #DearNonNatives my kunsi (grandmother) lived to be 104 & just made her journey. Her mother lived to be 107. No, I will NOT just

"Non-Native Settler Feminists Do Not Understand, Nor Do They Seem To Want To"

"You see, I do things as a strong, empowered Oceti Sakowin (Sioux) woman that non-Native settler feminists do not understand, nor do they seem to want to. Through their colonial lens, they view sacred women’s ways as submissive rather than humble. For instance, they assume that because I wear a long dress or skirt to ceremony, that I’m being treated as an inferior. Nothing could be further from the truth. I wear my floor sweeping skirt out of respect for my ancestors, the bro

"[T]here is an entire system of injustice whose fingerprints left bruises on her throat."

I've been following the story about Sandra Bland's death in police custody and I have to say I find it terrifying on so many levels. There is the sadness that this poor woman should not have been arrested in the first place (just see the video/audio of her arrest), that she spent three days in jail because of a $5,000 bond that resulted from her illegal arrest, that she was either killed or resorted to suicide and died in police custody. Then there is the sadness that this is

In the story of American exceptionalism, Native Americans cease to exist after Manifest Destiny

"Atop the U.S. Capitol, there is a frieze depicting American history. At first, Native Americans fight an onslaught of colonists. Our final reference is the death of Tecumseh and a kneeling Native American woman, hands upraised. There is nothing after. In the story of American exceptionalism, Native Americans cease to exist after Manifest Destiny. ...But Native Americans didn’t go extinct. We’re still here. And this is the racial wallpaper we see. A largely forgotten, margina

We Never Survive Alone

"I sincerely believe that we never survive alone. I am here because of my ancestor's prayers, because of the love & prayers & woo of people I've met & hugged & people I know through the internet & even people I've never interacted with but have read my words. [And] for this I am so very grateful." --Lettie Laugher (Diné) From blog post titled "Sick Healer // Wounded Healer // Crazy Healer: Can I Really Still Be a Healer?" #quote #robohontas #LettieLaughter #survival #ancesto

How White People Only Want to See Aboriginal Art That Looks Like Aboriginal Art from Centuries Ago

"This spring, I went to Montreal to see a friend, and went to an indigenous gallery before my flight home. And I sat outside crying, having seen previews of their works online, and how they all looked like traditional pieces, and how white people only wanted to see Aboriginal art that looks like Aboriginal art from centuries ago, and I kept crying, and couldn't [go] inside." --Sarah Clark (Nanticoke) #quote #SarahClark #robohontas #art #Indigenous

Seattle Art Museum's Contemporary Indigenous Art: How It Is Shown

At the beginning of July, I visited Seattle Art Museum (SAM) while my husband's teenage neice was staying with us for a week. I didn't linger much as much as I would have liked because I was the only "arty" one in the group. (Usually, I get the feeling that my husband is just indulging me by going to a museum with me, but I appreciate that he enjoys when we spend time together, even if it is looking at stuff he's generally not very passionate about.) It was a quick trip, but

Andrea Smith: Wanting to Be Cherokee

I don’t really want to wade into the battlefield that is the discussion of Andrea Smith’s identity; but, given my very strong response to Rachel Dolezal’s misrepresentation last month, I feel I needed to say something. I mean, if I can write about a woman misrepresenting herself as a race I do not belong to, then surely I must have something to say about a woman misrepresenting herself as Native American, right? So here goes: Without linking to the many, many articles and blo

I wanted to be an Indian, too -

"When I was a little girl, I wanted to be an Indian, too - I felt at home in the water, the sea-salt rushing against my cheeks; and how beautiful, and how silent, long black hair blowing back as stars and sequins aligned around me; god! Didn’t I want to be an Indian!" Excerpted from the poem To the White Woman Who Told Me, "When I was a Girl, I Wanted to Be An Indian." By Misty Shipman Ellingburg (Shoalwater) #TigerLily #quote #poetry #MistyShipmanEllingburg

Tiger Lily: Terese and Tiffany Respond

Well, of course the post I wrote yesterday ruffled some feathers. Just as much as my own were ruffled by the pieces that caused me to write about the two articles I disagreed with. But, while I'm not interested in getting into a fighting match, I also don't want to just ignore these two authors' reponses and move on. Why? Because, just like me, Tiffany Midge and Terese Marie Mailhot have every right to express their own opinions as they see fit. And, more importantly, I am st