If I want to read a misrepresentation of Native people, I’ll just pick up the nearest K-12 history b
"Beyond this, I’m writing because as a fan, I’m so… hurt and disillusioned to discover a world I escape to so often and with people I love like my young daughter is now an unsafe space that takes the very real cultural histories, practices, and belief systems of a hyper-marginalized group of people and casts them into the realm of myth and fantasy. Ironic, isn’t it, that I’m disillusioned with a fictional world based on magic? As someone who carefully curates the pop culture
In the Old Days, Everyone Who Was Born Had a Purpose
"In the old days, everyone who was born had a purpose, but that belief had faded away some over the years. Now we are working with our kids to re-instill that mind set. We want our future to remain strong and to continue to move forward." — Jennifer Porter (Kootenai) Read more at https://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/notable-quotes #Robohontas #JenniferPorter #quote #education #children #future
We still live under a sort of colonialism here, at least in the United States.
“It is important because the second Monday in October is officially recognized nationally and even internationally as Columbus Day. As countless people have pointed out over the past decades of trying to abolish Columbus Day, it is a holiday created to celebrate the genocide of Native people. This is experienced by Native people as a violent event that has not ended. We still live under a sort of colonialism here, at least in the United States.” -Melanie Yazzie (Diné) From "T
We Share a Language, History, Religion, Foods, the Bonds of Family...
"Growing up as I did, on the Ojibwe Leech Lake Reservation in northern Minnesota, it was patently obvious to me that Indians came in all different shapes and colors. I’m fairly light-skinned and have been told many times that, looking the way I do, I can’t be an Indian, not a real one. I’ve heard this from colleagues, writers, neighbors. Once I was told I couldn’t be Indian because we’d all been killed. And yet I am. We are bound by much more than phenotype or blood quantum;
It Is Those Songs, It Is Those Prayers, and Everything That We Do in Our Language That Connect Us
“When you lose that language, you lose your culture completely. Because it is those songs, it is those prayers, and everything that we do in our language that connect us -- not just with each other, and with our community -- but also with everything around us.” -Deleta Gasco Smith (Anishinabek) From "Native American boarding schools have nearly killed Michigan's native language" on www.michiganradio.org #DeletaGascoSmith #Robohontas #language #community
Our Culture is Not a Costume
"I was trying to show it the proper way. I didn’t want to be wearing a scandalous little outfit and a headdress because that’s so wrong on so many levels. The headdress is sacred, women don’t wear that. I wore our traditional regalia. I showcased the healing dance, the jingle dress, I showcased everything I possibly could that they would be educated and understand our culture is not a costume." --Ashley Callingbull-Burnham (Enoch Cree) From "‘I’m not going to shut up’: First
"Racism is rendered as the innocent daughter of Mother Nature"
"This leads us to another equally important ideal, one that Americans implicitly accept but to which they make no conscious claim. Americans believe in the reality of "race" as a defined, indubitable feature of the natural world. Racism--the need to ascribe bone-deep features to people and then humiliate, reduce, and destroy them--inevitably follows from this inalterable condition. In this way, racism is rendered as the innocent daughter of Mother Nature, and one is left to d
That’s Why I Learned My Ceremonies—To Help People
“We are all brothers and sisters on this Earth. People are similar throughout the world and we need to work together to solve problems. We need to carry on our culture, to take care of each other and our planet, not poison our atmosphere and our food. It’s not only our people, but others where people get sick and don’t know how they’re going to get well. We need to help one another, teach one another for a better way. That’s why I learned my ceremonies—to help people.” -
"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
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
