When Comparing Tragedies, Nobody Wins
On Being Both Gay and Native in the Wake of the Orlando Shooting The horrific act of hatred that took place on Sunday morning at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando cut me to the core. And while I was still trying to make sense of the news I was hearing on Sunday morning, I started to see a few folks on Twitter begin calling out the many headlines of “Deadliest Mass Shooting in U.S. History” as incorrect. I kept seeing Wounded Knee mentioned as the deadliest mass shooting. Later in th
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;
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
