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EMAIL ME: tracelara@pm.me (outlook email is gone)
THANK YOU CHI MEGWETCH!
SkirtsAFire Festival has announced I Am Eagle by Indigenous
artist Matricia Bauer as a featured work for its 2026 lineup, with
performances set for March 6 & 7 at Edmonton’s Walterdale Theatre.
Matricia Bauer, playwright and presenting artist of I Am Eagle, tells Raven Radio Network that bringing her life story to the stage is a dream come true.
Bauer
describes the play as a journey of self-acceptance, shaped by her
experience in the Sixties Scoop, foster care, and reconnecting with her
culture.
Bauer adds that I Am Eagle explores cultural loss and reclamation while deepening understanding of reconciliation.
US Presidents in Their Own Words Concerning American Indians
Here's a brief history of presidential remarks about Native Americans
and here's to hoping that someday soon we can add a quote from a
president of American Indian, Alaska Native or Native Hawaiian
heritage.
"Indians and wolves are both beasts of prey, tho' they differ in shape."
George Washington
"If ever we are constrained to lift the hatchet against any tribe, we
will never lay it down till that tribe is exterminated, or driven
beyond the Mississippi… in war, they will kill some of us; we shall
destroy them all."
Thomas Jefferson
"My
original convictions upon this subject have been confirmed by the course
of events for several years, and experience is every day adding to
their strength. That those tribes cannot exist surrounded by our
settlements and in continual contact with our citizens is certain. They
have neither the intelligence, the industry, the moral habits, nor the
desire of improvement which are essential to any favorable change in
their condition. Established in the midst of another and a superior
race, and without appreciating the causes of their inferiority or
seeking to control them, they must necessarily yield to the force of
circumstances and ere long disappear."
Andrew Jackson
"Ordered that of the Indians and Half-breeds sentenced to be hanged
by the military commission, composed of Colonel Crooks, Lt. Colonel
Marshall, Captain Grant, Captain Bailey, and Lieutenant Olin, and lately
sitting in Minnesota, you cause to be executed on Friday the nineteenth
day of December, instant, the following names, to wit… " - Text from
order made by President Lincoln to General Sibley ordering the execution
of American Indians in Minnesota.
Abraham Lincoln
"I don't go so far as to think that the only good Indians are dead
Indians, but I believe nine out of ten are, and I shouldn't like to
inquire too closely into the case of the tenth."
Theodore Roosevelt
"All of our people all over the country - except the pure blooded
Indians - are immigrants or descendants of immigrants, including even
those who came over here on the Mayflower."
Franklin Roosevelt
"The United States, which would live on Christian principles with all
of the peoples of the world, cannot omit a fair deal for its own Indian
citizens."
Harry Truman
"There has been a vigorous acceleration of health, resource and
education programs designed to advance the role of the American Indian
in our society. Last Fall, for example, 91 percent of the Indian
children between the ages of 6 and 18 on reservations were enrolled in
school. This is a rise of 12 percent since 1953."
Dwight Eisenhower
President
John F. Kennedy meeting with National Congress of American Indians
president Walter Wetzel, Sen. Lee Metcalf and Sen. Mike Mansfield, 1963.
(Photo probably by Robert L. Knudsen / National Museum of the American
Indian)
Empty heading
"For a
subject worked and reworked so often in novels, motion pictures, and
television, American Indians remain probably the least understood and
most misunderstood Americans of us all."
John Kennedy
"The American Indian, once proud and free, is torn now between White
and tribal values; between the politics and language of the White man
and his own historic culture. His problems, sharpened by years of defeat
and exploitation, neglect and inadequate effort, will take many years
to overcome."
Lyndon Johnson
"What we have done with the American Indian is in its way as bad as
what we imposed on the Negroes. We took a proud and independent race and
virtually destroyed them. We have to find ways to bring them back into
decent lives in this country."
Richard Nixon
"I am committed to furthering the self-determination of Indian
communities but without terminating the special relationship between the
Federal Government and the Indian people. I am strongly opposed to
termination. Self-determination means that you can decide the nature of
your tribe's relationship with the Federal Government within the
framework of the Self-Determination Act, which I signed in January of
1975."
Gerald Ford
"It is the fundamental right of every American, as guaranteed by the
first amendment of the Constitution, to worship as he or she pleases …
This legislation sets forth the policy of the United States to protect
and preserve the inherent right of American Indian, Eskimo, Aleut, and
Native Hawaiian people to believe, express, and exercise their
traditional religions."
as he signed into law the American Indian Religious Freedom Act.
Jimmy Carter
"Let me tell you just a little something about the American Indian in
our land. We have provided millions of acres of land for what are
called preservations - or reservations, I should say. They, from the
beginning, announced that they wanted to maintain their way of life, as
they had always lived there in the desert and the plains and so forth.
And we set up these reservations so they could, and have a Bureau of
Indian Affairs to help take care of them. At the same time, we provide
education for them - schools on the reservations. And they're free also
to leave the reservations and be American citizens among the rest of us,
and many do. Some still prefer, however, that way - that early way of
life. And we've done everything we can to meet their demands as to how
they want to live. Maybe we made a mistake. Maybe we should not have
humored them in that wanting to stay in that kind of primitive
lifestyle. Maybe we should have said, no, come join us; be citizens
along with the rest of us."
Ronald Reagan
"This government-to-government relationship is the result of
sovereign and independent tribal governments being incorporated into the
fabric of our Nation, of Indian tribes becoming what our courts have
come to refer to as quasi-sovereign domestic dependent nations. Over the
years the relationship has flourished, grown, and evolved into a
vibrant partnership in which over 500 tribal governments stand shoulder
to shoulder with the other governmental units that form our Republic."
George Herbert Walker Bush
"Let us rededicate ourselves to the principle that all Americans have
the tools to make the most of their God-given potential. For Indian
tribes and tribal members, this means that the authority of tribal
governments must be accorded the respect and support to which they are
entitled under the law. It means that American Indian children and youth
must be provided a solid education and the opportunity to go on to
college. It means that more must be done to stimulate tribal economies,
create jobs, and increase economic opportunities."
Bill Clinton
"Tribal sovereignty means that. It's sovereign. You're a… you're a…
you've been given sovereignty and you're viewed as a sovereign entity."
George W. Bush
"We also recommit to supporting tribal self-determination, security,
and prosperity for all Native Americans. While we cannot erase the
scourges or broken promises of our past, we will move ahead together in
writing a new, brighter chapter in our joint history."
Barack Obama
"You were here long before any of us were here. Although we have a
representative in Congress who they say was here a long time ago. They
call her 'Pocahontas.'
Donald Trump
President Joe Biden (Photo/The White House)
“The federal government has long broken promises to Native American
tribes who have been on this land since time immemorial. With her
appointment, Congresswoman Haaland will help me strengthen the
nation-to-nation relationship.”
Joe Biden
“Considering the Lumbee Tribe's historical and modern
significance, it is the policy of the United States to support the full
Federal recognition, including the authority to receive full Federal
benefits, of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina,” -- Donald Trump,
passing the process back to the Department of the Interior
EDITOR NOTE: I wrote this: When words won't come, as I turn to poetry to grieve... Trace
Joy writes:
Put down that bag of potato chips, that white bread, that bottle of pop.
Turn off that cellphone, computer, and remote control.
Open the door, then close it behind you.
Take a breath offered by friendly winds. They travel the earth gathering essences of plants to clean.
Give back with gratitude.
If you sing it will give your spirit lift to fly to the stars’ ears and back.
Acknowledge this earth who has cared for you since you were a dream planting itself precisely within your parents’ desire.
Let your moccasin feet take you to the encampment of the guardians who have known you before time, who will be there after time. They sit before the fire that has been there without time.
Let the earth stabilize your postcolonial insecure jitters.
Be respectful of the small insects, birds and animal people who accompany you. Ask their forgiveness for the harm we humans have brought down upon them.
Don’t worry. The heart knows the way though there may be high-rises, interstates, checkpoints, armed soldiers, massacres, wars, and those who will despise you because they despise themselves.
The journey might take you a few hours, a day, a year, a few years, a hundred, a thousand or even more.
Watch your mind. Without training it might run away and leave your heart for the immense human feast set by the thieves of time.
Do not hold regrets.
When you find your way to the circle, to the fire kept burning by the keepers of your soul, you will be welcomed.
You must clean yourself with cedar, sage, or other healing plant.
Cut the ties you have to failure and shame.
Let go the pain you are holding in your mind, your shoulders, your heart, all the way to your feet. Let go the pain of your ancestors to make way for those who are heading in our direction.
Ask for forgiveness.
Call upon the help of those who love you. These helpers take many forms: animal, element, bird, angel, saint, stone, or ancestor.
Call yourself back. You will find yourself caught in corners and creases of shame, judgment, and human abuse.
You must call in a way that your spirit will want to return. Speak to it as you would to a beloved child.
Welcome your spirit back from its wandering. It will return in pieces, in tatters. Gather them together. They will be happy to be found after being lost for so long.
Your spirit will need to sleep awhile after it is bathed and given clean clothes.
Now you can have a party. Invite everyone you know who loves and supports you. Keep room for those who have no place else to go.
Make a giveaway, and remember, keep the speeches short.
Then, you must do this: help the next person find their way through the dark.
Billie Eilish Said "No One Is Illegal on Stolen Land"— In Reality, The Theft of Native Land Is a Blueprint for Border Patrol and ICE by Kahlil Greene
The slogan sparked outrage across the political spectrum, but the connection between Native dispossession and immigration enforcement is structural, not symbolic.
The
backlash to Eilish’s acceptance speech at the 68th annual Grammy Award
was immediate. Republican and right-wing leaders were outraged by the
singer’s comments, including Texas Senator Ted Cruz. “One simple
question: are we right now on stolen land?” Cruz asked a Netflix
executive during a Senate hearing days later.
“When you see an
entertainer say, ‘Nobody is illegal while we’re on stolen land,’” Cruz
went on. “And then you see entertainers leap to their feet, clapping so
excitedly at the notion that America is fundamentally illegitimate, it
starts to convey that the entertainment world is deeply corrupt.”
So
to recap, in the past two weeks, the slogan “no one is illegal on
stolen land” received a standing ovation at the Grammys, scrutiny at a
Senate hearing, and widespread debate on social media. But what does
that slogan actually mean?
What we have witnessed over the past 60 days in Minneapolis was
never about immigration enforcement for the safety of Americans.
This
was a deliberate, calculated assault on communities of color
masquerading as public safety. And as I write this from the headquarters
of our Indigenous non profit NATIFS (North American Traditional
Indigenous Food Systems) I can tell you that every person in our
organization and thousands across the Twin Cities understands this the
same way. This was a racial purge brought on by our own federal
government.
For decades, Native women and other women of color were subjected to
forced sterilization by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs and the
Indian Health Service.
New Mexico lawmakers introduced a memorial last week to create a
truth and reconciliation commission that would conduct a study into the
history, and continuing impacts of this abuse.
KUNM’s Jeanette DeDios (Jicarilla Apache and Diné) has this report.
Senate memorial 14 includes research dating to the 1970s which shows
between 25%-50% of Indigenous women were sterilized, with some of the
highest incidents occurring in New Mexico.
The memorial would develop a plan to create a state truth and
reconciliation commission to research and find all cases of
sterilization in the state, gather survivor testimony, and review and
recommend educational policy.
Keely Badger is a human rights advocate who wrote her dissertation on the forced sterilization of Native women.
Lawmakers asked her about challenges finding and accessing records.
“I do think that the requests have to come from an official state
body, official agencies, to get to the heart of this information. It is
going to be more than one person’s ability to accumulate this
information.”
She says this may have been intentional by the states.
“At a national level, they have sealed some of these records for a
reason, in the same way that a lot of the information about the boarding
school system was very challenging; took decades and decades of
research to accumulate to get to a point where we could have a national
apology.
“I believe that this is one of those situations where it is going to
require real political will and advocacy from civil society groups to
get to the real heart of this from a national perspective.”
If the memorial goes into law, New Mexico would be the first state in
the nation to formally investigate and acknowledge these violations.
The memorial will head to the senate floor for a vote and if passed, will go to the House of Representatives.
I had warned last year that the news was becoming less frequent, that not many stories are being written about adoptees, 60s Scoop and Stolen Generations. Mostly because the internet has changed and is slowly eroding with a.i. slop, it's harder to find relevant articles to share with you. But I will keep looking.
I wish you could have been with me at the kitchen table in Porcupine, South Dakota, in the early 1990s. First, I met Lakota ledger artist Merle Locke at an art show in Oregon, and told him I was trying to write children's stories about a Lakota boy named Redman. He told me to go meet his sister in Porcupine, and she might be able to help me.
Merle's sister Ellowyn was a traditional Oglala, a descendant of Crazy Horse's people, and she was fluent in Lakota. She was traditional in every way. I wrote to her, since she didn't have a phone, and asked if I could visit. She wrote back, "yes."
Like meeting anyone new, it takes time and good talks to get to know one another. I had not met my birthfather Earl yet; that happened later in 1994. I was honest with her: I didn't know what tribe or tribes I was, and was still searching for answers. I explained all that.
Thankfully in Seattle, I was going to "good talks" given by Steven Little Coyote, Northern Cheyenne, who was also traditional. His tribe are "brothers" to the Lakota, so they share many teachings. I learned from Steven, and he helped me to contact the Sundance Medicine Man in Rosebud, to get permission to come to the Sundance in August. I planned to go there first then drive to Pine Ridge and Porcupine to meet Ellowyn. It was necessary I find out what I needed to do and what not to do, and bring food, gifts and money, etc.
After meeting Ellowyn, I went back every year to see her. Sitting at her kitchen table, I took pages of notes, writing down "history" from her perspective, and history she had saved on paper to share with me. The version of history we are
given in "school" is either false, wrong, or simply made-up. I didn't know that. I knew so
little. I still am learning.
My entire world changed at that kitchen table. I do this blog so you can sit with me, and I'll share what I find.
Mitakuye Oyasin, Ellowyn told me, means we are ALL RELATED. All of us. She said that was the most important teaching of all.
SUBSTACK: We examine the U.S. government’s Federal Indian Boarding School Report, often framed as a historic apology. We analyze its language, its focus on “assimilation” and “dispossession,” and what it reveals—and obscures—about domination, genocide, and the continuing structure of federal Indian policy
The FEDERAL INDIAN BOARDING SCHOOL REPORT: Apology, Assimilation, Domination by Peter d'Errico
More than a historical document—it’s the ongoing reality of domination, land dispossession, and the attempted erasure of entire peoples.
As we walk through volumes one and two of the report, we look
beyond the bureaucratic language and euphemisms to examine how these so
called boarding schools functioned as prisons for children — an
admitted tool in the overall program to seize Indigenous lands.
We connect the report’s own admissions—about cultural “assimilation,” forced citizenship, and the U.S. government’s ‘trust’ doctrine—to
the broader system that tried to destroy Indigenous nationhood while
training Native children to identify with “our nation,” the United
States, instead of their own peoples.
In this
discussion, we also bring in powerful firsthand accounts and historical
testimony that the official report only partially grapples with: the chaining
and flogging of children, the dungeons and unmarked graves, the parents
imprisoned for resisting the kidnapping of their own sons and
daughters.
We don’t dwell on these stories to shock, but to insist that any
“healing” conversation must be grounded in truth—truth about genocide,
about land theft, and about a still active domination system that did
not end when the schools closed.
We
talk about what a rightful education looks like, about how language
shapes identity, and why “remembrance” without legal change serves to
mask the operations of the ongoing system.
We
encourage you to watch and listen to this conversation and then explore
the resources linked with it, including the Boarding School reports
themselves and the book Massacre by Robert Gesner.
Resources:
“Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Investigative Report” –
“Report
of the Committee, to whom was referred so much of the President’s
message as relates to the civilization of the Indian tribes” - https://www.loc.gov/item/ca25001025/
A new report by Statistics Canada says Indigenous adults were
incarcerated at a rate 10 times higher than non-Indigenous adults in six
provinces, a disparity that justice advocates called staggering, and a
roadblock to reconciliation.
The agency’s new measure, called the overrepresentation index, was
used to make the finding for First Nations, Inuit and Métis people in
British Columbia, P.E.I., Nova Scotia, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta
in 2023/2024.
The United States' interest in Greenland is not a recent
phenomenon, but rather a recurring theme in its foreign policy,
stretching back over 150 years. The idea of acquiring Greenland first
surfaced in the 1860s under President Andrew Johnson's administration,
following the U.S. purchase of Alaska from Russia. Secretary of State
William Seward, a key figure in the Alaska acquisition, also eyed
Greenland, recognizing its potential natural resources such as coal.
While no formal offer was made at that time, a land swap involving
Greenland was proposed under President William Howard Taft in 1910,
which Denmark rejected.
The most significant historical attempt came in 1946, in
the wake of World War II and the nascent Cold War, when President Harry
S. Truman formally offered Denmark $100 million in gold for the island.
Denmark, though recovering from wartime occupation, firmly rejected the
offer, opting instead to expand U.S. military access to the island.
This led to the establishment of key military installations like
Pituffik Space Base (formerly Thule Air Base), which integrated
Greenland into the U.S. early-warning radar and missile defense network,
a presence that continues today under bilateral agreements. These
historical precedents underscore a consistent American perception of
Greenland as a strategic asset, even as Denmark and Greenland have
consistently rebuffed outright acquisition.
Last
Wednesday an ICE officer shot and killed Renee Nicole Good, a
Minneapolis resident and mother of three. While Department of Homeland
Security Secretary Kristi Noem claims the shooting was in self defense, video of the incident shows Good attempting to drive away from the scene.
Since
the Trump administration sent 2,000 ICE agents to Minneapolis, at least
five Native American community members have been detained. The area
where Good was killed is near a historic urban Native community and the
Little Earth housing project. Near Little Earth, ICE agents detained
four men who are Oglala Lakota. One man was released after a 12 hour
hold, but the whereabouts of the other men are unknown. In a separate
incident, Jose Roberto “Beto” Ramirez was driving to his aunt’s house
North of Minneapolis when he noticed he was being followed by people in
an unmarked car. Ramirez is a descendant of Red Lake Nation. ICE agents
pulled Ramirez out of his car. “I felt like I was kidnapped,” he told ICT news. After detaining him for 6 hours, ICE eventually released Ramirez.
I want to hear from you!
I’m just starting this newsletter and I would love your feedback! As a freelance writer, I was frustrated with my writing living in multiple places and wanted a space to connect with my readers directly. I’d love to hear your thoughts! What topics are you curious about? Where would you like to see this newsletter go? - Rebecca Nagle
WE ARE FIRST NATIONS! Please be aware: watch this video:
I’ll cut to the chase, as they say. I’m now on the ground in Minneapolis, representing our team on the frontlines and doing what I can to help build a defense amid the ongoing occupation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.). I can gratefully report that the section of the city where many Native people live is no longer experiencing quite the same level of infiltration by I.C.E. personnel as it had been over the past days. That said, we remain on high alert. The federal government recently sent more officers here, and its attacks on this brave community are clearly far from over.
As part of my activities on the ground, I’m networking with local Native leaders and press outlets. Today, I sat down for an interview with host Robert Pilot on Native Roots Radio to discuss the situation. I encourage you to take a few minutes and watch our highlights video of the conversation right here. And, if you have the time, you can watch the entire, nearly one-hour broadcast on the Native Roots Radio Facebook page.
Watch: I discussed the ongoing I.C.E. attack on Minneapolis on Native Roots Radio.
It should go without saying that we’re now at a critical moment for the survival of our democracy as we know it. The echoes of historic fascism — from the brazen attacks by militarized I.C.E. agents on people it considers undesirable to Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem’s new podium slogan (”One of ours, all of yours”) echoing the Nazi fervor for mass retaliation — are striking and deeply disturbing.
You may recall that we’ve been sounding the alarm about all of this for quite some time. The Project 2025 agenda clearly laid out the administration’s aims, and its subsequent attacks on birthright citizenship were another giant red flag, ultimately giving rise to our Original Homegrowns series of videos laying out the danger to Native — and all — people of this land.
Now, we’re here. But we, as Natives, know that even this can be overcome — if we stand together. As things progress, it will remain extra important to continue speaking truth to power, building alliances and a united front, and taking action where and when appropriate to protect one another, halt the tide of fascism, and restore sanity. Please stay locked in with us. Watch and share our video. We’ll have much more to say, and we plan to provide opportunities for you to make a difference going forward. Are you ready?
Wopila tanka — thank you, always, for supporting our ability to assist.
Chase Iron Eyes
Executive Director
Lakota People’s Law Project
Sacred Defense Fund
Elisia
and Tecumseh Manuel and their three children — Tecumseh, Precious and
Micah — adopted from Arizona’s foster care system. Provided photo.
..."These experiences prompted an internal question on behalf of families
like hers fostering Native youth: “Where are the resources?” Manuel
recalled asking herself.
"That wondering led to the creation of her nonprofit in 2014, Three Precious Miracles. The group’s initials correspond to those of the three Indigenous children the couple adopted from Arizona’s foster care system: Tecumseh — named after
Manuel’s spouse of 28 years — Precious and Micah. The kids were placed
with the Manuels as infants, and all are now pre-teens."
By Anumita Kaur October 2024 Some of the 200 cultural items that the Wyoming Episcopal Church returned to the Northern Arapaho tribe las...
Bookshop
You are not alone
To Veronica Brown
Veronica, we adult adoptees are thinking of you today and every day. We will be here when you need us. Your journey in the adopted life has begun, nothing can revoke that now, the damage cannot be undone. Be courageous, you have what no adoptee before you has had; a strong group of adult adoptees who know your story, who are behind you and will always be so.
Diane Tells His Name
click photo
Lost Birds on Al Jazeera Fault Lines
click to read and listen about Trace, Diane, Julie and Suzie
NO MORE STOLEN SISTERS
click image
We conclude this series & continue the conversation by naming that adoption is genocide. This naming refers to the process of genocide that breaks kinship ties through adoption & other forms of family separation & policing 🧵#NAAM2022#AdoptionIsTraumaAND#AdopteeTwitter#FFY 1/6 pic.twitter.com/46v0mWISZ1
As the single largest unregulated industry in the United States, adoption is viewed as a benevolent action that results in the formation of “forever families.” The truth is that it is a very lucrative business with a known sales pitch. With profits last estimated at over $1.44 billion dollars a year, mothers who consider adoption for their babies need to be very aware that all of this promotion clouds the facts and only though independent research can they get an accurate account of what life might be like for both them and their child after signing the adoption paperwork.
President
John F. Kennedy meeting with National Congress of American Indians
president Walter Wetzel, Sen. Lee Metcalf and Sen. Mike Mansfield, 1963.
(Photo probably by Robert L. Knudsen / National Museum of the American
Indian)
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