BOOZHOO! We've amassed tons of information and important history on this blog since 2010. If you have a keyword, use the search box below. Also check out the reference section above. If you have a question or need help searching, use the contact form at the bottom of the blog.
We want you to use BOOKSHOP to buy books! (the editor will earn a small amount of money or commission. (we thank you) (that is our disclaimer statement)
This is a blog. It is not a peer-reviewed journal, not a sponsored publication... WE DO NOT HAVE ADS or earn MONEY from this website. The ideas, news and thoughts posted are sourced… or written by the editor or contributors.
EMAIL ME: tracelara@pm.me (outlook email is gone)
THANK YOU CHI MEGWETCH!
AFN Chief Cindy Woodhouse reveals 5 of 47 First Nations items returned to Canada last December
A First Nations
woman touches a doll and crib, one of the five items revealed Tuesday,
which were returned by the Vatican to the First Nations of Canada.
(Photo by Jorge Antunes)
The return of Indigenous items from the Vatican is an “important and
emotional moment for many First Nations across this country,” said
Assembly of First Nations Chief Cindy Woodhouse prior to the unveiling
of five items on Tuesday.
As part of the continuing process of repatriating Indigenous items
that had been held by the Vatican, the Assembly of First Nations
uncrated First Nations’ items whose region of origin has been
determined, at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Que.
She called the items “sacred,” and not “artifacts” as some people
have referred to the items that were once held by the Roman Catholic
Church.
The items are a pair of embroidered leather gloves from Athabasca
Chipewyan First Nation, a birchbark sap collector from Akwesasne Mohawk
Nation, a baby carrier from Ontario, and a bowl and spoon from
Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron.
The exact community where the bowl and spoon came from is known. But
for the gloves, sap collector and baby carrier, only their general area
of origin is known.
The bowl and spoon were made by the “great, great, great, great,
great grand-uncle,” of Grand Chief Linda Debeassige of the Anishnabek
Nation in what’s now northern Ontario.
“He signed the bottom of it. True story,” she said with a grin when a reporter asked how she knew her relative had made them.
The majority of the First Nations’ 47 items were not revealed
publicly Tuesday, though several chiefs in attendance were invited for a
private viewing later in the day.
Grand
Chief Linda Debeassige of the Anishnabek Nation was able to determine a
bowl and spoon were made by an ancestor because he ‘signed the bottom.’
(Photo by Jorge Antunes)
Until their origins are determined, they will remain hidden, Woodhouse said.
Identification is a complicated process. Each community has its own
knowledge that varies from community to community, she added.
“We have to respect First Nations as we identify where they [belong],” Woodhouse said.
When the 62 items first made their way to Montreal from Rome last
December, 14 were deemed to be of Inuit origin, including a 100-year-old
sealskin Inuvialuit kayak.
Some of those Inuit items were shown at a small gathering of media at
a Canadian History Museum warehouse a few days after their arrival in
Canada.
Except for the kayak, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami — the national
organization representing Inuit across Canada — said in an email last
December it could not be sure where they came from until they have been
examined further.
Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami did not return a request for comment Tuesday about the unveiling of the First Nations items.
The 62 items are just a few of, by some calculations, more than
100,000 sent to Rome a century ago by Roman Catholic missionaries for a
symposium featuring Indigenous cultural items at the Vatican.
Woodhouse said she hoped the day will inspire other institutions
across the world to consider repatriation plans for the thousands of
items still out there.
“First Nations will not rest until all of our items that were wrongfully taken are returned to us,” she said.
New Mexico is taking on an investigation into the sterilization of
Native American women through coercion, deception, or by merely carrying
out procedures entirely without consent. The state is mainly looking at
time in the 1970s following the establishment of the federal Office of
Population Affairs and a policy change that increased reimbursements for
outside doctors contracting with Indian Health Service (IHS) facilities
for each procedure. Native Americans were included in groups targeted
for sterilizations because of the false impression they were less
intelligent and that they were not as productive members of society as
other groups. In 10 years, Native American birth rates were more than halved.
Other states and Canada have broached the topic of forced sterilization
that tried to formalize racist policies in the name of public health.
New Mexico is the first to take aim at the role IHS clinics played in
carrying out the policies.
I have some good news
for you! SOME REALLY GOOD NEWS! In an era when bad news is all the
rage, I encourage you to soak up this truly, good news up. Slip into it
like a hot tub on your first night on vacation; you know you have to go
home eventually, but you ain’t thinking about it now.
As I
have written about here before, one of the stories that made me want to
go to Minneapolis after the extrajudicial killings of Renee Good and
Alex Pretti came from Modern Times Cafe owner, Dylan Alverson. In a
video, Dylan sat at his desk, looking seriously annoyed. He begrudgingly
looked at the camera and said a very simple thing:.
“My
name is Dylan from Modern Times Cafe in Minneapolis. Starting today,
January 26th and until the occupation of Minneapolis is over, we are a
free restaurant, Post Modern Times.”
BOOM GOES THE ANTI-CAPITALIST DYNAMITE!
Dylan Alverson and me.
When
I made it to Minneapolis only a few days later, I was so happy that
Dylan agreed to meet with me. Dylan told me that making his restaurant
free had gone so well that he was working on making it free even after
the occupation (hopefully) ends. He had even officially renamed his
restaurant Post Modern Times Cafe. If all went according to his (and his
accountant’s) plan, the restaurant would turn into a nonprofit. Dyan
wanted his restaurant to be pay-what-you-can or (more accurately)
pay-what-you-want. That way one person could eat pancakes for free, and
the next person could say, “THESE $20 WORTH OF PANCAKES ARE SO DELICIOUS
THAT I’M PAYING $200!”
If you think about it, isn’t this how
capitalism should work? Elon Musk should definitely be paying way more
for eggs than a family of five living in a two bedroom apartment.
The
article also mentions how my little trip to the Twin Cities has helped
the greater cause. When I interviewed Dylan, he insisted that I talk to
his friend Ammar Aref, a Palestinian immigrant, across the street. Ammar
and his family own Amigos One Stop, a convenience store (or tienda)
that primarily serves the Latino community. In the wake of the illegal
federal occupation, Ammar noticed that many of his customers were no
longer coming to the store, for fear of being kidnapped by I.C.E. In
response, Ammar and his family began delivering groceries to his
customers for free. No delivery fees charged, and sometimes no charge
for the groceries either. Ammar is not rich. He and his family were
committed to doing this even though it affects their bottom line. Once
word of his efforts got out, people began to donate. Apparently, the
videos I made helped too. In the article, Ammar says that after they
were posted, “people started calling and sending donations from
everywhere”. And I KNOW that some of those donations came from you!
Thank you for doing that. The good news is that we are the good news. We can be the good news.
When
I was in the Twin Cities, I asked Ashley Fairbanks how she would define
it. Ashley is an expert in mutual aid. She even built a website to help
the people meet the needs of Minnesotans after Kristi Noem released her
federal goblins in the area. What Ashley does for a living is
complicated. We had a good laugh about how we both have a lot of slashes
in our job descriptions. Ashley introduced herself as “a creative
director, an author, a designer, etc.” That “etc” is doing a lot of
heavy lifting. She also lists storyteller, narrative consultant, and
artist. Luckily for Minnesotans “website designer” is in there too. Her
site is called StandWithMinnesota.com. It includes a variety of ways to support the people who are the most heavily impacted by our rogue government. You can donate cash to help someone pay their rent because their breadwinner has been kidnapped by I.C.E. You can donate frequent flyer miles so that someone who was kidnapped by I.C.E., taken to Texas, and then released in the streets of Texas can get back home. You can just volunteer your time. You can also just learn about everything going on in Minnesota so you can be better able to talk about it.
We sat down at The McKnight Foundation
to talk. McKnight, who partenred with me on this series, introduced me
to Ashley. When I asked Ashley for her definition of mutual aid there
were no frills.
Ashley: “Just helping each other.”
Although
we didn’t talk about it specifically, I’m guessing that Ashley’s
beliefs about mutual aid are connected to the fact that not only was
Ashley born in Minnesota, she is native to the land that Minnesota
exists on. Ashley is Anishinaabe. Her Indigenous name is Aasiniiwiikwe
Indizhinikaaz.
When I think of all the things that I have learned from Indigenous folks there are two things that stick out.
1) The United States of America has broken every treaty we have ever made with Indigenous people.
2) Indigenous people didn’t even have the concept of homelessness until colonizers came in and fucked everything up.
It
makes perfect sense that an Indigenous person would be a part of
reintroducing the idea of mutual aid to the rest of us. Indigenous folks
looked out for everyone in their community, until capitalism ruined
everything. This is also true of tribes in Africa and other Indigenous
folks around the world. Today, Indigenous people have the second highest
rate of homelessness, despite only being around 2% of the U.S.
population.
Ashley has
combined caring for her Minnesota community with an easy to use and
simple to navigate website. And let’s be clear. No matter what you have
read in the news, there are still hundreds of federal troops on the ground in Minnesota.
They may have “fired” Kristi Noem, but her damage is done (and still
being done). Even after the last of the federales are gone, many people
will still be afraid to leave their homes and afraid to go to work. They
might not even have a workplace to return to. Mutual aid is not a
band-aid. Mutual aid is the future, or for many of us, a return to the
past. Mutual aid is the realization that we cannot trust our government
to do its job. That’s not meant to be just an indictment of Trump. In
our nearly 250 years, America has never had a proper social safety net. A
Democratic president won’t be the solution. We are the solution. There
is something we can all do to create more community. We can embrace
mutual aid. While I heartily encourage you to Google the phrase “mutual
aid” and the name of your city, I also encourage you to think the way
Ashley encourages us to think:.
“[Mutual aid] is like the neighborly behaviors.
Making your neighbor, who you know is out doing I.C.E. watch, a pot of
soup. Whatever the need is, just meeting it without having an
expectation of an exchange of money for services.”
WHO’S WITH ASHLEY? WHO’S WITH US?
Once again, I’m gonna open up the comments. Be productive and constructive. Put your mutual aid ideas in the comments.
Ashley Fairbanks Is Also A Children’s Book Author
Both books focus on children hearing the Indigenous story from an Indigenous voice. Buy them at the buttons below.
StrongHearts Native Helpline Marks 9 Years of Serving Survivors, Receiving More than 85,000+Calls, Chats and Texts
March 6, 2026
Throughout the past nine years, the organization has achieved significant milestones, including:
Received over 85,000+ contacts via calls, chats and texts.
Upon survivor request, provided over 26,000+ referrals to direct service providers.
Developed partnerships with Tribal, State, and National organizations to improve response to the violence impacting Native individuals, families and communities.
This past year, The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), announced a projected $15 million, five-year grant to fund StrongHearts Native Helpline as the First-Ever Standalone National Indigenous Domestic Violence Hotline for American Indians and Alaska Natives. With the five-year funding commitment, StrongHearts will continue to serve as the trusted resource for survivors seeking anonymous and confidential crisis support.
"This anniversary is not just a reflection of where we’ve been—it's a testament to our team, to our commitment to ensure that the thousands of survivors who have reached out receive culturally honoring support," said Lori Jump, Chief Executive Officer of StrongHearts Native Helpline. "We are honored to have served our communities for nine years and look forward to expanding our impact”.
StrongHearts plans to expand its impact include:
Finalizing the Alaska Specific Initiative, focusing on expanding and strengthening outreach and access to services for Alaska Natives.
Developing and strengthening existing partnerships with Tribes, States and Local service providers to ensure continuity of care.
Enhancing StrongHearts’ website to improve user experience, including expanded search capabilities and a dedicated resource center for general information, reports, articles and more.
About StrongHearts Native Helpline
StrongHearts Native Helpline is a 24/7/365 culturally-appropriate domestic, dating and sexual violence helpline for Native Americans, available by calling or texting 1-844-762-8483 or clicking on the chat icon at strongheartshelpline.org.
In his book Turning the Power Nathan Sowry examines how some Native American students from the boarding school system, with its forced assimilationist education, became key cultural informants for anthropologists conducting fieldwork during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Salvage anthropologists of this era relied on Native informants to accomplish their mission of “saving” Native American cultures and ultimately turned many informants into anthropologists after years of fieldwork experience.
Sowry investigates ten relatively unknown Native American anthropologists and collaborators who, from 1878 to 1930, attended a religiously affiliated mission school, a federal Indian boarding school, or both. He tells the stories of Native anthropologists Tichkematse, William Jones, and James R. Murie, who were alumni of the Hampton Institute in Virginia. Richard Davis and Cleaver Warden were among the first and second classes to attend the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania. Amos Oneroad graduated from the Haskell Indian Industrial Training School in Lawrence, Kansas, after attending mission and boarding schools in South Dakota. D. C. Duvall, John V. Satterlee, and Florence and Louis Shotridge attended smaller boarding and mission schools in Montana, Wisconsin, and Alaska Territory, respectively.
Turning the Power follows the forced indoctrination of Native American students and then details how each of them “turned the power,” using their English knowledge and work experience in the anthropological field to embrace, document, and preserve their Native cultures rather than abandoning their heritage.
Nathan Sowry is the Reference Archivist at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian, where he has worked since 2016. He regularly collaborates with Native and non-Native researchers, scholars, and community groups interested in utilizing archival collections and visiting their cultural heritage.
Sowry received his BA in Anthropology and Religious Studies from the University of Pittsburgh, MA in History from Washington State University, MLIS in Archives and Records Management from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and PhD in History from American University.
So many of us felt speechless with disgust at this State of the Union speech … at a loss for words to answer: How can this upside down world even be real? Cruelty held up as duty. Suffering drowned by applause. The showmanship of blood lust. But there is a term for the horrors we’re watching … that brand of political power when atrocity becomes policy… when they decide who is protected and who is expendable. It’s called “necropolitics.”
In this short video, I explain what necropolitics means, what political theorist Achille Mbembe calls “death worlds,” and why this framework helps us make sense of what we are witnessing right now: entire spaces dedicated to death, built to strip away the meaning not just of democracy but of humanity. Reservations. Concentration camps. ICE detention camps. Gaza. Mocking us in a realtime unironic self-parody, there’s Trump inflicting his textbook Death World.
Please watch: In 7 minutes, learn what “necropolitics” means, what “death worlds” are, and how this framework helps explain the cruelty, erasure, and normalization of suffering we’re in right now.
Within the two-hours of gaslighting, Trump handed out medals… almost more than the Olympic Committee, he joked. Not one medal for a Black person. He gave his address during Black History Month, one week after hosting Black MAGA supporters at the White House, days after the passing of Rev. Jesse Jackson, who went unacknowledged. Not a word. His only reference to race was bragging about ending DEI. Meanwhile, Epstein survivors sat in the crowd, invited by Democrats, and he had not one emotion or word for them while his DOJ actively scrubs the files that could expose the powerful men who bought and sold those girls. The lying is unimaginable.
He claimed to have ended eight wars… perverting the very meaning of peace. He called Venezuela "our new partner and friend" after illegal missile attacks and effectively kidnapping their leader and boasting about the 80 million barrels of oil “we” have “received.” He took credit for low crime in DC, a city that polls 78% against him. He called this the "golden age of America" while gutting food stamps, defunding USAID, and now revenge cutting Medicaid in Minnesota … decisions that will kill many people. Not metaphorically. Actually kill people. Worldwide. This is the definition of Necropolitics made plain: the slow, bureaucratic withdrawal of life from those the state has deemed disposable.
And then there are the ICE death cards. Agents in Colorado have been leaving Ace of Spades cards ... custom-printed with "ICE/Denver Field Office" ... in the vehicles of people they have detained. The Ace of Spades. A death symbol. Left as a message. This is not ambiguous. This is the state announcing, openly, that not only do certain bodies not matter, but they are marked and we are coming for you. It is the same logic that has always governed what happens to Native people, to Black people, to immigrants, to the poor. The dehumanization comes first. Then the death becomes possible. Then it becomes normalized. Then atrocity becomes policy.
Watch the video. Share it. Name what we are seeing together.
Wopila tanka — thank you for your solidarity.
Tokata Iron Eyes
Spokesperson & Organizer
Lakota People’s Law Project
Sacred Defense Fund
The ICT Newscast for Friday, February 27, 2026, covers continued fallout from the Department of Homeland Security, Indigenous athletes in the Olympics and Leonard Peltier reflects on his return home.
A state report on tribal boarding schools was meant to examine the state’s role in abuses
That report wasn’t released to the public
The full report obtained by Bridge includes accounts of abuse from survivors
A shelved, taxpayer-funded report on tribal boarding schools
recommended an apology for Michigan’s role in the deaths and abuse of
Native American children.
As first reported by Bridge Michigan,
that $1.1 million report was never released, and a summary presented to
the Legislature left out recommendations made by the consulting firm.
Bridge obtained a copy of the 300-page report, which includes accounts
by survivors of abuse in the homes, as well as glimpses of the roles the
state and communities played in the federally funded boarding schools
that closed more than 40 years ago.
Now, a House appropriations subcommittee has scheduled a hearing Feb.
27 about the report and why it was scrapped after its completion in
September.
“We’d like to get some understanding of why we spent over a million
dollars on a 300-page report and then threw the report in the garbage
can,” said Rep. Tom Kuhn, R-Troy, chair of the general government subcommittee.
The Department of Civil Rights, which oversaw the report and then
chose not to release it to the public or the Legislature, has declined
an invitation to testify, he said.
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.
By Melanie Payne ( mpayne@news-press.com ) August 15, 2010 Alexis Stevens liked to describe herself as a model citizen. She was adopted fr...
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.
New Mexico is taking on an investigation into the sterilization of
Native American women through coercion, deception, or by merely carrying
out procedures entirely without consent. The state is mainly looking at
time in the 1970s following the establishment of the federal Office of
Population Affairs and a policy change that increased reimbursements for
outside doctors contracting with Indian Health Service (IHS) facilities
for each procedure. Native Americans were included in groups targeted
for sterilizations because of the false impression they were less
intelligent and that they were not as productive members of society as
other groups. In 10 years, Native American 
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)
Posts
LISTEN AT WEBSITE: https://ravenradio.ca/2026/02/06/i-am-eagle-announced-as-featured-work-at-skirtsafire-festival/