A cold autumn morning in my first year of high school, a girl named “Ang” taught me how to smoke. Ang was fourteen, and I thought she had it all; she was pretty, swore like a trucker straight to her parents face, and all the boys liked her. One morning before school she offered me a cigarette.
I’m sorry, but I can’t resist the temptation. As we rip open a new calendar I can’t help but reflect on the past year and the one that is now before us.
When people in the community see me in the village or at a restaurant, I am often asked “so how’s the paper going?” In the spirit of small talk I will usually answer “oh pretty good”.
The story of the executions in Mankato, Minnesota that would be the final chapter of the Dakota War of 1862 seems to always miss the mark, at least for me.
Every year down on Six at New Years you will hear folks greeting each other with a festive “Nu-yah! Nu-yah!”. For some it is just another rez term. Nobody knows where it originated from. Nor do they know why you have to say it twice: that’s just how it is and how it always was.
December 2012 – A federal search warrant raid on Dec. 18 on the closed Three Feathers Class II Casino resulted in the arrest of the Wolf Clan Representative from the Akwesasne Men’s Council. The raid and arrests of two other Akwesasne men left many questions for Kanienkehaka Kaianerehkowa Kanonhsesne clan members.
I’ve been struggling over this term “ally” for a long time now. Many “light skinned” people have approached me, wondering how to improve relations with me, and my Nation, and other Onkwehon:we nations.
Well, it’s that time of year again. The time when some of us make our new year’s resolutions. I started thinking of the usual ones. I want to quit smoking. I want to lose weight. Is that an oxymoron? Quit smoking/lose weight. How do I accomplish both of these?
In this season of giving, receiving and acknowledgement of blessings, I want to acknowledge all of the people who have helped me all of these years…
Canada does seem to be having persistent problems with the law. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in its Delgamuukw and Marshall decisions, in 1997 and 1999, that First Nations peoples who never made treaties ceding their lands and resources to the Crown retain aboriginal title to their ancestral territories.
What do you know about the very First Christmas? Maybe you’ve heard the Bible story; an angel, a pregnant lady, some shepherds with donkeys and wise men riding camels all end up in a stable in Israel looking at this tiny baby boy.
I am a woman who gave birth to and raised four beautiful daughters. My husband and I are very proud of them. My name? It doesn’t matter. I’ve always been Mom or Mommy.
This time of the year is supposed to be joyful and merry. Commercial ads in the media show us the happy family: all sitting together by the fireplace on Christmas Eve, eating cookies and drinking hot chocolate.
We are hearing much about this new Pope and his radical support for the poor, but the truth is there will remain a gaping hole in his posture until the papal bulls responsible for the Doctrine of Christian Discovery are addressed.
I have been blessed with knowing many great teachers and Elders over the years. Truth is, I would not be the person I am today without the direction and leadership I sought from the Elders.
