#michigami

[talesfrommedinastation]

Author's Note: The Indigenous Future

 I would be remiss if I did not mention the indigenous elephant in the room within ‘Far Past the Ring’.

As you might have gathered, much of the background of both Medina Station and the three original characters are deep within First Nations/American Indian backgrounds*. 

(left to right: Dr. Sjael Drummer, Camina Drummer, and Dr. Tanke Drummer)

I have written both Sjael and Tanke Drummer as being of mixed Ojibwe descent through the Drummer side of their family, as is their cousin, canon Expanse character, Camina Drummer (Cara Gee, her actress, is Ojibwe First Nations, though whether or not Camina is in the show is not confirmed). Additionally, Timon Chapelle, Tanke’s husband, is of mixed-Metis descent as well. More about the land practices of Medina Station and the indigenous heritage it is drawn on can be read in my previous piece on the matter. 

While researching for this work, I dug into the local history of the land I live on, which, coincidentally, is the unceded land of the Anishinaabe people. I am a settler, but I take deep pride in the place that I reside. I find it a responsibility as a citizen of my country to do so. 

(The region of the various Anishinaabe peoples, taken from Wikipedia. The author is not going to directly tell you where they are personally located)

As you might have guessed, the Kind Man (a form that the Protomolecule has taken in order to communicate with both Omega and James Holden) uses the form of Tanke and Sjael’s deceased father, Dr. Aki Drummer. 

(Image: Dr. Aki Drummer, drawn by the author in a quick sketch)

Aki is a Belter man of Ojibwe descent, who, while his story is not fully explored in this piece, does recall and use his heritage to better understand the nature of the humans that he serves as a physician, and later on, the Protomolecule uses to better understand the humans creating contact with each other from across the stars. 

The Kind Man also tells Omega the story of the Legend of the Bluebonnet, which comes from the Comanche tribe of Texas, another American tribe who made the prairies of the United States their home for time immeasurable. The Kind Man mentions that, although he is not Comanche, he understands the story. The tale is a legend of a young girl’s sacrifice to save her prairie home and her people ... .the story that Omega will find herself repeating at the end of ‘Far Past the Ring’. 

(Image from 'The Legend of the Bluebonnet', by Tomie DiPaola. copyright Puffin Books)

The Kind Man also repeatedly uses a word in Ojibwe, one that, when I heard its meaning from James Vukelich (Ojibwe-Turtle Mountain) made me stop, write it down, and listen to his podcast episode again. I immediately knew this word would become a part of the story.  

(If you can, please give his work a listen. He is a wonderful speaker.) 

That word is Gidinawendimin, one word that means, ‘we are all related’. Vukelich goes into detail about how it is not only the people, but the animals, earth, water, all of life around us. And I could not help but think–”Holy hell, this is the thesis of the story.” 

So, why am I rambling on about all of this? 

Because indigeneity has its role in our future, and I tried my best to not only reflect that in this story, but because I staunchly believe in it as well. 

The Belters are the people who helped build the solar system in ‘The Expanse’. They worked and lived in space to the point where many of their bodies can not survive normal gravity. Throughout the series, they face issues regarding access to water, air, and so many things that we often take for granted. They are seen as less than human in their own native environment of the Belt, and are often discriminated against by citizens of planets like Earth and Mars. 

Additionally, in the Star Wars universe, the clones are copies of a man from Mandalore, portrayed by an indigenous actor, and whether or not their indigeneity is canon in the show, I prefer to see it as such.

I want to be under the impression that, like in the real world, the dehumanization of indigenous peoples has irreparable damage to culture and heritage, to say nothing of the social bonds between people. 

This is known as intergenerational trauma, and is explained beautifully here in a video from Australia. 

Fiction can be a powerful metaphor. In this case, this trauma rings through the clones within the Star Wars universe, and if they survive into greater society, will be a burden that their people will carry. Their descendants. The clones were people bred to serve one purpose, that of violence and war, and expected to be expendable machines, not as humans. They were stripped of culture, family, and heritage, and find themselves broken and lost when their use to the government is no longer sustainable.

It also isn’t lost on me that another character played by an indigenous actress–the incomparable Bobbie Draper, played by Samoan-Kiwi actress Frankie Adams–suffers a similar fate in The Expanse. She’s used by her government and tossed aside. But Draper rallies, finds camaraderie in others, and is able to be part of a team that saves the universe.

She, like some survivors of systematic abuse, is able to help others navigate through the challenges of finding oneself again thanks to her own experiences. This is especially seen in her friendship with Hunter in Far Past the Ring, whose own trauma comes out in painful paranoia, anxiety, and rage that almost destroys everything he loves. 

When common grounds are found, and alliances are made, a powerful voice of continuity and fortitude can be forged. With that, challenges, enemies can be fought, battled, and won. With friendship and the strength of rebuilding and reconnecting with culture–and respecting those of indigenous people–we can move forward. 

We are all related. 

I wrote all of this on the eve of September 30th, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada, the country that brought us The Expanse.

(Taken from National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day - Waterloo Region District School Board (Waterloo Region District School Board)

This day is to commemorate the thousands of children of indigenous heritage who were taken from their homes, stripped of their culture and heritage. Many of them never came back to their families and homes. Thousands died.

It is only in recent history that this is acknowledged. 

Similar instances also occurred in the United States, Australia, and countless other nations where indigenous people and their cultures were seen as an alien threat. They were not seen as fellow men, but as a part of the land that needed to be eradicated, controlled, and wiped out.

But survival happened. Still happens.

I hope that is reflected here, in a fictional story about the future…where the descendants of indigenous people use their skills and culture to push their people forward in our solar system.

Who forge friendships and alliances, who work to heal their trauma with the strength of their fellow man.

Who work together to stop a terrible empire from destroying their home. 

I am a settler in the United States on the shores of Michigami, but I am a firm believer that the future of humanity lies within indigeneity. We will not reach the stars without it. 

I have humbly done my best to reflect that in this story.

Miigwich. 

More information can be found here:

National Day of Truth and Reconciliation: https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/national-day-truth-reconciliation.html

James Vukelich’s website: https://www.jamesvukelich.com/ 

Ojibwe Rosetta Stone: https://www.culture.aanji.org/language/ojibwe-rosetta-stone/ 

*=I use both terms here, as the Ojibwe/Anishinaabe people, as well as the Metis, are located in both the United States and Canada. Cara Gee herself is Canadian.

[lamaenthel]

You are thassalophobic to my thassalophile

nO

[uwmspeccoll]

Indigenous People's Day

DR. HENRIETTA MANN Cheyenne

On this Indigenous Peoples' Day, we are featuring Matika Wilbur’s recent publication Project 562: Changing the Way We See Native America, published by Ten Speed Press in 2023. Wilbur (b. 1984) is a visual storyteller and member of the Swinomish and Tulalip peoples of coastal Washington. She holds a degree from the Brooks Institute of Photography alongside a teaching certificate that has shaped her style of educating through narrative portraits.  

Project 562: Changing the Way We See Native America, a book born from a documentary project of the same name, resolves to share contemporary Native issues and culture. In 2012 Wilbur set out from Seattle to visit and photograph all 562 plus Native American sovereign territories in the United States.

Wilbur’s engagement with the communities she visited resulted in the creation of hundreds of dynamic portraits and documentation of conversations about “tribal sovereignty, self-determination, wellness, recovery from historical trauma, decolonization of the mind, and revitalization of culture.” She refers to her portraiture approach as “an indigenous photography method” that includes several hours and sometimes days of interaction with the participants, an exchange of energy and gifts, and asking sitters to choose their portrait location. The outcome is a stunning collection of Native narratives and portraits.  

GREG BISKAKONE JOHNSON Lac Du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians

HOLLY MITITQUQ NORDLUM  Iñupiaq

J. MIKO THOMAS Chickasaw Nation

MOIRA REDCORN Osage, Caddo

HELENA and PRESTON ARROW-WEED Taos Pueblo/Kwaatsaan, Kamia

STEPHEN YELLOWTAIL Apsáalooke (Crow Nation)

LEI'OHU and LA'AKEA CHUN Kānaka Maoli

ORLANDO BEGAY Diné

KALE NISSEN Colville Tribes

GRACE ROMERO PACHECO Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians

ISABELLA and ALYSSA KLAIN Diné

NANCY WILBUR Swinomish

DR. JEREMIAH "JERRY" WOLFE Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians

RUTH DEMMERT Tlingit

MARVA SII~XUUTESNA JONES Tolowa Dee-Ni' Nation, Yurok, Karuk, Wintu

Matika Wilbur will be speaking on UW-Milwaukee's campus Thursday, November 16 from 6-7p.m. in conjunction with her exhibition Seeds of Culture: The Portraits and Voices of Native American Women on view at the Union Art Gallery November 16 through December 15, 2023. 

-Jenna, Special Collections Graduate Intern 

We acknowledge that in Milwaukee we live and work on traditional Potawatomi, Ho-Chunk, and Menominee homelands along the southwest shores of Michigami, part of North America’s largest system of freshwater lakes, where the Milwaukee, Menominee, and Kinnickinnic rivers meet and the people of Wisconsin’s sovereign Anishinaabe, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Oneida, and Mohican nations remain present.

[materialsscienceandengineering]

Converting PFAS 'forever chemicals' into valuable compounds

Commonly known as "forever chemicals," PFAS are notorious for persisting in the environment and in our bodies. Osaka Metropolitan University chemists may put an end to the "forever" life of PFAS with their simple yet innovative technique that converts these harmful substances into valuable compounds. A research group led by Professor Masato Ohashi and Assistant Professor Kenichi Michigami of the Graduate School of Science at Osaka Metropolitan University has successfully synthesized ligands called fluorine-decorated N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) from perfluoroalkenes, a type of PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances). The NHCs developed in this study play significant roles in stabilizing unstable molecules as well as enhancing the performance of their ligated transition metal complexes. Their findings were published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

Read more.

[danbensen]

The map from my alternate history story The World's Other Side, now being serialized on Royal Road and Substack (and weeks earlier on Patreon)

You might enjoy:

"We have safely landed, but please do not release your crash-netting. You will be free to collect your luggage and move about the cabin once the projectile has been completely degaussed."

"The black depths of the Michigami yawned below him, but the surface waters were clear. It was easy to make out T'hangsagt's legs, kicking slowly at the curtain of shadow under the overturned boat."

"Something zipped through the air a few feet away, and the ground popped up in a little cloud of dust. Bounce realized she'd just missed being shot. Then George tackled her."

Or start at the beginning.

[scientificinquirer-blog]

Converting PFAS “forever chemicals” into valuable compounds.

Commonly known as “forever chemicals,” PFAS are notorious for persisting in the environment and in our bodies. Osaka Metropolitan University chemists may put an end to the “forever” life of PFAS with their simple yet innovative technique that converts these harmful substances into valuable compounds. A research group led by Professor Masato Ohashi and Assistant Professor Kenichi Michigami of the…

[yamaneko-chan]

[luckyarbok]

Day 16 Michigami🐧 Penguins are so round and wholesome

[ask-the-brush-gods]

[uwmarchives]

Milwaukee’s Indian Summer Festival (Part 2)

Indian Summer is noted as the “largest Native American gathering of its kind in the country” (https://www.indiansummer.org/). In our prior post, we noted that Milwaukee had its inaugural festival in September 1987. The pictured posters are from subsequent years of the festival and are included in the publicity materials within the collection (UWM Mss 250) along with materials that reference Education Day and the annual Winter Pow Wow at the Wisconsin State Fair Park. 

Milwaukee’s Indian Summer Festival is on-going and continues to be an event that is significant in educating and engaging the public with the history and culture of Milwaukee’s indigenous communities. As always, we acknowledge in Milwaukee that we are on traditional Potawatomi, Ho-Chunk and Menominee homeland along the southwest shores of Michigami, North America’s largest system of freshwater lakes, where the Milwaukee, Menominee and Kinnickinnic rivers meet and the people of Wisconsin’s sovereign Anishinaabe, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Oneida and Mohican nations remain present.

[zer0-dxm]

Today May 29th was the final day of SUPER GT Round 3 Suzuka. At this SUPER GT, nostalgic machines that were active in the former JGTC era were exhibited.

*Ryu Michigami Castrol NSX

*Satoshi Motoyama's Xanavi NISMO Z

*Juichi Wakisaka's ESSO Ultra Flo Supra

[uwmspeccoll]

Voices of the Land

What better way to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day than to highlight this landmark anthology that commemorates the Indigenous Peoples of North America? When the Light of the World was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through: A Norton Anthology of Native Nations Poetry, edited by Joy Harjo with Leanne Howe, Jennifer Elise Foerster, is a curated collection that features the poetry of 160 poets each showcasing a distinct voice from nearly 100 Indigenous Nations. This is the first edition from 2020, published by W. W. Norton & Company in New York.

The anthology is the first to provide a historically comprehensive collection of Native poetry. The literary traditions of Native Americans, the original poets of this country, date back centuries. The book opens with a blessing from Pulitzer Prize winner American Kiowa/Cherokee N. Scott Momaday (1934-2024) and contains introductions from contributing editors for five geographically organized sections. Each section begins with a poem from traditional oral literature and closes with emerging poets, creating a rich and diverse tapestry of Indigenous voices.

Joy Harjo, a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, is a prominent figure in the literary world. She is known for her work as a poet, musician, playwright, and author. In addition to her contributions to literature, Harjo is also a celebrated performer and has released several albums combining poetry and music. In 2019, she made history by becoming the first Native American United States Poet Laureate and only the second to serve three terms. Throughout her career, Harjo has been a vocal advocate for Indigenous rights and has used her art to shed light on the experiences of Native peoples.

The following is an excerpt from Harjo’s introduction to this work:

“The anthology then is a way to pass on the poetry that has emerged from rich traditions of the very diverse cultures of indigenous peoples from these indigenous lands, to share it. Most readers will have no idea that there is or was a single Native poet, let alone the number included in this anthology. Our existence as sentient human beings in the establishment of this country was denied. Our presence is still an afterthought, and fraught with tension, because our continued presence means that the mythic storyline of the founding of this country is inaccurate. The United States is a very young country and has been in existence for only a few hundred years. Indigenous peoples have been here for thousands upon thousands of years and we are still here.”

View other Indigenous Peoples' Day posts.

View other posts from our Native American Literature Collection.

-Melissa (Stockbridge-Munsee), Special Collections Graduate Intern

We acknowledge that in Milwaukee we live and work on traditional Potawatomi, Ho-Chunk, and Menominee homelands along the southwest shores of Michigami, part of North America’s largest system of freshwater lakes, where the Milwaukee, Menominee, and Kinnickinnic rivers meet and the people of Wisconsin’s sovereign Anishinaabe, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Oneida, and Mohican nations remain present.

[robinfrinjs]

These are all the provisional new ratings btw

Bronze to Silver: Ahmad Al Harthy, Andrew Bentley, Sarah Bovy, Jerome de Sadeleer, Elia Erhart, Conrad Grunewald, Richard Heistand, Freddie Hunt, Thomas Merrill, Kristian Poulsen

Silver to Gold: Rui Andrade, Matt Bell (U.K.), Michele Beretta, Rene Binder, Bastian Buus, Henrique Chaves, Lorenzo Colombo, Reshad de Gerus, Ulysse de Pauw, Marvin Dienst, Thomas Drouet, Charlie Fagg, Lorenzo Ferrari, Sennan Fielding, Robby Foley

David Fumanelli, Simon Gachet, Sean Gelael, Benjamin Goethe, Ben Green, Mikael Grenier, Laurin Heinrich, Max Hesse, Malthe Jakobsen, Pierre-Alexandre Jean, Erik Johansson, Kyle Kirkwood, Nicolai Kjaergaard, Marvin Klein, Niklas Kruetten, Patrick Kujala

Rasmus Lindh, Dean MacDonald, Stevan McAleer, Nico Menzel, Daniel Morad, Thomas Neubauer, Will Owen, David Pittard, Sebastian Priaulx, Oliver Rasmussen, Frederik Schandorff, Fabian Schiller, Steijn Schothorst, Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer, Loris Spinelli

Jamie Stanley, Casper Stevenson, Duncan Tappy, Parker Thompson, Kay van Berlo, Tijmen van der Helm, Neil Verhagen, Bent Viscaal, Marius Zug

Gold to Platinum: Jack Aitken, Lucas Auer, Klaus Bachler, Matteo Cairoli, Dane Cameron, Matt Campbell, Mattia Drudi, Ricardo Feller, Dan Harper, Mathieu Jaminet, Mikkel Jensen, Marvin Kirchhoefer, Dennis Lind, Gustavo Menezes, Patric Niederhauser, Nicklas Nielsen

Dennis Olsen, Jordan Pepper, Alessio Rovera, Luca Stolz, Sheldon van der Linde, Renger van der Zande, Tristan Vautier, Charles Weerts, Nick Yelloly

Silver to Bronze: Nick Boulle, Tyler Hoffman, Prince Jefri Ibrahim, Ian James, Reema Juffali, Nic Jonsson, Johnny O’Connell, Giorgio Roda, Isaac Tutumlu

Gold to Silver: Tom Long, Ryo Michigami, Markus Palttala, Memo Rojas*, Robert Wickens*

Platinum to Gold: Rubens Barrichello, Oliver Gavin

*subject to review

Sarah Bovy is now a silver

[themichigami]

shop plugging...

if anyone finds themselves in need of some crochet goodness before spring fully arrives, or wants a fun gift for someone, just a reminder that i make some cool things at reasonable prices, and need to buy cat food and meds. ^_^ i do new designs and plush toys by commission as well. https://www.etsy.com/shop/michigami

[ask-the-brush-gods]

[childrenofkami]

Bacon, Fried Egg and Hotpot for Satoru.

BREAKFAST CHAT:

SEND ‘🥓’, THEY HAVE TO TALK ABOUT SOMEONE IN THEIR FAMILY.

   “Well, I’ll admit... The first people to come to mind are my grandparents... Izanagi and Izanami. Despite the fact they were the creators of many kami- mom included- and also the beginning and end of life..... They’re sense of equality is completely skewed. It really makes me understand how dad feels, with his headaches... So much darkness and anger generates from them both; it’s tiring.

   “Besides, they still need each other. It’s obvious, even to me... Why are they so blind like that, over a fight that happened before mortals even existed? Adults can be stupid sometimes, I’ve noticed.

   “Mm, but I like the rest of my family. Ninetails hovers a lot, but he means well. Besides, I know dad worries about me. I won’t give him trouble over stuff like this. Though the rest are more like...familial friends. I know people like Orochi and Blight because of dad, but we’re not really all that close.

   “I have a lot of family on my mom’s side, though. 15 brush god siblings... 16 if you count Chibiterasu.” A pause. “Wait, that would actually be eighteen... Discounting the children of the new era, there’s still Michigami and Kyougami to remember. Plus my extended kami family, with great-grandpa Ameno and Auncle Inari...

   “In short, the family on my mom’s side is huge. ...Wait, I only needed to talk about one person? Ah, whoops. I guess I got carried away.”

SEND ‘🍳’, THEY HAVE TO TALK ABOUT SOMEONE WHO INSPIRES THEM.

   “Someone who inspires me, hmm?” Satoru tilts his head in thought, giving it some thought. “I think saying “my parents” is a bit...too obvious. Of course I’d want to follow in my parents’ example. Well, their better sides, anyways.

   “I guess...great-grandpa Ameno is one I really aspire myself to. I’ve only met him one time, but he really feels like everything I’d like to accomplish. The cool attitude, the power he...gives off. Mastery of his powers. That’s who I’d really like to be like!”

SEND ‘🥘’, THEY HAVE TO TALK ABOUT A GROUP OF PEOPLE THEY WANT TO BE AROUND WITH OR ASPIRE TO BE WITH.

   “...A group of people I aspire to be with?” Satoru looks plenty confused by this one, crossing his arms and tilting his head. “I...don’t have one. I’m content with being with my family and learning to get better with my powers. Isn’t that enough?”