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What does it mean when a university values a tribe’s knowledge, intelligence, and culture – to the extent of preserving its baskets, songs, and human remains – but it will not admit or enroll the descendants of these tribes?

– Theresa Stewart-Ambo (Tongva). (2021, June). “We can do better”: University leaders speak to tribal-university relationships. American Educational Research Journal, 58(3), 459-491.

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I just have to make it through finals week, I grumble to myself. Make it through finals and I can start making original content in earnest.

So, yeah, we’ve been on a brief two-week break while I write five essays. 🫠 I’m halfway through, hoping to be back next Wednesday (12/18).

If you have Bluesky and want to see what I’m working on for my M.Ed., you can follow me at @ettacripstudies.bsky.social

ᏩᏙ! Thank you.

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#77 from Spotify Wrapped!

“A-Punk” by Vampire Weekend

Half of the ring lies here with me But the other half's at the bottom of the sea

We’re playing the Spotify Wrapped Game (2024). As of right now, my inbox is OPEN. Anonymous messaging is turned OFF.

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As of right now, my inbox is OPEN. Anonymous messaging is turned OFF. Messaging is open to anybody who would like to get in touch.

Send me a number 1-100 for Spotify wrapped!

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Star Fox, acryla gouache, 4x4 inches

(No, not the game) This is based on the fox from The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

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If anyone else wants to receive assistance in finding their Cherokee heritage, we’re talking about Cherokee Indians - Research/Genealogy (The Spider Web of Cherokee families) [sic].

(At a later date, I plan on summarizing my experience and some tips/guidelines before folks get into the fray.)

I wanted to thank you for recommending the Cherokee Facebook group. They were able to correct misinformation I had about my Cherokee family members and furnish more information than my family had. Everyone saying “Welcome home” made me cry a little bit. It was a wonderful recommendation. 💖

Of course! That genealogy group is fantastic, I'm so glad for the work they do. I had done some of my genealogy before I got help from them, but I didn't feel like I could reconnect until I got those 'welcome home, cherokee' comments. The person who did my research, Kurt West ᏥᎨᏒ, actually ended up being my cousin haha. They found way more info than I had in my own research too.

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A digital archive for Cherokee

A digital language archive that’s been successful in the Pacific called PARADISEC is now serving as a model for Cherokee language revitalization. The tribe plans to record every current Cherokee speaker!

You can explore the PARADISEC archive here:

(Want to learn more about the world’s languages? You’re in the right place! Hit Follow for more!)

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Country musician Agalisiga “Chuj” Mackey shows the richness of the Cherokee language through his beautiful original songs. Written and performed entirely in Cherokee, Chuj’s music reaches ears that may have never heard the language, while bringing pride to our Native speakers who live immersed in the language every day.

You can check out the debut album ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎢᎾᎨᎢ ᏂᏓᏳᎴᏅᎢ (Nasgino Inage Nidayulenvi, It Started in the Woods) on Horton Records’ Bandcamp or on Spotify.

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Blog Updates [12.02.2024]

Hi, folks!

As always, this blog is under construction! While I determine what space we occupy, tags and content are ever mutable. Thank you so much for your patience while I shake myself out.

I’ve updated some tags for easier searching. They are as follows:

#ᏣᎳᎩ ᎦᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ • Featured Tag • Cherokee language tag specifically meant for learning resources and my own personal work in the language.

#Langblr • Featured Tag • UPDATE: Refined to be generalized language learning resources and commentary.

#NDN Culture • Featured Tag • General tag for indigenous/native content, including fundraising links, book recommendations, artwork, etc.

#Reclaiming Cherokee • Featured Tag • Discussion tag for my journey as I apply for and explore citizenship with the Cherokee Nation. I will need to do more work than most folks to connect with my heritage, which is why I am “reclaiming” and not “reconnecting.” (See below for more information.)

#Fundraising • Place where I post fundraising requests, typically for organizations and communities. I will only post personal GoFundMe requests if I have a relationship with that person.

#Reconnecting Cherokee • UPDATE: Refined to be for other folks’ resources to reconnect. For why I am personally using “reclaiming” instead of “reconnecting,” please see below for more information.

#NDN Book Recommendations • Fiction and nonfiction book recommendations.

Regarding My Use of the Word “Reclaiming” As Opposed to “Reconnecting”: While my father, aunts, and cousins are already CNO members, they are almost entirely estranged from the language, culture, and community. I understand that I will have to do more work to understand my heritage than folks only a generation or two from their connection to the CNO. Because I grew up without my father — and this is the only family legacy he is willing to share with me on our meeting — it makes this decision more fraught and complex than it might have been otherwise. I am happy to discuss my reasoning, the process, and the Nation’s final decision (regardless of outcome).

As of right now, my inbox is OPEN. Anonymous messaging is turned OFF. Messaging is open to anybody who would like to get in touch.

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Here's a website where Palestine GoFundMes are vetted and shared that you can send out to people. The url is gazafunds.com

Easy to use and simple. Just share the site whenever someone asks for GFMs for Palestine.

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Books to Read in Honor of Indigenous Peoples' Day! (USA)

Starting a list of books for non-natives to read in honor of Indigenous Peoples Day. Indigenous folks of Tumblr, please feel free to add your own recommendations or favorites! I'm organizing my entries by started with a handful of general non-fiction, then including my personal favorite indigenous fiction books. The final section includes books about my nations.

General

An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

"All the Real Indians Died Off" and 20 Other Myths About Native Americans by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz and Dina Gilio-Whitaker

Custer Died For Your Sins by Vine Deloria

God Is Red: A Native View on Religion by Vine Deloria

The Great Vanishing Act: Blood Quantum and the Future of Native Nations by Norbert S. Hill and Kathleen Ratteree

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown

Lewis and Clark Through Indian Eyes: Nine Indian Writers on the Legacy of the Expedition

Fiction

Calling For a Blanket Dance by Oscar Hokeah (Cherokee/Kiowa/Mexican)

The Removed by Brandon Hobson (Cherokee)

Never Whistle At Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology by Shane Hawk (editor) and Theodore C. Van Alst (editor)

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters (Mi'kmaw)

A House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday (Kiowa/Cherokee)

Cherokee and Shawnee Specific

The Cherokee Nation and the Trail of Tears by Theda Perdue and Michael D. Green

ᎦᎸᎶᎯ (Sky) by Roy Boney, Jr.

The Cherokee Cases: Two Landmark Federal Decisions and the Fight for Sovereignty by Jill Norgren

Cherokee Earth Dwellers: Stories and Teachings of the Natural World by Christopher B. Teuton & Hastings Shade.

Tecumseh and the Prophet: The Shawnee Brothers Who Defied a Nation by Peter Cozzens

The Shawnees and Their Neighbors by Stephen Warren

Shawnee! The Ceremonialism of a Native American Tribe and its Cultural Background by James H. Howard

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[Photo ID 1: A Stellar’s Jay in Northwest Coast Formline; the attribution is listed above.]

[Photo ID 2: The same picture nicely framed, with the artist’s signature and limited edition number underneath.]

Larry Rosso (Wet'suwet'en/Carrier Nation), Steller’s Jay, 1981, serigraph print, 14 in. x 18 in.

So, I came across this print while looking for some bird art to go on the wall and I just absolutely fell in love with it. I’ve never seen a Steller’s Jay in the Northwest Coast Formline art style before!

Larry Rosso (1944-2006) is a Wet'suwet'en (Carrier Nation) artist from British Columbia in Canada who worked mainly in wood carving, but also made a handful of prints in his career as well. This print was a limited edition of 225.

I love how the wings look like hand prints. I love the colors and the bold lines. I love how much sassy personality shines through in the jay’s pose. He really captures their essence well!

Needless to say, I got the print and it’s on my wall.

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This Thanksgiving National Day of Mourning, please consider donating to:

The Native American Rights Fund

Native Wellness Institute

Warrior Women Project

Sitting Bull College

First Nations COVID-19 Response Fund

The Redhawk Native American Art Council

Partnership With Native Americans

First Nations Development Institute

Native American Heritage Association

National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center

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fuck it cherokee miku

i wanna see more indigenous mikus make it happen 🫵

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Outsiders are not not saving a language by learning it.

While I’m personally grateful services like Tribalingual exist, creating some academic access to Indigenous languages, particularly for Indigenous diaspora (if they can afford it), I’m extremely dubious of the notion that a outsiders learning an Indigenous language is somehow “saving” it. There was a testimonial from some white American girl learning Ainu itak, and she spoke of it as if she were collecting some rare Pokemon card before it went out of print or something, framing it in typical dying Native rhetoric. What is she going to do with Ainu itak, except as some obscure lingual trophy?

If you want to save a language, save the people.

Language means nothing without history and culture breathing life into it, and in turn we are disconnected from our history and ancestors without it. Support Indigenous quality of life, ACCESS to quality education, quality health services (mental and physical), land and subsistence rights, CLEAN DRINKING WATER, advocate against police brutality and state violence, DEMAND ACTION FOR MISSING AND MURDERED INDIGENOUS WOMEN.

Damn, if you really want to “save the language” pay for an Indigenous person’s classes for them to reconnect to their mother tongues. I’m not saying outsiders shouldn’t learn languages they’re invited to learn, but don’t pretend like you learning conversational Ainu itak is saving it from extinction.

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I don't know if I talk about this here if it'll reach anyone but I feel like maybe I want to talk about it and I think it's something that needs to be said.  When I speak about this, I am talking about something I see repeatedly within our communities to the point of people asking in cultural groups and it becomes a very awkward space when this happens. 

If you are a reconnecting Cherokee person, you need to stop asking Cherokee people to give you a name.  You should absolutely not be asking our elders or language speakers for a name.

Obviously every nation is different but I also know that names can be important, secretive, meaningful, and many times are specific to a family.  For many of our families names are passed down from ancestors and previous family members, sometimes names are given at ceremony, and I know for many Cherokee families you are given your name by your grandmother who is a language speaker.  We also have traditions around names and at times you can have multiple names for different reasons.

If you ask Cherokee people that are connected, many of them will tell you that you have to have a language speaker in the family to give you a name, it doesn't always have to be grandmother but that is traditionally who gives you your name if you do not get it somewhere else.  

What have you done to earn a name?  Do you participate in anything Cherokee besides trying to give yourself an "Indian name"?  

Many of these people I see asking for a name have very little connection to our community, many times their connection is their attempt to reconnect and the ancestor they have that was part of us.  Our speakers don't know you, our elders don't know you, they certainly don't feel comfortable giving you a name.  I have even seen people who are reconnecting asking for elders to "adopt" them, this is extremely uncomfortable and it comes across as commodifying some of our most valued members.  It's already kind of gross to see people with very little connection to our culture coming in and just asking for translations, but to ask for something as significant as a name?

No one wants to tell someone directly no, particularly for a subject like this because it's a loaded topic and we often don't know the other person - but that's also why we won't give a name.  If you involve yourself in your tribal community enough, generally you gain a name on your own, so it's also kind of telling when people who are reconnecting ask for one because it shows they don't really know the culture that they're trying to connect to.