Arizona Prison Watch: Native Americans in Private Prisons.

Arizona Prison Watch: Native Americans in Private Prisons.

Thats life

I just recently sold my Indian car. I must say it was easier this time to let one of my "possessions" go. I mean, I try to live a Traditional Aboriginal life and that means that I try to Honor what my old people taught and instilled into me. But, the sad and great things about living tradition is that most First Nations peoples are to pre-occupied trying to live the life as Canadians and Americans first, than they try and act "traditional."
Today as I drove into the office, I passed my nephews place and he was outside messing with his car, the car that I sold him. First, I cant say it's my "possession" any longer and that was easy to say. It is my nephews first true car and what a joy it brings to me to see him live life and be part of this big old universe. I know its time for the car to move on and to take care of him and his new family. But i must admit, the greedy human side of me wanted to keep it because "Possessions" are what make me feel like I am adequate or something like that. I should say the old teenage-youngadult-middle-adult-person I use to be use to be greedy and full of "possessions."
         As I get older and WISER, what I see as relevant and important is starting to keep me humble and STANDING OUT AGAINST MY PEERS AND FELLOW ANISHINABEG. TO BE ME OR TO FOLLOW MY PATH TAKES SINCERE FAITH AND DISCIPLINE. IM NOT PERFECT, BUT I HAVE MY FAITH, THAT IS WHAT DRIVES ME IN THIS WORLD. IT SEEMS AS IF THERE IS HARDLY ANY ABORIGINAL PEOPLE IN THIS PART OF THE WORLD THAT LIVE LIFE FOR THEIR PEOPLE. MOST PEOPLE HAVE LEARNED THE GREEDY GOVERNMENT AND EDUCATION  PRINCIPALS OF DIVIDE AND CONQUER, THAT MOST ABORIGINALS ARE TRYING TO CONQUER THEIR OWN LIVES, WITH THE GOVERNMENTS VAST FISAUD OF LIFELESS APPLICATIONS IN THE MANY FORMS IT TAKES.
        FOR LONG AGO CHIEFS, THE PRINCIPAL OF KEEPING THINGS FOR ONES OWN PERSONAL GAIN WAS UN-HEARD OF. HAVING A WHITE-MANS POSSESSION MEANT THAT YOU HAD MORE TO TEACH AND MORE TO USE AGAINST THE WHITE MAN. WHEN A MEMBER OF THE TRIBE GAINED SOMETHING THE WHOLE TRIBE PROSPERED. I THINK THAT IS THE WRONG THING TO TEACH THE YOUTH OF AMERICA AND THE YOUTH OF ABORIGINAL NORTH AMERICA. WE FEED OUR CHILDREN THE POISONED-SOUPED UP ENERHY DRINKS AND FOOD-THAT-WE COLLECTIVELY DON'T THINK OF THE AFFECTS WE ARE TEACHING OUR CHILDREN. WHEN OUR CHILDREN BUY AN ENERGY DRINK, PICE OF CANDY, A TOY, A BOOK-ARE THEY QUICK TO TAKE IT BACK TO THEIR COMMUNITIES AND SHARE IT WITH THE COMMUNITY. PROBABLY NOT! I MUST ADMIT I AM TO BLAME, BUT I DON'T WANT OT BE PART OF THE PROBLEM ANY LONGER BUT IT IS HARD AS HELL WHEN MOST OF OUR PEOPLE LIVE TOO MANY WHITE PRINCIPALS AND DONT WANT TO TRUST THE OLD TRADITIONAL VALUES SUCH AS "GIVE AWAY." THE WHITE-MANS DOLLAR HAS EVERYONE'S TRADITIONAL VALUE SYSTEM ALL F$%^@ UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Money, Zhooniya, Pesos

Just want to put a shout out to the money gods! I am glad that all the ceremonies that i have been involved in with my life, i can say that my Spirit helper did not make me addicted to money. I can live without money. But dammit, why cant our Aboriginal peoples refuse money all together? and than when something like the COBELL settlement comes around, certain people want to go back to the "Fort" mentality and demand to have some of the pie. 
How many Aboriginal people know their creation stories, yes there is more than one part of a creation story. 
If I die today, my wife can pass out all my Spiritual items and I am leaving with out no money, that way my so called extended family cant fight over my possessions. The less of the Euro-American dollar that i have, the more Spiritual I feel and live!!!!!!!!!!!
     I wonder how much of the Euro-American dollar I can live without this weekend!!!

No more truth tellers

Okay, I get that we are forced to live in a scientific/modern society, however the education and  scientific communites are few of the evils that have gotten rid of Native truth tellers and traditional story tellers to be more precise. For example, I have been formatted to live my life as an Adizooke Innini, Oshkabewis, Manidoo Dewe'i gan Okitchidaa with numerous responsibilities. As I get older and much more wiser with my traditional knowledge and contemporary knowledge, I find my self seeing the "disbelief" that our people have in the Spiritual ceremonies and "way of living."
     Most Anishinabeg, when they get sick, they tend to want to visit the first doctor that comes to their mind. If it is a little more extreme, we tend to visit the E.R. WHAT?????? Is it me or why the hell are we teaching our children to be dependent on a health care and education system both, of which need the same thing that we, FIRST NATIONS PEOPLE have never had from the beginning of time.....MONEY!!!!!
     As Aboriginal people, we all need to come to the realization that the "modern" education system teaches our children to be liars  thieves and robots. And than we also need to realize that we  reinforce their little chip boards and miniature computers with the Health care industry, cartoons, walmarts and sports shows. Ahh so now the ones who have been raised in a containment environment, grow up to be social, contributing, pay your taxes-little soldiers. All ready to execute the modern education and Health systems agenda of lies, deceit and holocaust in the form of working 8 hours days, live away from "those" Indians-communities and bring your portable ideas, agendas and contributeness FISAUDS!
     All, I mean ALL, First Nations Peoples tend to posses a TRUTH that they all know and become familiar while in their early years. The problem is that when we are young, some of us get sent to the ISS room, the behavior rooms and find our selves getting in school suspension and than, suspended from school. Some of even get expelled from schools! WHAT THE HELL?! FIRSTLY, I NEED TO APOLOGIZE TO MYSELF FOR NOT HAVING OUR PEOPLE THEIR FOR ME ALL THOSE TIMES I GOT SENT HOME FROM HIGH SCHOOL. Where the hell was the JOM guidance counselor, GOD DAMN BASTARD! Better yet, if these school officials really knew Natives, than why the hell were my needs ever met.
    Oh yeah, back to the TRUTH!  Are you ready????????

Idle my paddle!

It has been awhile since i have posted any provoking thoughts or rant lately! However, the year is 2013 and we are still facing the same problems and  continue to deal with solutions, to our Native problems from a Euro-American/Compartmentalized cultural frame of mind! I watch Facebook postings and I get the fact that we all have things, issues, problems and struggles however, i have many concerns if you are an individual that is taking the crayons and making a bigger mess.
    Since one of my last posts, i lost my job at the Nay Ah shing school on the Mille lacs reservation. I have a big mouth and speak my mind.There were numerous times I would stand up for the Elders and their teaching principals  I would take their concerns and voice them to the White principal and white staff. Of course, i was never taken seriously because that is the way of the education system; that if you do not hold an important decision making position in life, you are a useless, non participating, no team player. But i never gave in or gave up. Never did I ever sell my or my family short, i confronted the beast and machine and when the beast came to eliminate me, my Native Peoples and elders were nowhere to be found, to make matters worse they turned on me and should have said " Why are you making problems for that White lady and white people?"
     Native Spirituality and Wisdom are in new times. The new times are that most of the educated people who maintain their licenses, masters and Ph. D degrees are the new medicine women and medicine men.This could be one of many reasons why the Youth of today are less interested in the Disciplines and workings of becoming true-OLD SCHOOL leaders. Because by the time their community realizes that they have healing properties and ways, the  frame of mind tends to be like the workings and programming of the Military. Most people and individuals have to be deprogrammed and than reprogrammed to make sure that they are going to be strong, healthy leaders. But, we as First Nations communities are missing these principals because they are like the elephant in the living room, the ideas and principals of mind control are so obvious that we all look past the individuals frame of thoughts and where the mind set sits.THIS IS NORMAL and its a normal response to Historical trauma. I always wonder why Native peoples do not help themselves but are quick to jump on the band wagon of Idle no more.
      Now back to MS. Paul SIMON, who was and continues to be the Principal at the Nayahshing schools on the Mille Lacs Reservation. MS. Simon is your typical Euro-American person who says she is concerned about Native Traditions and concerns. She has typical responses of most Non aboriginal peoples, like "follow the chain of command, bring it up to your supervisor, I will look into the problem, ELDERS DO NOT SELL THEIR PRESCRIPTION PILLS." Excuse me what? Most of Ms. Simons Non-native teaching staff are all one click or a unified decision making body and they are the only team when it comes to their agendas and work load! They cannot or ever will admit that they are not "team" players or that they isolate themselves from the Aboriginal children and families.Okay fine!Go and drink your alcohol and talk about your mortgages and tax saving ventures because Natives do not need people like you!!!!Most, if not all of the teaching staff live off the reservation or do not live in the local community. So how can they say, "we all know what you feel, we all know what you are dealing with, WE WANT TO HELP! No wonder why many Native Children are so confused and cheated. We allow these people to come to our communities and lie, cheat and steal from us THROUGH OUR CHILDREN!!!!
       When you cross people like MS. Simon, you will notice that MS SIMONS compartmentalized mind takes over and she whips out her trump card and crushes your family. She crushes your Native Spirituality and she crushes the Love for your people! All without ever feeling remorse, blinking or hesitating! I have been saying this about Foxy and White Foxy. We as First Nations people  will always deal with the Fort/Colonized attitudes and beliefs and we have to take steps farther and much more faster and continue to deny the Fort peoples ways, which means eating less of their food, excepting less of their devious ways in the form of Alcohol, drugs and certain technological norms. We need to replace much of the Fort peoples common working attitudes, which is alive and active in all of our communities  We also need to except less of their working environments, which is to say, we need to teach our children to be outside at all times and to be productive outside. Our people have become weakened by the Fort peoples way of life and our elders tend to die much more younger now a days. We need to walk more and say no to diabetes. We need to be in shape in all traditional elements of our lives before we can take to the streets!
     Lets say that when I lost my job, many feelings and thoughts came to my mind in the form of good and bad. I wanted to pray against the Drum peoples of the local community, I wanted to pray against Ms. Simon, I wanted to hate, hate-hate and for what. SO I TOOK DEEP BREATHS AND TRIED TO GAIN MY COMPOSURE. FOR SURE I WAS BEING TESTED AND LOOKED UPON BY THE MOTHER EARTH AND THE SPIRITS TO SEE HOW I WOULD HANDLE MY NEW LIFE CHANGING EXPERIENCE.
Guess what, I think I passed. I did not pray against the things that i felt in my mind, but i was able to work through my issues by possessing the faith that my Grandfathers and Grand mothers had relayed to me in the form of ceremonies and love.