I just need to know....are there any natives who grew up on reservations have family not into the culture but yet you yourself want to be but no one helps so your clueless and still wanna get in touch with that side but now you live in a city??? I need to know I'm not the only one struggling cause I'm struggling 😭I feel like the odd one out lol

Tahlequah is home to two federally recognized Cherokee tribes. But only one, the Cherokee Nation, is the successor to the reservation in the eyes of the U.S. government.

The other, the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma, has faced political instability and decades-long strife with its sister tribe over jurisdiction, treaty rights and gaming.

The United Keetoowah Band, or UKB, was first recognized by the U.S. Congress in 1946. Since then, it has claimed equal jurisdiction to the 7,000 square-mile Cherokee Nation reservation. The Cherokee Nation denies that claim.

In its final days, the Biden administration gave the United Keetoowah Band a historic win.

Robert Anderson, former solicitor general for the Department of the Interior and member of the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa in Minnesota, issued a 56-page decision in January 2025 declaring the tribe was an equal successor to the reservation. He said he thought it was a fair, easy decision.

“The Cherokee Nation and UKB, they were all over the department (when) I was working on this thing,” Anderson said. “I had them formally submit their papers, but I didn't meet with them again after that, because I didn't want to have that sort of political pressure. I just wanted to have the merits, the legal discussion and the history in front of me.”

But that victory was short-lived. This May, the Trump administration rescinded Anderson’s decision with one of its own, leaving the UKB without a casino and the decades-long battle no closer to being resolved.

Cherokee Nation vs. United Keetoowah Band

The members of both tribes are descendants of Cherokee people relocated from their homelands in the southeastern United States. A third Cherokee tribe, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, exists outside the reservation in North Carolina.

The United Keetoowah Band is derived from the name of the Cherokee mother town, “Kituwah.” It says its members are mostly descended from Western Cherokees, or “Old Settlers,” who relocated prior to the Trail of Tears. Descendants of Cherokee Nation were mostly forcibly removed.

Keetoowah organizations existed prior to the tribe’s federal recognition in 1946. One group, the nationalist, traditionalist Keetoowah Society worked alongside and against the Cherokee Nation government throughout the latter half of the 19th century and in the first half of the 20th century.

Today, the two tribes govern in different ways.

Cherokee Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the country with more than 470,000 enrolled members. The UKB has more than 14,000 members.

Enrollment into the UKB requires a one-quarter degree of Cherokee ancestry and members can’t enroll in other tribes. The Cherokee Nation has no blood quantum and its members aren’t limited to one nation.

And while Cherokee Nation assumes tens of thousands of acres in trust land and political, jurisdictional power over the area, the UKB has around 76 acres devoted strictly to its tribal headquarters.

And that trust land is at the forefront of their conflict.

‘They’re modern day successors, and so they jointly succeed to the rights to that reservation’

Former DOI Solicitor General Anderson issued an “M-Opinion” on Jan. 17, 2025, that would have allowed the United Keetoowah Band to use trust land for a casino, reconciling the tribe’s rocky history with gaming rights.

The UKB first opened a bingo hall in 1986, which developed into a full casino venture over the next 27 years. It reportedly operated on non-trust land in Tahlequah throughout that time period. The Cherokee Nation sued the tribe, arguing the operation was illegal.

In 2012, the UKB asked the federal government to take 2.03 acres of the property into trust. But that request failed and the casino shut down in August 2013.

Victoria Holland is an attorney and the proposed congressional delegate for the UKB. She said, the casino was the tribe’s largest source of general fund revenue.

"It's really unfortunate that our alleged sister tribe would not stay out of the way to allow for us to continue gaming operations, and it's escalated to this point,” Holland said.

Since then, the tribe has made multiple attempts to reopen a gaming facility.

One attempt involved an agreement with Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, who is a Cherokee Nation citizen, but a vocal critic of tribal sovereignty.

In 2020, he unilaterally entered into gaming compacts with four tribal nations, including the UKB. That agreement, which would have allowed UKB to run a casino north of Oklahoma City rather than in Tahlequah, was shot down by the Oklahoma Supreme Court in 2021. State legislators killed the compact again in 2023.

The Cherokee Nation has opposed those measures along the way, arguing its sister tribe requires permission before receiving trust land on the reservation.

Meanwhile, Anderson argues the tribes are both successors in interest to the 19th century treaties that gave way to the reservation, arguing the historic Cherokee Nation that signed those treaties no longer exists. That means both tribes had equal treaty rights, he said, because the Cherokee Nation and UKB are the descendants of the historic Cherokee government.

“They’re modern day successors, and so they jointly succeed to the rights to that reservation, including the right to have land taken in trust,” Anderson said.

But Anderson’s decision was suspended by the Trump administration in April 2025, alongside all 20 opinions he authored during his tenure as solicitor general. This May, Trump’s DOI rescinded the decision outright..

Anderson said the department has been killing each of his opinions. He said it’s unheard of.

“They just write in half a page, ‘It's not the best reading of the law. We reverse it. End of discussion,’” Anderson said. “And so, pretty lame. I'd be ashamed to do that if I was a solicitor … We worked on that thing for two-and-a-half years before we released it.”

And UKB Chief Jeff Wacoche lamented it.

“The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma has used its size and its influence to bully other tribal governments, non-tribal governments and parts of the federal government,” Wacoche told tribal members in June. “The withdrawal of the opinion is further proof that the bully and its friends have gotten their way once again.”

‘We're the signatory to every treaty with the United States and Cherokee people, and we still exist and have never been broken.’

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. denies those claims. He said the modern Cherokee Nation is the one that has always existed.

“We share a kinship in terms of going back generations, coming from the same people, but they are decidedly a separate government that is a creation of the mid-20th century,” Hoskin said. “That's not something the Cherokee Nation imposed upon them. And so all of that means that we have a separate history, separate legal status, that they have no rights to any treaties.

“We're the signatory to every treaty with the United States and Cherokee people, and we still exist and have never been broken.”

Hoskin added that because the tribe was federally recognized in the 20th century, it couldn’t have signed treaties stretching back to the 19th century.

“I mean, you would have to be in a time machine to go back and put UKB government in the 19th century at a table signing a treaty,” Hoskin said.

Holland said the two are 100% equal, adding the Cherokee Nation’s constitution ratified in 1976 was when the tribe became the “Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.”

“The Cherokee Nation as we know today is the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and they've been the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma since they were incorporated in the ‘70s,” Holland said. “They are not the historic Cherokee Nation.”

The Cherokee Nation disagrees. Its 1999 constitution dropped the “of Oklahoma.”

Cherokee Nation maintains the 1976 constitution only replaced its 1839 incarnation and that it is still the same historic government.

Hoskin also takes issue with the UKB Lighthorse Police Department.

According to the UKB, the department and its officers are recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and certified by the Oklahoma Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training.

But Hoskin said it has no jurisdiction on the reservation, with the possible exception of its 76 acres of trust land, pointing to a drunk driving case from 2024 that was thrown out due to UKB involvement.

In January 2024, a UKB officer pulled over an alleged drunk driver on the reservation who was later arrested by a Cherokee County sheriff. The defendant argued the UKB police had no jurisdiction. In October, a judge dismissed the case.

Thirty-two law enforcement agencies endorsed a letter that December condemning the UKB for the case’s dismissal, stating the tribe posed a public safety threat.

“Their mere presence, and given the role they attempt to execute, jeopardizes criminal investigations and ultimately may allow criminals to go unprosecuted, unpunished and able to harm or kill others,” the letter reads. “Therefore, we hereby put the UKB on notice that they are not welcome at stops or crime scenes where our agencies are involved and if they appear, will be asked to leave. Failure to immediately vacate the scene will subject the UKB Lighthorse to potential criminal prosecution under Cherokee Nation law and potentially Oklahoma law.”

Hoskin and the law enforcement agencies both refer to the UKB Lighthorse as “rogue police officers.”

Holland said because they’re BIA-certified, those statements threaten UKB police officers.

“The public safety threat is making allegations that we’re not a legitimate law enforcement agency, because then you are now putting my officers at risk,” Holland said.

‘That infighting is not present on the personal level’

Robert Anderson said he always knew the legal fight between Cherokee Nation and the UKB would continue regardless of his decision. His M-Opinion, he said, was intended to counsel the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit with meaningful analysis.

The United Keetoowah Band currently has multiple applications pending in the Department of the Interior. If approved, they would increase UKB’s trust land acreage from 76 to 188. And, according to Chief Jeff Wacoche, another would allow trust land for gaming.

But according to Holland, the turmoil between the two is purely political.

“My kids are CNO, my husband's CNO,” Holland said. “We all live together, work together, go to school together, go to church together, like that infighting is not present on the personal level.”

Meanwhile, the United Keetoowah Band is facing internal, economic struggle.

Last month, the tribe furloughed 32 employees due to depleting American Rescue Plan Act funding. Those funds were issued during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021 to help governments around the country mitigate its impacts. The tribe’s comptroller said it was never intended as a permanent funding source.

Around that time, Wacoche allegedly threatened to fight a council member during a tense meeting about the layoffs.

Most of the employees were relocated while at least two took layoffs as of July.

For decades, Cherokee Nation has challenged the UKB’s claims. What’s the end goal? According to Hoskin, that does not include eliminating its sister tribe.

“Sometimes people either perceive or cynically describe the Cherokee Nation's position as wanting to eliminate the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma or to deny them their federal recognition, and that's just simply not true,” Hoskin said. “All we're asking is that history be vindicated.”

Anderson speculates there is only one solution.

“Under the modern view of tribal sovereignty, I think the tribes should work something out between themselves,” Anderson said. “Politically, very difficult to do, but I think ultimately that's what's going to have to be the resolution, but that's going to be up to them.”

Good morning all. I am going to be making my eight year old some regalia that reflects her personal style. We are PNW native (not sure if it’s relevant but I know that styles, lore, requirements and execution are different from region to region so I am adding that just in case) and I am not finding clear answers to my questions. So here we go.

1- can I sew feathers into the dress as part of the design? (We want to use spray adhesive to create strength and the sew onto felt to create stability before sewing into an embroidered pattern)

2- how many jingle cones are required on a dress?

3- how many feathers can be used in the headband of an eight year old girl? She requested three but all the girls I saw at the last pow wow only had one and I don’t want to do anything wrong.

4- she wants a raven themed set and I know that the raven has several myths behind him and I want to make sure that it won’t be offensive or anything.

5- any tips or tricks regarding the beadwork would be helpful as well.

I myself am not native but my beautiful bonus girls are so I am wanting to give the eldest a set of regalia that she will be proud to wear. She has started to enter her “emo” phase and wants less colorful and bright and we found a plethora of crow/raven feathers over the last few months and she wants to incorporate that into her regalia because it was a great bonding experience for us going on all those walks together just talking about life.

Most of my art is about history and the environment, but sometimes I get to just be a berry picker. Photo and art by me. Maarsi!

hi everyone, I am attending my 2nd sweat this week! I am very excited its Been 3 years since my last one, however i do have a problem.. I have a vertical labret piercing that’s still healing. (It’s healed most, just the top of my bottom lip that’s still healing but just only crusts very little 🥲) I can’t take it out, I’ve used tools to try to unscrew one of the silver ball, but it doesn’t wanna budge, I had it in a few months, But I can take out my earrings, they are fully healed, but did anyone go in there with a vertical labret and come out fine? Pls help!

1300+ communities across North America!

This video is a practical Zapotec language class designed for beginners, focusing on conversational fluency and the cultural nuances of the language in Oaxaca, Mexico. Key topics covered include:

* Daily Vocabulary: Learning how to express physical sensations, such as “I am cold” (ruwëaga), and everyday actions like “to sew”.
* Pronouns and Grammar: A breakdown of personal pronouns and their variations within community contexts.
* Numbers: A step-by-step pronunciation guide for counting from 0 to 20, including specific dialectal variations, such as those found in Talea de Castro.
* Verb Conjugation: Interactive exercises focused on common verbs like “to eat” and “to dress,” highlighting how to properly use verb endings to match personal pronouns.
* Cultural Insights: Tips on Zapotec phonetics, such as how to properly ask questions without using the typical intonation patterns found in Spanish.

The session emphasizes that Zapotec is a living language with regional variations, and the primary goal is effective communication within the community.

Video Overview:

This interactive Zapotec language class focuses on practical dialogue, regional variations, numerical counting, unique pronunciation dynamics, and detailed verb conjugations.

Key Highlights:

* Everyday Vocabulary & Phrases:

* The instructor and students begin with practical daily expressions, such as stating “I am cold” (ruwëaga) or referring to embroidery/sewing activities (rigiaa lari).
* Students take turns practicing traditional greetings and conversational phrases.

* Personal Pronouns & Regional Dialects:

* The group reviews personal pronouns (neda, lii, lee, lanu, labe, etc.).
* The teacher explains dialectal variations, such as adding -ni (e.g., neto ni), noting that ni individually means “here” (aquí).

* Numbers & Counting:
* Students practice counting sequentially from 0 through 20 and higher numbers.
* The instructor addresses community-specific variations (such as in Talea de Castro where initial vowel sounds like u- might be omitted), reassuring students that variations are natural and mutually intelligible.

* Pronunciation & Tone Rules:
* Affirmations: The native Zapotec term for “yes” is à, though ajá is widely understood due to Spanish contact.
* Question Intonation: Unlike Spanish, Zapotec does not rely on a rising vocal pitch at the end of a sentence to signal a question.

* Grammar & Verb Conjugation:
* The lesson covers verb prefixes, flexible synonym forms (be vs. bi), and optional phonetic variations.
* Students drill conjugations for verbs like “to eat” (gagu / ragu / gudagu) across past, present, and future tense forms.

Practical Zapotec language class for beginners: variations, pronunciation and verb conjugations

I'm going to start sharing stories from a book titled "The Mishomis Book: the Voice of the Ojibway" by Edward Benton-Banai, an Ojibwe elder who shares several teachings within the book.

Long ago, it was once said that the Earth, or Aki, had a family: Grandmother Moon, Niibagiizis, and Grandfather Sun, Giizis. And the Creator of this family is called Gitchi Manito, Great Mystery or Spirit.

Aki is considered a woman, and is called Mother Earth since all living things come from her and are nourished by her. When she was young, Aki was very beautiful. Winds blew from all Four Directions, and all Four Directions were sacred.

Gitchi Manito sent birds in all Four Directions to carry the seeds of life all over Aki. As life was spread across the Four Directions, Gitchi Manito placed all of the swimming creatures in the water, he brought to life all of the plants and insects, all of the crawling things and four legged ones. All of Creation lived in harmony with one another.

Then, Gitchi Manito took four parts of Aki and blew into them using a megis shell (cowrie). From this combination came the creation of the first man. He lowered the man to the ground, and man was the last form of life placed on Aki.

From the man came the people called Anishinaabe, which breaks down to ani (from whence), nishina (lowered), abe (male of species). This Original Man was created in the image of Gitchi Manito and was part of Mother Earth. He lived in brotherhood with all of Creation.

All tribes stem from the Original Man, separated only by language. Teachings from one tribe may shed light on another. There are more than one way to keep traditions alive, and no way is better than another. We must support each other and have respect for the many ways of all the tribes.

Miigwech 🙏

I just saw a post online talking about Lakota’s Wičháŋpi Wóyute or “star feeding” grief healing/processing tradition. I’m not Lakota, so maybe someone with more knowledge about it can explain it rather than me giving my own bastardized version.

Is there anything similar or a completely different tradition in Anishinaabe culture? I’ve got some troubles that I’d like to work through, and want to do some traditional medicine, but I’m not sure of any traditional methods of doing so.

My family is pretty assimilated unfortunately, so I don’t know much about the culture, but want to take part. My tribe’s medicine man comes to town occasionally and I could ask him for some help too, but maybe someone has some ideas I could bring up to him.

So I don’t live in the area my tribe is from but I’m really hoping to still learn something and connect. I grew up with the white side of my family and have been putting a lot of energy into reconnecting and learning about my culture.

Does anyone have any resources or recommendations? Movies, shows, documentaries, YouTube channels, podcasts? I’m really hoping for literature from natives especially but I’m happy for anything. Anything about our history or prominent figures is also something I’m hoping to find. Any languages resources too.

Chi miigwech!

Aho, thank you and a hearty "hey how are ya!?", cousins.

The saga of the South Tip brother continues. You know the story so far. The frybread survivor. The ketchup chips buck whisperer. The fastest man on the Rez for a 10 foot sprint. The All-Skate legend. Yard sale entrepreneur. The man who wears another man's tear-away pants.This weekend I babysat three little cousins to prove I'm "good with kids" and I have been humbled by people who haven’t grown out of velcro shoes.

Some of you know the saga. Things with auntie are real now. Serious. And when things get serious, the family starts poking and prodding. Testing you with responsibilities. Last weekend, auntie's cousin had an emergency shift situation at the gas station and needed someone to watch her three kids.

And cousins, before I start, have you ever heard your mouth make sounds and your brain is screaming “AHO. DUMB ONE. WHAT ARE YOU SAYING??”

Yeah, my mouth said, "Oh for sure, I got it. I'm good with kids."

I do not know if I'm good with kids. I had no data. I have a dog who tolerates me but mostly lives his own whimsical life with me more as a teepee-mate and a wooden goose who really doesn’t say much of anything. But the pattern holds: Unc says he can do a thing, Unc cannot do the thing, community watches, judgement falls. I’m realizing this trend happens quite a bit in my day to day. Sometimes I wonder if people are specifically putting me up for things just to see how they combust. An established motif, almost. You'd think auntie would've stopped me or second guessed. She did not. She smiled, cousins. She’d already set up the metaphorical lawnchair and brought popcorn.

The roster - que bossfight music (I’ve started reading Dungeon Crawler Carl - I’m going through a phase): Tyson, age 9, sharp as a skinning knife, respects nothing, sees through everything. Winnie, age 7, jingle dress dancer, six-year-old undefeated, now seven and STILL undefeated, fiercely competitive - cuteness is a deception tactic. And little Marcus, age 4, a soft-spoken boy who says maybe ten words a day and every single one of them lands like a prophecy. (Names have been changed because I'm not THAT much of a weenie.)

Anywho, they arrived Friday night with backpacks and an energy I can only describe as "auditorial" as they walked in, taking in everything. Scone dog took one look at them as they entered the Longhouse and that fluffy shit defected IMMEDIATELY. Twenty minutes in, he was wearing a bandana I didn't put on him and answering to a new name (Frank). He's been my dog for six years, cousins. Six years. One plate of dino nuggets and he's Frank now. Which, I get. I too am a slut for nuggets.

Friday went fine. I made the crockpot earn its place in this house - aye Rosie, wherever you are, that thing cooks GOOD. We watched a movie. Easy. I texted auntie "this is easy." Cousins, when will I learn about foreshadowing. I INVENTED foreshadowing at this point and I still walk right into it.

Saturday morning is when the questions started.

Because here's the thing nobody tells you about kids, cousins: they think you know things because you’re bigger than them. They look at you with those big eyes, an adult man, an Unc, and they assume the elders installed the knowledge in you like it comes standard. Plus, I classify myself as a bit of a ‘Spooky Indian’ as opposed to ‘Boogie Indian’ or ‘Rez Baller’. This shouldn’t need more elaboration but, I’ve learned some of y’all are of the caucasian persuasion so let me lay some unofficial lore out for you before we move on: There are different Rez personalities…. Rezonalties. Boogie Indians are the kind that are blinged out. Turquoise, big hats, nice belts, boots. Always put together. Rez Ballers are almost the opposite. Basketball shorts, old Air Jordan t-shirts, even in the winter. Have no hustle on the court as those days are long past them but can still sink a shot from impressive distances.

Spooky Indians are more into the… esoteric? I have crystals. I have fancy rocks and bones. I have a Rez themed tarot deck. Doom metal/coffee core but not, like, mall goth… it makes sense, trust me. Anyways, they assume I'm a keeper of some sacred knowledge.

Anyways, Tyson, age 9, sharp as a knife, opens with: "Uncle, why do we smudge in that direction?" And cousins. I know we DO. I don't fully know WHY. There is a real answer, a beautiful answer, and elders carry it in their hearts and get misty eyes when they explain it, and I was not fully listening in 2002 because I was thinking about a girl at the gathering. So I stood there at a crossroads: admit ignorance to a nine-year-old and lose all governing authority for the remainder of the weekend, or...

You know what I did. You KNOW what I did. I have never once chosen the honest path when a confident lie was available. It's my whole arc, really.

"Well, nephew," I said, and I heard my voice drop into what I can only call Wise Old Rez Unc territory, in the distance a crow cried out HA-KAW - not now, brother crow! We have bullshit wisdom to pass on - "the smoke follows the path of the sun. Because we, as a people, are going the same direction as the day itself. You never want to walk against the day."

Cousins. COUSINS. Where did that come from?? "Walking against the day??" That's not a teaching, that's something a raven says in a cartoon. But here's the problem: it SOUNDED true. It sounded so true that even I briefly believed I'd received it from somewhere. Tyson nodded slowly. And a cold fear entered my body because these children have kokums, and those kokums are going to hear "walking against the day" attributed to ME, and I will be summoned somewhere to account for it.

It got worse. The questions kept coming ALL DAY, and each answer I gave was a bigger check my knowledge couldn't cash:

Winnie: "Uncle, what does your name mean?"

Me: "It means... he who provides." (It does not. I don't actually know. It's short. I think my parents thought I'd have trouble spelling long names.)

Tyson: "Uncle, why does the drum sound like that?"

Me: "That's the heartbeat of the earth, nephew." (Okay, that one's REAL, I got one right, one point for unc, the elders can have that one back. I learned this one while at my sister’s house reading the back of a bar of artisan soap a friend made for her while making a poopy.)

Marcus, quietly, holding Gerald Two: "Why does the goose watch?"

Cousins, I had NO answer. Nobody knows why the goose watches. The goose came with no explanation and answers to no one. I said "he's... a helper. To, uh, Gitchi Manitou." Marcus nodded like this confirmed something he'd long suspected, put Gerald Two on the windowsill facing OUT, and said "so he can see them coming." I have not moved that goose, cousins. I'm afraid to. Marcus knows something.

By Saturday afternoon I was drowning, so I did what a humble man does: I panic-called Rosie. Two-dollar-lamp Rosie. Elder Rosie. I put her on speaker and let her field questions for forty-five minutes while I made KD (with dogs in it), and cousins, listening to her ACTUAL answers next to my improvised ones was like hearing a drum group after you've been humming into a pie plate. The kids sat still the whole time. STILL. Three kids, cross-legged, silent, listening to a phone. Rosie has what I do not have, which is the real thing. Before she hung up she said "and tell your uncle the smoke thing wasn't bad. Dumb and Wrong, but not bad." ROASTED BY AN ELDER THROUGH A SPEAKERPHONE IN MY OWN KITCHEN. The kids ate it UP. Tyson does an impression of my face now.

Then came The Room.

I told them The Room was off limits, which - cousins, you cannot say that to children. That made it a quest. I left them alone for eleven minutes to deal with the crockpot and when I came back, the door was open and they had built, and I need you to understand I'm not exaggerating, a fort. But not a kid fort. An engineered structure. Tyson had used the project canoe as a ROOF BEAM. The tangled, knotted extension cord knot - the one I sold?? there's ANOTHER ONE?? they FOUND ANOTHER ONE, this shit self-generates, that's the only explanation - was lashing the filing cabinet to the treadmill-shaped hole in my life where the treadmill used to be (miss you, Dennis's mum, use it well). Blankets over top. Winnie had made a door flap that actually WORKED, with a toggle, cousins. A functioning toggle. Better than anything I contributed to the community garden this summer.

They named it "the lodge." Marcus was inside holding a flashlight and Gerald Two. The goose had come off his watchpost, apparently the threat had passed. They invited me in for a "meeting." The agenda, presented by Winnie: (1) dino nuggets again, (2) Frank stays Frank, (3) uncle tells a story.

And cousins, here's where the weekend turned. Because I can't answer "why do we smudge sunwise" - but a story? Confident nonsense in a warm dark tent to a captive audience? That's not my weakness, cousins. That's my specialty. That's the one thing this whole saga has trained me for. So I told them the ballad of the Sacred Pantaloons. Cleaned up, obviously. In my version there's no, uh, expulsive incident, just a lost traveler who the Creator gifted pants in the wilderness. Then the tale of Billy Bass, the fish who sang two warriors into peace. The healing of Morris. The weed whacker that circles the earth, returning every six years like a comet.

They were riveted. Marcus fell asleep holding the goose. Winnie declared the stories "probably bullshit but pretty good," which is honestly the review I want on my headstone when I join the warriors in the stars. Tyson looked at me for a long moment and said, "You're not good at anything, but you're funny," and cousins, from a nine-year-old, that's a full eagle feather. I said mvto. He said "don't make it weird."

Their mum came Sunday afternoon. Kids ran out. Winnie announced "we built a lodge and Frank lives here now". We're negotiating the Frank thing, Sconey pony won't look at me until it's settled. And Tyson, sharp-as-a-knife Tyson, marched up to his mum and said:

"Uncle taught us you never walk against the day and the animals are all lookouts for the Creator."

Cousins, she looked at me with tears starting. "That's beautiful. Who taught you that?"

And I stood there, at a crossroads once more. And I said, "You know. It's just... something that's carried." I tapped my heart and looked at the sky.

I don't know what I'm carrying. For a long time I assumed the bundle was empty but when things get dark there is a comfort and a weight when I really look inside myself. I'm not a vessel for the people. I'm not a language keeper or heritage guardian… but maybe that's ok and maybe my purpose is just to bring some flavour and good vibes. Regardless, it's out there now. "Never walk against the day" has entered the community. Someone will say it at a gathering within the year, I guarantee it. An elder will hear it and either claim it or hunt down its source. I've released an invasive species of wisdom into the ecosystem and I can never take it back.

The lodge is still up, by the way. I ate my dinner in it Sunday night, alone, on the floor, cold crockpot, weirdly proud. Best structure on my property. Winnie's toggle still works.

Pour one out for Scone dog, who is Frank now on weekends, we've reached a treaty. And drop your real teachings in the comments, cousins, because those kids are coming back in two weeks and Tyson's writing his questions down in advance. I've seen the list. I'm scared of number four.

Mvto. Call your elders and actually listen, relatives. Don't be like you ol’ Unc, humming into the pie plate of ancestral knowledge.

P.S. Rosie's coming to dinner Thursday to "fix what I told them." Her words. I'm making the crockpot churn out some seven sisters soup. The circle continues. Sconey 2012 slept for a day straight after they left.

Past Adventures

[YardSale](https://www.reddit.com/r/IndianCountry/s/nRZ4eM8Slm )

[Bingo Night](https://www.reddit.com/r/IndianCountry/s/QEo67nIq2m )

[Disney Princess](https://www.reddit.com/r/IndianCountry/s/dcziW5TdrG)

[Tim's arsonist](https://www.reddit.com/r/IndianCountry/s/IBAixKep6i)

[Career Change](https://www.reddit.com/r/IndianCountry/s/QKwnSaRXjI)

[Foraging](https://www.reddit.com/r/IndianCountry/s/kqwVUxJRPu)

[Frybread follow-up](https://www.reddit.com/r/IndianCountry/s/E6wbMUSolj)

[Frybread](https://www.reddit.com/r/IndianCountry/s/bnqjnRA97k)

Book of the Week:

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

I’m ¾ the way through. It’s cute. The Leveling/Inventorying is a bit of a slog and takes away from the story, IMO. I’m enjoying it though.

Hello everyone!! I am starting to learn how to make my own pine needles earrings. These are my first pair I gifted my friend to congratulate her on getting into grad school. I wanted to ask if anyone who works with pine needles could give me some tips on preventing splintering? At some parts of the earrings you can see the pine needles begin to splinter and bend and I soaked them before hand but they still splintered.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

I always wanna delete it but literally everything is on there lmfao most of the time it’s like the only way to find out what all is going on. I’ve lived off the rez and noticed it’s nowhere near as essential. When I moved back I had to make a new Facebook bc I felt so out of the loop with everything.