This week's circle

This weekend in circle we were inspired by Louie Gong's "Identity Doodles" and each person was given puzzle pieces to write/draw things about their identity and then we put these together to form a collage of our family.  I was interested to see the overlaps and connections between people.  The girls really enjoyed doing this and it was good to think about all the things we are.


Our story came from "A Book of Tricksters" by Jon Stott.  This is a collection of trickster stories from around the globe.  We started with a Nanabozo story where he tricks Coyote who tricks him right back.  It was a good length to read aloud.  I am interested to see how this book works as a comparison piece.  What are you doing in circle?  Share your good ideas. 

Runa in the National Gallery

Runa has often left pieces at the Gallery for them to display, but this is the first time that we found one hanging there.  She was very please with her artistic debut.  The piece is entitled "Cat in the City"

Urban Métis Fear 13

pepsi baby mixed media on canvas, by Christian Chapman, Ojibwe
Urban Métis Fear 13: It can be harder to eat healthy in the city.

nosemaskwa - mother bear

I had a friend ask for a drawing so I created this one called "nosemaskwa" (mother bear).  There is a lot to learn from mother bear. 

Drum sticks and truths

Runa with her drumstick

Funny kind of week making our drums and waiting to try them out and waiting for winter to pass.  Runa carefully turned the drums everyday and we figured out how to make a drum stick from a youtube video and even found fake sheep fur in the basement.  Last night we went to drum circle  and smudged them.  I don't think that my children are very rhythmic.  I could see the Elder wince a bit, but it was good to be together and really good to see other people working out their language and learning.  I shared that I am thinking about nanaskomowin (gratitude) a lot.  I called my Kookum Nana, so the two things go together for me, idea of gratitude and the ancestors.   

Got home to an issue that was very triggering and did not melt down.  Went with the ancestors, remembered how many of these times they faced and survived.  Did not have an anxiety attack.  Woke up and dealt with the issue plus a magnificent mitten melt down by Runa that let to a missed school bus, late mother and some creative use of vocabulary.

Very happy because the new Mackelmore album "This Unruly Mess I've Made" is out.  It hurts.  The truths hurt. Real hurts eh?  "Dr I need a dose of the American dream.  Put down the pen and look in my eyes.  We are in the waiting room and something aint right... Dr your medicine and your methods can't cure my disease without killing me."  He talks a lot about addiction on this album.  I feel the connection.  We are all addicted to our fears and shopping and drugs.  We are all implicated as we all buy the dream. I think I am addicted to my anxiety. 

I just started a book called "Anishnabe 101" written by "The Circle of Turtle Lodge" and this paragraph felt like the perfect balance to these truths about addiction.  "We were raised in a competitive world.  We were taught to strive for perfection; to get those straight A's; have the impeccable house, be pure of mind, body, and spirit.  It has been described as not unlike striving to be the new immaculate specimen in a butterfly collection.  However, the only way to meet the goal was to sacrifice life."  What are we sacrificing?  Is it worth it?

Urban Métis Fear 12

by Steven Paul Judd
Urban Métis Fear 12: Hunting in the city is just not the same.

pahkwêsikan (bannok)

Check out the post pahkwésikan on the blog "A Halfbreed's Reasoning".  She has some excellent poem/story medicine.