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Kindle Notes & Highlights
New Normal, which is what I call what happens when your universe is shaken so badly you can never regain the same axis as before. But you try anyway.
“Strong Ojibwe women are like the tide, reminding us of forces too powerful to control. Weak people fear that strength. They won’t vote for a Nish kwe they fear.”
When someone dies, everything about them becomes past tense. Except for the grief. Grief stays in the present.
The Seven Grandfathers are teachings about living the Anishinaabe minobimaadiziwin—our good way of life—through love, humility, respect, honesty, bravery,
wisdom, and truth.
It’s hard to explain what it’s like being so connected to everyone and everything here … yet feeling that no one ever sees the whole me.
“It’s just nice to have something solid no matter how much everything else changes. Know what I mean?”
“It’s hard when being Native means different things depending on who’s asking and why,” he says. “And to some people, you’ll never be Native enough,” I add. “Yeah. It’s your identity, but it gets defined or controlled by other people.”
She doesn’t share my belief that the perfect pen or pencil can improve my academic performance.
“Kindness is something that seems small, Daunis, but it’s like tossing a pebble into a pond and the ripples reach further than you thought.”
Firekeepers ensure that protocols are followed the entire time it burns: no politics, no drinking, and no gossip. Only good thoughts to feed the fire and carry our prayers.
She talked about the boarding school that Granny June’s daughters had been scooped up and taken to.
There is healing medicine in those kisses.
Each lie is a fish, with a bigger fish swallowing the one preceding.
Your Moon is a mighty time, Kwe.
Change comes even when we consciously try to avoid it.
Honor your spirit. Love yourself.”
I’m reminded that our Elders are our greatest resource, embodying our culture and community. Their stories connect us to our language, medicines, land, clans, songs, and traditions. They are a bridge between the Before and the Now, guiding those of us who will carry on in the Future.
We honor our heritage and our people, those who are alive and those who’ve passed on. That’s important because it keeps the ones we lose with us.
there is something restorative about the gathering of our community.
The collective spirit of our tribal nation coming together, sharing songs and fellowship with others.
one all-too-real aspect of the story is the rampant violence against Native women.
