An 1893 flashback scene from an episode of Yellowstone impacts me on a kaleidoscope of levels.
The honor shown between descendants of both oppressors & the oppressed is spine tingling & goosebumps causing in a profoundly sad yet compassionate way.
I was born in Saint Cloud, Minnesota & even though I have no First Nation blood, my spirit has alwas felt connected to the animals, land, plants, & water all around me.
A wonderful failure as a child connects me with the original inhabitants of where I was born.
In elementary school I was ecstatically joyful because I got an “F” on an essay about Columbus discovering America even though m
y answer was the only truthful one of my entire class.
“Christopher Columbus did NOT discover America because there were people already living here when he arrived.”
There were a variety of indigenous people not only in North America but also the Caribbean, Central America, & South America long before the Vikings & Columbus came ashore attempting to divide & conquer through abuse, theft, rape & murder.
This quote supports what I have understood since early childhood.
“A popular belief considers Christopher Columbus as some sort of hero, while in reality he was a murderer. While the world admires him as a brave explorer, all this brainless buffoon did was sail around the Caribbean and slaughtered innocent natives who greeted him with nothing but hospitality. You don't discover a land where people are already living. On top of that, when someone invades their land and starts looting, pillaging and slaughtering, he is neither brave, nor an explorer, he's just a petty thief and brut.” — Abhijit Naskar
I want to celebrate & honor all First Nations & Indigenous People throughout the world.
Last summer my wife & I traveled from Tucson, Arizona to Puerto Peñasco, México on the Sea of Cortez & we passed through the beautiful Tohono O’odham Nation.
I cried almost the entire 4 1/2 hour drive as I am ashamed how people in the country I was born in discriminate against & try to eliminate any races that they do not like even if they were here first.
The Sonoran desert is a stark contrast to the shadows of Mount Rushmore where I first saw my favorite movie in the sacred Black Hills of South Dakota.
There are lots of tear filled scenes in “Dances with Wolves” but one that hits different is the massacre of buffalo by white men.
Many things intrigue & amaze me about First Nations People but the sense of loss at seeing mutilated animals brings tears to my eyes every time I watch this.
The wastefulness of white men is astonishingly disrespectful!
"Who would do such a thing? The field was proof enough that it was a people without value and without soul with no regard for Sioux rights. The wagon tracks leading away left little doubt and my heart sank as I knew it could only be white hunters. Voices that had been joyous all morning were now as silent as the dead buffalo left to rot in this valley. Killed only for their tongues and the price of their hides." — Sunkmanitu Tanka Owaci
Generation after generation First Nation People honor creation & respect every living things' life in their death by utilizing every part of an animal or plant because they value ALL life!
indigenous People throughout the world living with creation instead of on it or trying to possess it touches the depths of my being.
Priceless!
My wife & I have cared for & ministered to children & youth the better part of our adult lives. The atrocities of burial sites of First Nation Children on the properties of former residential schools & the absurdly high number of unsolved disappearances & murders of First Nation Women is not only unacceptable but has impacted me profoundly lately as tears become weeping & weeping becomes sobbing.
Why has a Minnesota born gringo become so emotional about First Nation People?
I was disappointed when my DNA revealed that I have no indigenous blood from the Americas as my great grandparents all came to the United States from Northern Europe.
Despite that I have felt a connection to First Nation People my entire life as my first memories are from a vacation in Alaska when I was 4 years old.
My connection has only intensified since my thoughts about my wife’s ethnicity have been confirmed.
Her DNA results revealed that she is Colombian & Venezuelan Indigenous as well as Costa Rican & Panamanian Indigenous.
Praise the LORD!
I am thrilled that my beautiful & lovely wife has Indigenous blood from Central America & South America as well as from several African ethnicities!
Since passing through the Tohono O’odham Nation last year, I have wondered how I might be a blessing to First Nation People.
Please keep me in your prayers as I strive to understand what is next for me.
Writing about my journey of healing is important to me as I want all the adventures, challenges, failures, health issues, oppositions, triumphs, & wisdom I have experienced to become blessings of encouragement.
I only write what moves me emotionally, mentally, physically, & spiritually.
Are books in my future?
Maybe there already is one in the works tentatively entitled “Oro Valley Summer 2015” which is when my wife & I strived to provide a home filled with joy, love, & peace for children & youth who were taken from their families due to horrific abuse & neglect.
Readers will connect with a variety of emotions & feelings that we all experience sometime throughout our lifetimes.
"Home is a safe place where one is free from attack, a place where one experiences secure relationships & affirmation. It's a place where people share & understand each other. Its relationships are nurturing. The people in it do not need to be perfect; instead, they need to be honest, loving, supportive, recognizing a common humanity that makes all of us vulnerable." — Gladys M. Hunt
The beauty of the desert valley & mountains was a blessing as my wife & I along with 10 kiddos enjoyed creation living in harmony alongside antelope jackrabbits, bobcats, coyotes, deer, gila monsters, javelinas, mountain lions, quail, rattlesnakes, roadrunners, scorpions, & tarantulas.
"It's not our job to toughen our children up to face a cruel and heartless world. It's our job to raise children who will make the world a little less cruel and heartless." ― L.R. Knots
Are First Nations People in my future?
Absolutely!
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