indigenous language revitalization, indigenous curriculum and teaching, Dakota Iapi,Wicoh'an, k'a Ehanna Woyakapi (Dakota Language, Culture, & History), uncovering & exposing the TRUE history of America, making lists, looking at stars, sleepin on the ground, my front porch, the North Shore, microbrews, cheese (gourmet, and also commodity), music, herbs, aromatherapy, honeybees, trivia, adventures, the beach, books, writing, poetry that isn't lame, rabbits, travel, intelligent conversation, good-natured debate, singing in the car, thrift stores, Pi, making jewelry, outdoor activities, trees, being read to, patio gardening, cool adventures, bonfires, camping, laughing, dancing, making art, walks at night, Nag Champa, Burt's Bees, environmental issues, road trips, telling stories that have no point, daydreaming, Parliament Ultra Lights, listening to cool new music, powwows, driving on the hwy with all the windows rolled down, chandelier earrings.
I'd like to meet:
people who work hard for the cause but still know how to get down and have a good time. i appreciate people who are genuine and sincere, practical, good-hearted and intelligent, passionate and generous. words are nothing, action is everything. no bullshitters, psychos, or racists, please, i've seen enough of those...
Music:
I'm in a 3-woman band called Alien Animal Robot Technology. We're kind of a big deal. And we rock.
iron & wine, over the rhine, brandi carlile, nikka costa, crowded house, manu chao, aceyalone, saul williams, buena vista social club, HBMS, redman, pharcyde, solesides, jeru the damaja, gangstarr, tribe & de la, wu-tang, KRS-ONE, ozomatli, los nativos, blackilicious, aesop rock, jedi mind tricks, sage francis, del, kool keith, biggie, common sense, goodie mob, outkast, immortal technique, kanser, twisted, INT, hieru, old atmos & headshots, purest form, black blondie, dessa, pos & doomtree, desdamona, indigo, erykah badu, alicia keys, joss stone, nina simone, ella fitzgerald, billie holiday, sade, amy winehouse, lily allen, nelly furtado, dylan, marley, toots & the maytals, zap mama, les nubians, mary j. blige, the yeah yeah yeahs, wilco, the strokes, radiohead, neko case, andrew bird, modest mouse, death cab for cutie & postal service, laura veirs, patty griffin, aimee mann, sia, jem, portishead, dido, poe, smashing pumpkins, imogen heap/frou frou, feist, ingrid michaelson, ray lamontagne, damien rice, amos lee, the blow.
Movies:
I don't like to watch a lot of movies. Except as an excuse to cuddle. So my favorites don't change a lot. I like the original Star Wars, Frida, Slam, Magnolia, O Brother Where Art Thou?, Moulin Rouge, Mars Attacks, and, hmmm, can't remember the rest...
Television:
Too much T.V. makes the mind lazy. But when I do indulge: L-word, Six Feet Under, Strangers with Candy, Arrested Development, Fawlty Towers, Simpsons, Dave Chappelle, celeb reality, educational programming.
Books:
Waterlily (Ella Deloria)
Green Grass, Running Water (Tom King)
From the Glittering World (Irvin Morris)
Heirs of Columbus (Gerald Vizenor)
Drowning in Fire (Craig Womack)
Anything by Louise Erdrich, Susan Power, or Vine Deloria, Jr.
Also like The Autobiography of Malcom X, Soul on Ice (Eldridge Cleaver), and The Wretched of the Earth (Franz Fanon)
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"He was stopped in the only way such a man can be stopped...by the same method that exploiters, tyrants, and parasitical oppressors have always crushed the legitimate strivings of people for freedom, justice, and equality - by murder, assassination, and mad-dog butchery."
~ Eldridge Cleaver [on Malcom X], Soul On Ice
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The notion of tribal sovereignty is not confiscable, or earth bound; sovereignty is neither fence nor feathers. The essence of sovereignty is imaginative, an original tribal trope, communal and spiritual, an idea that is more than metes and bounds in treaties.
~Gerald Vizenor, Heirs of Columbus
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"GRIEF IS CHAOS. DEATH OR ILLNESS THROW THE WORLD OUT OF WHACK. THE DRUM'S ORDER IS THE WORLD'S ORDER. TO PROCEED WITH AND KEEP THAT ORDER IS A GESTURE OF DESPERATE HOPE. PROTECT US. SAVE US. LET OUR MINDS REMAIN CLEAR OF SORROW SO THAT WE CAN SIMPLY PRAISE THE WORLD."
LOUISE ERDRICH, THE PAINTED DRUM
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Heroes:
My students. My teachers. My fellow language activists.
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Aha Punana Leo
Hawaiian Language Immersion Program
Aha Punana Leo Mission Statement:
Hawaiian:
Ua ulu mai ke aukahi Punana Leo mai loko mai o ka ‘i‘ini e ho‘okumu pa‘a ‘ia a puni ‘o Hawai‘i nei ke kulana mana o ka ‘olelo Hawai‘i ola mai o Kikilo mai. ‘O ka hana a ka ‘ohana Punana Leo, ‘o ia ka ho‘okumu, ho‘olako, a malama i na kaiapuni ‘olelo Hawai‘i like ‘ole. ‘O na ‘ohana ke ola o ia mau kaiapuni, a ma ke aloha Akua, aloha ‘olelo, aloha lahui, aloha ‘aina, a me ke aloha na‘auao e pono ai kakou .
English:
The Punana Leo Movement grew out of a dream that there be reestablished throughout Hawai‘i the mana of a living Hawaiian language from the depth of our origins. The Punana Leo initiates, provides for and nurtures various Hawaiian Language environments, and we find our strength in our spirituality, love of our language, love of our people, love of our land, and love of knowledge.
Hawaiian language teacher Nai'ilma Gaison
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