A cold but blissful day in Chilko Lake. It has been too long since my last posting. I have had so many wonderful adventures to speak of. I had my amazing weekend out camping in Chilcotin territory (Chilko Lake – Nemiah Valley) and had an opportunity to take part in traditional ceremony. This lead to some serious life changes that I will be embarking on soon. It is amazing how grounding a trip back home can be for you. I started to (for the first time in my life) feel very connected to the land that my ancestors once roamed. … Continued
Monthly Archives: July 2011
Little Miss Two Canoes
Illustration by Kathy Johnson Last week I received some very hurtful news. This just in: I am not Indian enough. Oh boy that’s original. I have been told my whole life that I’m too Indian, too Native by white people and was made fun of for having brown skin as a child (I still distinctly remember being called a “brownie” while at the wave pool while trying to make new friends). Then for the past six years as I begin to familiarize myself with Native culture and integrate it into my life, I am continually met with the fact that … Continued
Survival S’mores
Image from Smores for Breakfast I’m currently researching gluten free graham crackers so I can make them this week. Why? Because I am going camping this weekend. Yes C-A-M-P-I-N-G. Not even the kind of camping where you are near a tuck shop and a big place where you use a normal washroom and shower every morning with your flip flops on. Nope the kind where I am way back in the bush old school Indian styles.Let’s see if I survive the weekend. I have slept in a tent twice and when we went “camping” as a kid, that meant an … Continued
Wigwam Wares
Because wigwams have so much to do with hosiery, this company (originally called the Sheboygan Knitting Company then Hand-Knit Hosiery) decided to change it’s name after 52 years in business. In 1957 Wigwam Mills., Inc. was born. Look at their cool socks. They even have created a ‘teepee slipper sock’ so that you can feel really in touch with nature while you are at your suburban home and using your newfangled vacuum. Isn’t that swell? Wigwam Mills Inc. is a socially conscious company as they “continue to lobby in Washington D.C. for programs that responsibly limit the quantity of imported … Continued
Runway Reality
Decision time for the #CrystalLightChallenge Thanks to ListenMR for the pic Back a few weeks ago I was invited to take part of the Crystal Light Purse Design Challenge which basically involved me shopping and walking a runway. I was so excited when I got the invite from Terri at Ogilvy I practically freaked out. The event started with a dinner where I got to meet my purse designers whose purse I would be modelling the next day. Mary Car and I met and she showed me her sketch, a swatch and we discussed what kind of outfits she’d want … Continued
#SimplifyStreamline
From @cherrysberries A few weeks ago I got really sick. Like really sick. I was stuck in bed for almost an entire week and slept about 20 hours a day. It was really not fun. It did however begin to change my life. I realized that I cannot keep going on at the pace that I have been going and that I need to stop, reassess and re-prioritize everything in my life. I was already headed in this direction prior to getting sick, but the illness reminded me how important it is to get my life in balance. So I … Continued
Love In the Time of Blood Quantum
Dear Erika, Thank you so much for posting this note in Facebook. Your timing could not have been more impeccable. I share the same #NativeGirlProblems as you do. Sincerely, Lisa Charleyboy I have talked about dating a lot on this blog here and the whole dating Native versus non-Native debate. My preference is to date a Native man with all of the qualities that I look for in a partner (kind, educated, ambitious and the list goes on and on …) but I have found that it’s proven to be difficult. And so I date non-Native men. It is one … Continued
Kanata Kvetch
You’ll have to excuse me today. I am never quite right on a day like today. Happy Canada Day he says, she says waving their red and white flag high and proud. Does anyone wonder what this kind of celebration means for a Native Canadian? This week I have felt like Native people are so invisible and like I have to constantly fight to represent Native people in a modern and positive context. It hasn’t been an easy week on my soul to say the least. Wednesday evening I got back from the Assembly of First Nations Summit at the … Continued