Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from The TallTrees! 🙂

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Right to Vote

Native Americans were the “ethnic” last group granted the right to vote in the United States.  African-Americans were granted voting rights in 1870 and women were granted voting rights in 1920.

On June 2, 1924, Congress enacted the Indian Citizenship Act, which granted citizenship to all Native Americans born in the U.S. The right to vote, however, was governed by state law; until 1957, some states barred Native Americans from voting.

Be a warrior, make your voice heard. Vote.

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All Things Are Connected

What is man without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone, men would die from great loneliness of spirit, for whatever happens to the beasts also happens to man. Al things are connected. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the children of the Earth.

~Chief Seattle~

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Red Fox

Here’s a picture of our beautiful grandson Inali (Red Fox).  In our culture, the fox is clever, alert, and adaptable NOT tricky, sneaky, or untrustworthy.

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A Word to the Wise

When purchasing art, crafts, or jewelry created by Native Americans, please make sure that it is authentic. Here’s an awesome article about how to verify the authenticity of potential purchases:

http://phoenix.about.com/cs/shop/a/nativeart01.htm

Here’s a picture of a booth at our yearly powwow in Michigan.

 

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Chaco Culture National Historical Park

Chaco Canyon was a major center of Puebloan culture between AD 850 and 1250. The Chacoan sites are part of the homeland of Pueblo Indian peoples of New Mexico, the Hopi Indians of Arizona, and the Navajo Indians of the Southwest.

www.nps.gov/chcu/index.htm

Here’s some pictures of Robert in New Mexico:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Great Spirit Made All Men Brothers

One question that we get from time to time is “Are you really Indian?”  Robert is a direct lineal descendent of Black Elk (Chippewa). He is of Chippewa/Ojibwe and Apache heritage.  His family traces back over eleven generations to the Swan Creek/Black River Bands of Michigan, known today as the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe. The Chippewa/Ojibwe refer to themselves as “Anishinaabe” (The People).

Terri Lynn is French, Irish, English, Scottish and Welsh. She was recently told that her maternal grandmother said she was an American Indian, but because she was adopted from the orphan train and raised by another family, we know little about her. Terri wears the traditional buckskin dress during ceremonies and teachings, to honor her husband’s family. The dress belonged to her mother-in-law, Akwagiishnuquay (End Of Day Woman). When they married, she was given the command, “You are now one of us, go teach with your husband. This is the traditional way of our People.”

White Shield, An Arikara Chief said it better than we ever could:

The color of the skin makes no difference.  What is good and just for one is good and just for the other, and the Great Spirit made all men brothers. I have a red skin, but my grandfather was a white man. What does it matter?  It is not the color of the skin that makes me good or bad.

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Our Backyard

Great Spirit — I want no blood upon my land to stain the grass. I want it all clear and pure, and I wish it so, that all who go through among my people may find it peaceful when they come, and leave peacefully when they go.

– Ten Bears, Yamparika Comanche

 

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Holidays

Every year at our home we have a huge Easter egg hunt with our children and grandchildren, and many other relatives and friends who are always welcomed to join in the fun. There is a picture below. We have tons of fun, and we know we are making memories that our grandchildren will always remember. We also celebrate most of the other “American” holidays. In an article that appeared in a national magazine about TallTree, he was referred to as a “Pathfinder Between Two Worlds.” Our point in bringing this up is that as Native Americans, and as Americans, we are more than the sum or our parts. We take the best of both worlds, and weave them through our lives.  That is a beautiful thing.

 

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What matters most?

The ones that matter most are the children.

They are the true human beings.

(Lakota Proverb)

Here is a picture of Terri with two of our grandchildren, Ode’minquay and Naytahwashquay.

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