Spirit Animal
Q: Hi id like to know whats my spirit animal as I was born on 24 March 2002 Read More
Answered by Auntie Manda
Can I Get an Elder?
Q: Where can I find Elders that I can talk to? We are everywhere! We’re at pow-wows. We’re at ceremonials. We’re on the reservation. We’re in urban settings. We’re in rural settings. We are going places and meeting people and going to dances and songs. And we’re going to coastal…
Answered by Grandma Nay
Native In the City Blues
Q: How can I connect to my culture when I live in the city? Go to as many events as you can. Find friends in your community who are also Native, who are maybe your age or maybe a little bit older who can offer you some mentorship and some…
Answered by Grandma Nay
Topics: Culture and Language
Approaching Elders
Q: How can I approach an Elder? You approach an elder with respect. Historically among my people, the Cheyenne, we would put a piece of lump of coal in front of an Elder, especially if they were a person who’d been through our ceremonies to protect them from anything we…
Answered by Grandma Nay
Connect with Elders
Q: How do I connect with Elders? When you’re trying to find the words to even talk to an Elder, when you get to that point, I think it’s important to remember that our knowledge, our practices, and our culture are so rich and are so beautiful and carry so…
Answered by Sister Q
You have asked a powerful question. When a woman is on her “moon/period” there are a few protocols in place when it comes to ceremony.
A woman cannot make tobacco ties for ceremony. A woman cannot cook for ceremony. A woman cannot be around the ceremony. In Lakota belief a woman is very very powerful during her time. She is encouraged to pray from home. With her power magnified it is believed she has a…
Topics: Culture and Language
What are the best resources for learning your native language?
Hello and good day, Befriending local speakers/elders is a great way to begin to learn as they can help you absorb the language in its spoken form. Common phrases, sentences, questions that can be used conversationally, keep the language useful and easily absorbed. Another good way to start is learning…
Topics: Culture and Language
What advice do you have to connect with my culture?
I think we’re connecting with our culture every time we dance or sing or bead, carve. I think were connecting with our culture every time we spend time with our family or friends and when were in nature. I would just say don’t overthink it and stay present. I also…
Topics: Culture and Language
Where can I learn to make pow wow dance outfit?
Dear Tojan/Toska (Tow-Jhawn/Tow-Skah), What a great question. In this day and age we are at a great advantage to all the helpful information that is provided to us by the click of a button! Some great places I’ve found to assist with regalia making are: Your local indigenous community will…
Topics: Culture and Language
We were always told that my great grandmother was apache. Her son,(my grandfather) and my mother half passed. And many of my elders have passed and the ones that are alive only recall that my grandfather did sing and speak in a native language when they were small. I understand that we are not recognized as native unless proved. But as far as the Apache being hunted. I feel like there aren’t any records even more so for the apache in Mexico. We know my grandmother was born in 1894 Guanajuato and passed in 1964 chihuahua. I guess my question is, how is there a way to research more Info in Mexico? And is there any help we can get.
Thank you for writing in. I’m sorry you’re going through this journey without the presence of many of your elders. You’re doing the right thing by connecting with the elders who are still with you and by asking for help. I hope I can help point you in the right…
Answered by Uncle Paige