In the article “Sharing One Skin” by Jeanette Armstrong it explains how the Okanagan people say that the heart is where community and land come into our beings and become a part of us because they are as essential to our survival as our own skin. It tells us how fear is not enough to bind together a community. I have learned that a crisis can help build a community so that it can face the crisis itself. Armstrong explains how for an extended family it is translated as “Sharing one Skin”. 

Armstrong, Jeanette. “Sharing One Skin: The Okanagan Community”, in Jerry Mander and Edward Goldsmith (eds), The Case Against the Global Economy. San Francisco, CA, Sierra Club Books, 1996. Pp 460-470.

Memories and stories are connected to our land as described by B. Toastie in the article “How place names impact the way we see landscape”. Place identity was originally defined by a psychologist Harold Proshansky in 1978. When buildings or structures are named after them, Westerners think a person is glorified. The article states “in many Indigenous worldviews, people are not central to the landscape”. Which makes me think how others see the buildings or the world. In my community our community library is named after Esther Martinez "P'oe Tsawa" which means blue water in tewa.

Toastie, B. ¨ How Place Names Impact The Way We See The Landscape¨. High Country News, 1 May 2022

In the article ¨Death and Society ¨ the  author unknown talks about how losing a loved one can be confusing for children and teens.  As a teenager it is easy to feel as if you and the people you love are going to live forever.  The article explains how study after study shows that young people need to know the facts about death, and they need to say goodbye to the person they have lost. Talking about death and attending ceremonies for the lost loved one is not harmful to young people,  Young people in particular often have a blind spot when it comes to understanding death. 

"Death". Teen Health and Wellness, Rosen Publishing Group Inc, May 2023, teenhealthandwellness.com/article/113/death. Accessed 18 October 2023.

In the article "Ceremony and Song" by Brown Ruoff A. Lavonne states how some ceremonies are a way of help to protect a tribe from any contamination from the outside forces. It also states that Hopi and community composes create songs for tribal ceremonies. In the article it says "the death of a chief is therefore seen by the Iroquois as a threat to the peace among the confederated tribes"

Brown Ruoff A. Lavonne. "Ceremony and Song" Literature of the American Indian, Facts on File, 2014. American Indian History, online.infobase.com/Auth. Accessed 18 October 2023.

The article “How your brain copes with grief, and why it takes time to heal” talks about how grief is just an emotional state that knocks us off our feet. O’ Conner and associate professor of psychology at the University of Arizona states “Grieving is a learning form”. O’ Conner also states that we must not avoid/hide our feelings. O’Conner studies what happens with our brains when we experience grief, she finds that grief is tied to all sorts of different brain functions and range of emotions like anxiety and depression. What we don't hear often is the fact with covid-19, the loved ones that are left behind made the sacrifice of not being with their loved one due to social distancing and that needs to be recognized because we had to give up not being able to grieve together and not being able to have the proper ceremonies for our loved ones.

McCoy, Berly. ¨How your brain copes with grief, and why it takes time to heal¨. Shots Health news from NPR. NPR 20 December, 2021 https://www.npr.org 

In the article ¨Road Deaths: Families describe moments their worlds were shattered¨  it shares how families describe the moments their world was shattered when they were told their loved ones were gone from road crashes, the number of Northern Ireland's roads have reached their highest level in nearly six years. One mom talks about how her son Keelan who was 17 years old was killed in a car accident when going to the store. She explains ¨ no mummy ever wants to see their child in a body bag with graphic injuries¨. Another story from Laura Radcliffes she tells us how she lost her sister Kathryn, her car collided with a lorry in County Donegal on June 19. Laura explains how her sister's sudden death felt like a bomb had gone off the family and with many struggling to come to terms with it. 

McBride, Mike. ¨Road Deaths: Families describe moment their worlds were shattered¨. BBC News NI, 5 December, 2023 https://www.bbc.com 

In the article " How Japanese Culture Views Death and Dying¨ talks about how in the Japanese culture dying may be perceived as something that cannot be controlled. Death cannot be controlled in any place. Shinto and Buddhism are practiced simultaneously by most Japanese culture. In Japanese culture Japanese society tends to disapprove of displays of negative personal emotion or weakness. Death is understood as an soon to happen experience, guests offer money in a special envelope to help the deceased individuals family pay for the funeral expense, in some families coins are placed in the casket to symbolize passing over into the afterlife. 

Applebury, Gabrielle. ¨How Japanese Culture Views Death and Dying.¨ Love to know, March 17, 2020. Accessed January 31, 2024

The article ¨Indigenous Communities in Brazil Reinvent Grief in the time of Covid ¨ was very informative in many indigenous communities and how they grieve for their dead. Some of the grieving processes that take place with these are crying and praying four nights in a row, these communities are Xingu, Mato Grossa, Roraima Bahia, San Paulo, and lastly Amazonas. They also clean and paint the body with traditional symbols. One very interesting ritual is a Kuarup which is a principal funeral ritual whereby all neighboring tribe celebrate life death and rebirth. Many villages of other tribes come to this celeabration. The article states that these festivals seems like a pretty attraction and the deceased has become a commodity.  

Angelo, Mauricio. “Indigenous communities in Brazil reinvent grief in the time of COVID”. Mongabay, July 12, 2021. Accessed January 31, 2024