https://bloodtribe.org/

In the article, “Sharing one skin,” by Jeanetee Armstong, we learn of the Okanagan people, this and how they perceive life. It talks about the four selves they believe in. The Physical, Emotional, Thinking-Intellectual, and Spiritual selves. Each one is expanded upon by Jeanette, giving explanation on how these selves tie in with who they are, their views, the connection that the community has towards every aspect in life. Spirituality is shown and viewed as our “true selves”, explained with how we interpret all knowledge in our existence which leads to new knowledge. The teachings talked about in the article give knowledge about Okanagan’s culture, viewing each one of us individuals as Earth's inhabitants, “We are keepers of Earth, because we are Earth. We are old Earth” (Jeanette 466)  talks about the spiritual aspect of the Okanagan people. Everything seen in life has a spirit, something that isn’t invisible, subjective, or something that isn't just in the mind, it exists. The “bonds” we create throughout existence on Mother Earth is something focused on in the article, giving insight on how to become a whole person. 

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.

This story is about a boy who was raised by his Grandma in the Pueblo Villages in the early fifties. Explaining the daily life of a young Pueblo boy and the ethics he was raised on. The activities shown, building the foundation of a native child. This changes as the story continues, when the boy turns 6, he's enrolled into school and the assimilation begins to wipe away the image he was raised on, slowly losing the heritage he had when he was young. We watch as Pueblo views begin to change for the young man. From cherishing every aspect of his life and not questioning anything, to slowly disapproving of the lifestyle given to him after looking at the Colonial way of life known as the “white man’s life”. He says “I was ashamed of being who I was, and I wanted to change right then and there” (Tohe 3). This image is altered towards the end of the story,  when the young man returns home after a long period to his community. He gets a reminder of why he loved the village as a kid and restores his values.

Suina, Joseph “And I went to school” memories of a pueblo childhood,”. New Mexico Journal of Reading, Winter 1985, Vol. V, No.2.

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 names and the stories behind them give us a representation of the land. But when you look over the simple name, we start to see the complexities buried underneath the simplicity. Names generally give us an idea of a location, but due to Colonial expansion, we are losing and have lost names that were associated with the land markers by our Native people. These names have meaning, it is how the community views the land through their language. Shown with Tse’Si’Ani, now known as Lupton, AZ. Has been overshadowed and lost its name besides the local Native residents who still call it that to this day is an example of Colonial oversight, failing to recognize what was already in place.”A lot of places are attached to story” (Tohe’s Grandma 2). Says the same intention, each one of these locations tells something different, tells a story about ourselves and the past. It muds the precipitation built amongst these locations

Toastie, B. “How place names impact the way we see landscape.” High Country News:    Know the West, 1 May 2022, https://www.hcn.org/issues/54.5/people-places-how-place-names-impact- the-way-we-see-landscape.

After the Columbian Exchange with the Native people of the Bahamas, us Native Americans have always been seen as people to conquer and reestablish self ideals from the Old worlds ideology. In the article,  Indians of North America: Conflict and Survival, by Frank W. Porter III. He talks about the survival of our native people after the first contact with Columbus to the present day. He brings up the view the Europeans had on our people, and what was their goal to do with us. It’s brought up throughout the article that we aren’t viewed the same as them, seen as inferior as a species, because they’ve come from the Old world to the New, Led by beliefs from their own cultures and arrogance that all of the Americas were in place for them to conquer us and use the land in anyway. We resisted with battles and wars to not be controlled and conquered by the Europeans who were seen as unknown people to Natives. Even after retaliation, they have forcefully tried multiple times and in multiple different ways to assimilate our people into the American Ideology. Porter expresses with quote, “Indians existed as America's past” (Porter 9). To represent how the United Government views our people, rather than giving us the full attention, it feels as if we are on the backburner of a grill, forgotten until it’s the last to be chosen. 

Our Native culture as a whole comprises our ceremonies and how healing is connected to it in every way. The Medicine wheel brought up in, Native American Healing Practices and Counseling, by Rybak, Eastin, et al. Gives description of the four directions that are associated in the medicine wheel. Each four directions are taught to us in our own native interpretation, each end of the cross laid through the middle of the wheel, having a meaning represented with a color. The stories tell the way life transitions into death, then eventually rebirth. This peace is said to be connected to nature as it’s intertwined with everything. This translates to all aspects in life and that a strong connection with nature is key to providing yourself with a deeper understanding of tranquility that correlates with the body and soul. 

Traditional Native Medicine aims to heal the whole patient, unlike the western medicine that only addresses the physical symptoms of hurt individuals. Explained in “Medicine.” by Taylor Kathrine, this article talks about the ceremonies preserved by our people, and used to heal one another. Along with the significance of medicine, men and women in our native communities. The medicine man holds importance amongst the tribe for they’re knowledge of the body and how to treat a patient. Common tools used in spiritual treatments include, medicine sticks, drumming, dancing, rattle shaking, prayers, and charms imbedded with medicine. The knowledge that the medicine man is a correlation to herbal knowledge too. It's seen in our practices, often used as smoke to cleanse yourself, this includes sage, sweet grass, and tobacco. Our medicine men are “Able to restore harmony and balance to a person” (Kathrine 4) , that is their goal in healing. To heal the whole patient. Herbs have always been used in our practices but after the Columbian Exchange, it was our first contact with many unknown forces that followed Columbia's, many foreign diseases spread to our lands that we weren't able to keep up with because our people had no knowledge of what was attacking them, leading many to die. The knowledge of medicine people weren’t valued for some time with a loss of respect and faith bestowed upon them, as they were viewed as responsible for the ill, and having the knowledge to help anyone. Along with disease, liquor was introduced to our people and still holds the rein on them to this day. Alcohol abuse has been shown throughout native country and is considered one of the detrimental things brought to our people.

Government neglect to supply proper funding to help support our elders with medical aid and needs.

Lack of responsibility needed to take care of our prioritized senior citizens who play a pivotal role in our own native communities.

Shortages on essentials to could provide appropriate care for our people

Loss of culture that isn’t transitioned to the next generation, leaving some things to not be properly transferred to our youth leaving them uneducated on cultural matters.

The project aims to see if culture is connected to our everyday life values and how it could potentially influence and play a role in our decisions.

The cultural tie that binds us all together as a whole community which is studied to provide evidence of our connectedness as natives. Shows the developments that face our native communities like substance abuse to general depression from the missed link between culture and urban life. Studies proven to show that culture could function as a buffer against these developments and be a link to higher levels of hope and satisfaction in life.

Identity, spirituality, and tradition have been proven to have a connection to your general health.

The Federal U.S. department of the Interior Signed a grant in June, 2022. That grants 7 million dollars in funding to Native communities to provide and opportunity to document and revitalize their native language to prevent the risk of it disappearing from the decline of native speakers. Only applies to federally recognized tribes, which is one downside, but targets the preservation of the 150 years of suppression that the Europeans had towards our belief, and way of life. This grant could provide longevity and survival to our cultural affairs. Which could affect the people by providing cultural exchange and practices that could bring back our connection as a whole people again to our communities.

“Mexican Americans, A culture of struggle, dignity, and survival” by Aurora Bravo. Provides a detailed perspective of how the life of Mexican culture continues through its people. This preservation is beautifully expressed by the culture, language, people, land, and animals. This connectivity allowed them to gain knowledge and understanding the way the world around them works in parallel. This correlation with the land was disrupted during the Spanish expansion westward, taking over the indigenous lands and beginning the spread of Christianity to the local native Mexican people transforming their beliefs towards the Spanard culture. This action of oppressing the local culture is the same way the Americans were taken by the British, Netherlands, and the French. The expansion of the Americas left hundreds of thousands of Native Americans to be slaughtered and confused upon their beliefs during the expansion periods of these lands. The concept of survival through strong cultural ties and belief in the concept of being connected as a group is what connects these to still being pungent in life expression to this day. “Culture is a product of civilization and human creativity” (Bravo, 1), is the most solid way to explain our way of lifes being connected to the lands.

While exploring other communities to see communities that still faithfully believe in culture and traditions. I was able to research the islanders of Hawaii, in the article “Na Kaa’aina: Living Hawaiian Culture” by Davianna MeGregor. With the main statement of the article being, “The tie between the Hawaiian people and their use and knowledge of the land and its vegetation”. This being even before western contact, the Hawaiian islanders had found a way to survive and live off the environment that they were given with the beauty of culture that developed along with them. This independence and sovereignty allowed the islanders to prosper into their cultural communities and establish a deep root connection with the lands and strong cultural connection with the water. They lived off harvest and farming, along with fishing is what gave them independence from other colonies and a way to stay in unity. The Expertise of survival through this is what made them special in their way of life, the way of really living by the way nature establishes your surroundings is the connection our indigenous communities prosper in as well. This circle of life they both see themselves is the main topic of my SHP, survival.

Through research on traditional communities that still heavily stay with their beliefs and what they live by. I was able to discover the Malanis people located in the Kullu district in India. Who participated and deeply indulge in their culture in staying “pure”. This is demonstrated byt the people in staying in a “no contact” act towards the outsiders of the village. This is because they see themselves as ancestors of the Alexanders the greats army, this way of life is specific and not ideal in the way life is in the current world. But with these they have been able to establish trade routes with local and companies to supply themselves with goods, while also gaining an understanding of harvesting and farming the way I seen our Native communities live  throughout history.