Hau my Relatives,

It's a Sunday afternoon and I'm enjoying my day in the comforts of my home. How blessed I am.

Gratitude is on my radar every day. Giving thanks is a constant for me as I can't afford to take anything for granted.

Lately, I've been thinking about my ancestors and all the atrocities they went through when their land was taken; displaced from their homes/land; women, children, and elders  massacred relentlessly; children stolen from their homes and forced to attend boarding schools where they could not speak their language, and told they were savages who needed to become civilized; and young native women and girls kidnapped and murdered across the US in the last two to three decades. The reason I am  sharing this because my memory was triggered by three TV series I watched in the last month - 1883, 1923, and Yellowstone.

In the series, the treatment of Native Americans was realistically portrayed and brought up many feelings and thoughts as one would expect from graphic scenes. In fact, I know one of my siblings stopped watching 1923 because the scenes of how children were treated in the boarding school was horrifying. Needless to say, I was able to weather the roller coaster ride of emotions, but the impact of these TV series also led me to reflection, prayer, and deeper thoughts in regards to my family and my people.  

In my daily prayers, I always offer prayers and my suffering for my family, relatives, friends, and my people. I pray for safety, protection, good health, strength and courage, healing and forgiveness, compassion and kindness, wisdom, and love. We all need and deserve these prayers and blessings daily. Many of you know that ALS is a neurological disease which impacts decline in muscle strength and deterioration, shallow breathing  due to diaphragm weakness, loss of swallowing and speech, mobility, etc. In reflection, after I watched the TV series, I thought about the historical trauma and the impact it had on our people through many  generations. I could tell my own story about going to boarding school and experiences I encountered on my reservation, but I can tell that another time. The point I want to make here is the transformation of my prayer life. Since I lost my ability to talk and sing, I think about the voice of my people that needs to be heard in regards to who they are, where they came from, what happened to them, and how they got where they are today. Their stories need to be told and we ALL need to listen, especially the call for justice for our missing and murdered indigenous people; not to mention the healing and closure for families and communities impacted. . . Imagine not having a voice because it was taken from you by the oppressors and forced to remain silent!

Those are my thoughts for now, stay tuned for another post coming soon.

Blessings and respect to all!

Dave