NATIVE AMERICAN BLOOD

Keep asking.

Keep listening.

Minnie Hollow Wood (c. 1856 – 1930s) was a Lakota woman who earned the right to wear a war bonnet because of her valor in combat against the U.S. Cavalry at the Battle of Little Big Horn ...   At one time, she was the only woman in her tribe entitled to wear a war bonnet ... I put this together for posts...

HEADDRESSES IN NATIVE CULTURES

For the most part, headdresses are restricted items ...

In particular, the headdress worn by most non-natives imitate those worn by various Plains nations. These headdresses are further restricted within the cultures to men who have done certain things to earn them. It is very rare for women in Plains cultures to wear these headdresses, and their ability to do so is again quite restricted ... So unless you are a native male from a Plains nation who has earned a headdress, or you have been given permission to wear one (sort of like being presented with an honorary degree), then you will have a very difficult time making a case for how wearing one is anything other than disrespectful, now that you know these things. If you choose to be disrespectful, please do not be surprised when people are offended... regardless of why you think you are entitled to do this... Even if you have 'native friends' or are part native yourself, individual choices to "not be offended" do not trump our collective rights as peoples to define our symbols... A'ho ❤️

A'ho ... ✨

A'ho ... ✨

Gerónimo (Mescalero-Chiricahua: Goyaałé, lit. 'the one who yawns', [kòjàːɬɛ́]; June 16, 1829 – February 17, 1909) was a military leader and medicine man from the Bedonkohe band of the Ndendahe Apache people. From 1850 to 1886, Geronimo joined with members of three other Central Apache bands – the Tchihende, the Tsokanende (called Chiricahua by Americans) and the Nednhi – to carry out numerous raids, as well as fight against Mexican and U.S. military campaigns in the northern Mexico states of Chihuahua and Sonora and in the southwestern American territories of New Mexico and Arizona.

B-06-16-1829

Chief Nana, of the Warm Springs Apache, considered General George Crook a "good enemy" because he was a worthy opponent ...

The Dance of Spirit and Song ...

Beneath the moon’s soft, glowing light, A woman stands, bathed in the night ... Her heart beats with the rhythm of earth, A sacred dance, a rebirth ... The hummingbird flutters, its wings so free, Whispering secrets of eternity ... In her hand, the flower blooms, A symbol of life that fills the room ... Her spirit entwined with ancient lore, The faces of ancestors, forevermore ... Carved into her robe, they silently speak, Of wisdom and love that we seek ... The feathers in her hair gently sway, As she listens to the spirits who pray ...

Her eyes closed, feeling the breath of the wind,

A deep connection, where spirits begin ... The birds that soar and the flowers that bloom, Guide her journey through the mystic’s loom ... Her soul, like the night, vast and untamed, In unity with the earth, forever named ... A'ho