#nuxalk

Bella Coola Raven Mask Red Cedar Wood, Acrylic Paint 10" x 34" x 8" (mask only) 25" x 35" x 9.5" (mask and stand)

I'm Black Native and Afro-Indigenous; my gender identity is nonbinary and genderfluid, and in context with me discovering and reclaiming gender identities and gender expression descriptors from my Native/Indigenous culture and especially from specific Indigenous groups in my blood, I'm nadleehi (Navajo/Diné), asegi udanto (Tsalagi), sxints (Nuxalk), atsione (Tsalagi) and dilbaa (Navajo/Diné again). (I also have extensive heritage from Algonquin, Lakota, Blackfoot, Métis, Iroquois, Seminole, Nêhiyaw, Mi'kmaw, etc. and many, many, many, many other tribes.)

Then on top of that, I found out I was born intersex which I found out later in life, which along with me learning the history of how Native Americans have often held intersex folks, androgynous folks, feminine males and masculine females in high respect has been a very healing and enlightening part of my journey, culturally and expression wise.

In fact, I've been thinking about how American western culture fixates on sex and gender way too much and mainly in context of forcing colonialist eurowestern gender boxes on folks, especially black and indigenous folks, forcing labels or labelessness on us too often. And as an Afro-indigenous woman/femme, I've already been in the process of deprogramming from colonialist gender norms and reconnecting with my blackness and my Native/Indigenous American and Indigenous/Aboriginal roots, and at times my gender expression and identity intersects with that. Lily Gladstone (who uses she and singular they pronouns) worded it perfectly as decolonizing gender and that's the journey I've been on, and a journey that I'm still on as it's ever evolving and increasingly more nuanced and complex.

Anyways, I just wanna say that I love you guys, I see you and I wanna send out as much love, light and warmth to many of you as possible. 💕💕

Vancouver Island, Canada, Nuxalk peoples, 1880

The Anthropological Masterlist is HERE.

The First Nations people are Indigenous Canadians that are neither Inuit nor Métis. 

ABENAKI ─ “The Abenaki people are an Indigenous First Nations and North American people. They are native to Quebec and the northeast United States.” ─ Abenaki Culture ─ Abenaki Language ─ Abenaki Dictionary

COWICHAN ─ “The Cowichan people are an Indigenous First Nations people. They are native to the Cowichan valley on Vancouver Island.” ─ Cowichan Information ─ Quamichan Information

CREE ─ “The Cree people are an Indigenous First Nations people. They are native to the west of Lake Superior.” ─ Cree Information ─ Cree Culture ─ Cree Language

IROQUOIS ─ “The Iroquois, or the Haudenosaunee, people are an Indigenous First Nations confederacy of people. They are native to northeastern North America.” ─ Iroquois Religion and Mythology

HAIDA ─ “The Haida people are an Indigenous First Nations people. They are native to the Haida Gwaii off the coast of British Columbia.” ─ Haida Culture ─ Haida Language ─ Haida Dictionary

MI’KMAQ ─ “The Mi’kmaq people are a First Nations people. They are native to the Northeastern Woodlands.” ─ Mi’kmaq Culture ─ Mi’kmaq History ─ Mi’kmaq Language

NOOTKA ─ “The Nuu-chah-nulth, or Nootka, people are an Indigenous First Nations people. They are native to the Pacific Northwest coast of Canada.” ─ Nootka Language ─ Nootka Language Font ─ Nootka Dictionary

NUXALK ─ “The Nuxalk, or Bellacoola, people are an Indigenous First Nations people. They are native to Bella Coola in British Columbia.” ─ Nuxalk Information ─ Nuxalk Language ─ Nuxalk Phonetics

OJIBWE ─ “The Ojibwe, or Saulteaux, people are an Indigenous First Nations people. They are native to southern Canada and parts of the Midwest United States.” ─ Ojibwe Information ─ Ojibwe Dictionary ─ Ojibwe Dictionary

SECWEPEMC ─ “The Secwépemc, or Shuswap, people are an Indigenous First Nations people. They are native to the Shuswap Country in British Columbia, Canada.” ─ Shuswap Information ─ Shuswap Language

SYILX ─ “The Syilx, or Okanagan, people are an Indigenous First Nations and North American people. They are native to Washington state and British Columbia, Canada.” ─ Okanagan Legend of the Bear Woman ─ Okanagan Legend of the Dirty Boy ─ Okanagan Language