#ogala

Standing Bear - Ogalala [portrait of a chief] (The North American Indian, v. III. Cambridge, MA: The University Press, 1908)

Medicine Cloud (Mahpiya Wakan), Oglala Lakota, by Frank A. Rinehart, at Pine Ridge, S.D., 1899

The buffalo came to make sure we were traveling in a good way 📸: @MyBrother

The keepers of the mountain welcomed me to the Black Hills ⛅️🌲

Broken Arm, Oglala Sioux, holding bow and arrow - Heyn Photo - 1899

this is just my opinion as someone who isn't latin or based in south america so take my advice with a grain of salt. i really would encourage you to be as sure about this connection as possible before trying to reconnect. it would be inappropriate for you, possibly disrespectful to try and connect to a culture you're not even sure you're from. i really would try and find family that may be able to give you more concrete answers because ancestry tests are not accurate when it comes to regions or percentages.

Happy Indigenous People’s Day. I’ve never done much to commemorate this holiday. That can change. This year, while reading up on the creation stories and afterlives of multiple belief systems, my co-worker introduced me to the “Black Elk Speaks”. It’s a collection of dictations by the Ogala Lakota religious elder, Nicholas Black Elk, recorded by John Neihardt. . I’m posting the section with which I’m most familiar: The recitation of the Great Vision of the cosmology of the universe. On the small scale, it contains cultural associations and symbolism unfamiliar to me I was not familiar: Red, as “…the color of good and of plenty…” (124), the significance of cardinal directions. I lost track of who transforms into what. It’s also elegiac. The books was published in 1932, but the two sections in the PDF come from two moments in his life. Age four, when he describes wasichus (in this case, “white colonists”, but the term has broader meaning) making treaties with the Ogala chief, Red Cloud, to guarantee the land as theirs. The next section, at age nine, he describes wasichus setting down railroads that “…had cut the bison herd in two, but those that stayed in our country with us were more than could be counted, and we wandered without trouble in our land.” . Just now, I started looking more up on Black Elk, Neihardt, and the book and discovered that Black Elk is actually up for canonization by the Catholic Church. I’m unfamiliar with this part of his life and would like to know more. I hope that this reading inspires you to learn more, as well! . If anyone notices any unfortunate phrasing or complete ignorance on my part, please let me know so that I can correct it! . #indigenouspeoplesday #ogala #lakota #nicholasblackelk https://www.instagram.com/p/CU5URpYLKtB/?utm_medium=tumblr

I will never forget this time. I was living in Michigan and my lifelong bestie came to visit to celebrate our birthdays. We took a road trip to Chicago and we're listening to CDs and laughing. We pulled over to get gas and the cashier was crying and praying with his rosary around his hands. He told us to come see. We went behind the counter to look at his tiny tv and saw the plane hit the Twin Towers. We all held each other and cried. Rodney was calling asking where we were and if we were closer to home or Chicago. We were 20 minutes from Chicago, where his brother lived. We got to Michael's in record time because the streets were vacant. The had the CBD locked down tight. We got the whole ugly story then. We decided to head back to Novi so we could figure out the best steps forward. Monique lived in Vegas and we had to get her home in case this was the end. No planes. No trains. No way home. So Rodney got his maps out and planned our steps. We drove Monique to Colorado where we got a rental she could drive home in. We had 30minute check ins the whole way until she was on her door step. It was terrifying the whole time. In the days following we found out who we lost, who was missing, and the details of what happened. Every middle eastern business around us was in peril. Some were vandalized, some closed in fear, and some put overt USA decor to show they were the same Americans they were the week before. Of all lives lost the four I knew hit hardest. But, ironically I'll never forget every small town gas station, quickie mart, or mom and pop spot that sheltered us and took care of us on that journey to see Monique safely home, and us returned. It was the most incredible experience of support and care at the hands of strangers up to that point. I knew America was love at that time. Its why I fight so hard now.💓🇺🇸 I know we are better than Jan 6th. I know we are best together. #911 #bettertogether #unity #illneverforget #ogala #pennyjunct #waterloo #springfield #fortcollins #tempe #novi #vegas #proudtobeamerican https://www.instagram.com/p/CTrAEoiBAaZ/?utm_medium=tumblr