Things I keep thinking about.
This story came from the Google Drive of the Nimkii Aazhibikong Collective The old people will tell you that giizhik and giizhig—the cedar tree and the sky—carry the same sound on the tongue for a reason. There was a time when the trees didn’t stop at the canopy. They stretched clean up into the blue, […]
A Story About the Young People Who Were Always Told to Wait A long time ago, in a small Anishinaabe community beside the water, the people gathered around a great fire whenever important decisions needed to be made. It was not an ordinary fire. This was the fire where the community came together to speak […]
I’ve had my character attacked, my heritage questioned, my writing mocked, and yes, it fucking hurts. I cry. I’m human. But then I remember the message given to me: “I didn’t build you like the others. You have work to do.” And here I was thinking Creator was talking about my big stature, my nonverbals […]
Understanding the difference between governance and administration, and why it matters more than most people realize. Most people don’t wake up in the morning thinking about governance. They’re thinking about getting their kids to school, paying bills, going to work, or figuring out how they’re going to stretch their money until the next payday. And […]
Pull up a chair. Coffee’s probably on, and if it isn’t, give me a minute. I’ve always believed some of the best conversations happen around a kitchen table. Not in boardrooms, not at conferences, and certainly not in meetings where somebody spends forty-five minutes explaining something that could’ve been said in five. At the kitchen […]
A reflection on the gap between what a policy promises and what people experience. The paperwork can be complete. The person can still be stuck. A policy can have all the right headings, a clear approval process, and a place for every signature. That doesn’t tell us whether it helps the person who needs it. […]
