Hey Boy

This is a picture of you, can you see it? Fell asleep in the Sun, on a Sunday and dreamed it... There was not any difference between me and the cloud. Between being ashamed or afraid or too proud. Everything I was made of, was everything else. Woke up and I realized ; no such thing as self.

[neomexicanismos]

Mictlantecuhtli, señor del inframundo 💀

Dear non-natives

The Plains warbonnet is not a Cherokee thing. It is not a Navajo thing. It is not an Indian thing. It is a Plains thing.

Stop calling every silly thing you draw that even vaguely resembles a native “Cherokee” or “Navajo” or “Aztec.”

Stop drawing the warbonnet everywhere as the apparently definitive native thing. It isn’t part of all of our 600+ cultures.

Same goes for the tipi, not part of every one of the 600+ indigenous cultures.

Stop thinking that if a native person doesn’t have dark, “mahogany” skin, that their heritage is invalid. Even without admixture, we actually do have varying skin tones.

Stop wearing crappy fake warbonnets.

Stop wearing redface.

Stop using us as your silly mascots. We are people.

Stop saying “spirit animal.” It’s derived from a New Age bastardization of a something that actually exists in some of our cultures.

Don’t smudge. Cleanse all you like, that’s fine, but don’t smudge.

Don’t call us “Indians.” “Native American” isn’t great either, it is not our name, but it’s slightly better than “Indian.” “Indigenous” is also fine.

Don’t use NDN/ndn. That is ours.

Step off about our hair. If you meet a long-haired native, admire it if you like, maybe even ask them about it (RESPECTFULLY), but do not touch. The same applies for someone with short hair, but additionally for those with short hair, don’t say things like “oh you’d look more native/Indian/etc if your hair was long.” We didn’t all traditionally have long, flowing hair. Believe it or not, there are actually different haircuts existing in our various cultures, and aside from that ultimately it’s a personal choice, one does not need to have long hair if they don’t want to. Doesn’t make them any less native to have short hair.

Don’t pray to our spirits/gods/energies. Native spiritualities are closed, they are not for outsiders.

Don’t say “The Native Americans believed…” Firstly, the past tense is silly, we still exist and do things. Secondly, we are NOT A MONOLITH. As I mentioned before, there are upwards of 600 different Native American cultures.

Don’t ask about someone’s “Indian name.” That’s not only insensitive, the name you are referring to in that instance is something sacred, and might not be something that person wants to share with you.

Don’t call yourself silly crap like “howling wolf” or “flying eagle.” That’s also racist and insensitive.

Regardless of whatever you might think you’re doing, or what your intentions may be, if a native person tells you that what you’re doing is disrespectful, STOP DOING IT.

You aren’t honoring us. You’re just mocking us further, demonstrating your continued ability to treat us like shit and get away with it even now, centuries after our colonization began. Your feelings are not more important than our history and survival.

To those doing your best as allies, thank you, keep doing what you do. HOWEVER, don’t let opportunities to educate others escape you. By letting them continue to be ignorant, you are failing. Spread the message.

There will be no “please.” It’s been more than 500 years, and we still are made to be invisible in our homelands. Still we are treated like less. Some even think we all died long ago.

We are still here

We will still be here

Treat us with respect.

[magicusersresource]

Appropriation of Native cultures runs rampant in the pagan/witchcraft community. Remember, it’s just like kindergarten. Be kind, be respectful, and ask before touching something that does not belong to you. -Bri

[meridok]

Also @ pagans if you’re real set on not calling it cleansing or smoke cleansing, recaning is a perfectly valid Germanic term.

[thepiscesactor-deactivated20121]

Just an experiment. Reblog if you actually give a fuck about male victims of domestic violence and rape.

[historical-nonfiction]

[evilcatpoops]

A Tribe Called Red - MoombahWow

[aztec-religion]

We-wha of Zuni By Br. Robert Lentz, OFM

When Europeans arrived in North America they were shocked that native peoples often interpreted gender differently from them. Not only were many cultures matriarchal, a great many tribes accepted three genders instead of only two.

Zuni Pueblo, in western New Mexico, honored three genders before the coming of protestant missionaries. Men who chose not to become hunters and warriors became lhamanas, members of the alternative gender that bridged the other two. While they were initiated into male religious societies, they became crafts specialists and wore female garb. They were nonwarriors who moved freely in the male and female worlds.

We-wha was a Zuni lhamana who helped bridge his culture and that of Anglo-Americans. He was one of the first Zunis to experiment with new economic activities, something essential in the changing world of his day. He was a cultural ambassador for Zuni, traveling to Washington, D.C., where no one guessed he was not a woman in the many months he mixed with “high society” there. He assisted Anglo scholars who came to record the ways of his people, but he also resisted Anglo incursions when they seemed improper – once even ending up in jail.

He was a deeply spiritual person. In this icon he is shown garbed as the man-woman kachina, Kolhamana, a role he filled during his life. His hands and face are painted ceremonially and he is ready to place the sacred mask upon his face. He was well loved throughout his life and his death brought grief to Zuni. The rainbow spirit above his head in the icon emphasizes that he is now one of the holy ones who return to his people with blessings. His photograph hangs in the tribal museum today, and gay Native Americans throughout North America remember him as a spiritual hero and guide.

https://fineartamerica.com/featured/we-wha-of-zuni-rlwwz-br-robert-lentz-ofm.html

[indigenous-maya]

Suicide Epidemic Among Native Tribe

The Guarani-Kaiowá, one of the largest tribes in Brazil, suffers from one of the highest rates of suicide in the world. From 1986-1997, there were 244 deaths due to suicide among the Guarani-Kaiowá and the number has only tripled in the last decade. From 2000-2013, there were 684 suicide cases. On average, every 6 days a Guarani person commits suicide. The majority of victims are youth between 15 and 30 years old. Brazil’s overall indigenous people are taking their lives at a rate 22 times that of non-indigenous in the country.

The suicides among the tribe began among the first generation to grow up on reservations. For decades, most of the Guarani managed to stay away from the reserves and kept to the forests. But by the 1970s, the last swaths of forest were being cut down and the government drove the Guarani off their land and into small reserves. For example, the Dourados reserve, roughly 13 square miles houses approximately 16,000 Indians. The relocation was, by all accounts, a catastrophe because they were people used to ranging over large distances, suddenly denied access to their traditional means of supporting themselves.

Suicide has been one of the tribes biggest killers in the past 10 years, with children as young as 9 taking their own life. “WE HAVE NO SPACE” says Guarani leader. They have lost most of their land to cattle ranchers and sugar-cane plantations and their leaders are regularly attacked and assassinated so because of that, the tribe is forced to live in dangerous squalid conditions by the roadside or in overcrowded reserves where alcoholism, poor health, violence, depression and suicide are rife.

One Guarani man said “There’s no future, there’s no respect, there are no jobs and there is no land where we can plant and live. They choose to die because actually, they are already dead inside”. Native people’s relationship with their ancestral land is spiritual, it’s steeped in tradition and key to their identity - without it they lose a vital part of who they are and feel broken.

“Many children are suffering” said a Guarani health agent. “I want the children to be as they were before, when all was OK”. Before was when the Guarani hunted freely on their homelands and planted manioc and corn in their gardens. It was before their lands were stolen from them, when they were in control of their lives and free.

[oaluz]

Exercise: Exploring New Ways of Being in Relationships

Let’s create a profile of emotional maturity that you can work towards. The following lists present a picture of how an emotionally mature person might interact and behave in relationships. Read through the following lists of new behaviours, beliefs and values and choose a few to practice. Just pick one or two at a time, and be gentle with yourself as you work on them. Some might be harder than others.

Being Willing to Ask for Help:

I’ll ask for help whenever I need to.

I’ll remind myself that if I need something, most people will be glad to help if they can.

I’ll use clear, intimate communication to ask for what I want, explaining my feelings and the reasons for my request.

I’ll trust that most people will listen if I ask them to.

Being Myself, Whether People Accept Me or Not:

When I state my thoughts clearly and politely, without malice, I won’t try to control how people take it.

I won’t give more energy than I really have.

Instead of trying to please, I’ll give other people a true indication of how I feel.

I won’t volunteer for something if I think I’ll resent it later.

If someone says something I find offensive, I’ll offer an alternative viewpoint. I won’t try to change the other person’s mind; I just won’t let the statement go unremarked upon.

Sustaining and Appreciating Emotional Connections:

I’ll make a point of keeping in touch with special people I care about and returning their calls or emotional messages.

I’ll think of myself as a strong person who deserves to give and receive help from my community of friends.

Even when people aren’t saying the “right” thing, I’ll tune in to whether they’re trying to help me. If their effort makes me feel emotionally nurtured, I’ll express my gratitude.

When I’m irritated with someone, I’ll think about what I want to say that could improve our relationship. I’ll wait until I cool off and then ask if the other person is willing to listen to my feelings.

Having Reasonable Expectations for Myself:

I’ll keep in mind that being perfect isn’t always necessary. I’ll get stuff done rather than obsess over getting things done perfectly.

When I get tired, I’ll rest or do something different. My level of physical energy will tell me when I’ve been doing too much. I won’t wait for an accident or illness to make me stop.

When I make a mistake, I’ll chalk it up to being human. Even if I think I’ve anticipated everything, there will be outcomes I don’t expect.

I’ll remember that everyone is responsible for their own feelings and for expressing their needs clearly. Beyond common courtesy, it isn’t up to me to guess what others want.

Communicating Clearly and Actively Seeking the Outcomes I Want:

I won’t expect people to know what I need unless I tell them. Caring about me doesn’t mean they automatically know what I’m feeling.

If people close to me upset me, I’ll use my pain to identify my underlying need. Then I’ll use clear, intimate communication to provide guidance on how they could give it to me.

When my feelings are hurt, I’ll try to understand my reaction first. Did something trigger feelings from my past, or did the person really treat me insensitively? If someone was insensitive, I’ll ask him or her to hear me out.

I’ll be thoughtful to other people, and if they aren’t thoughtful in return, I’ll ask them to be more considerate and then let it go.

I’ll ask for something as many times as it takes to get a clear answer.

When I get tired of interacting, I’ll politely speak up, asking if we can continue our contact at another time. I’ll explain kindly that I’m just out of gas at the moment.

(From Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents by Lindsay C. Gibson)

[thecuriousviolet-deactivated201]

Fun fact

Native Americans weren’t allowed US citizenship until 1924.

Let that sink in. We lived here first…for thousands of years. And less than a hundred years ago we were finally given citizenship.

[istamaza-deactivated20200505]

We also fought in WWI despite not being US citizens.

[the-yaadihla-girls]

In Arizona, natives weren’t granted the right to vote until 1948. Think how that type of neglect ties into resource colonization as infrastructure was developed within years prior. 

[giizhigaate-deactivated20160220]

In addition: the indigenous peoples of Canada were not recognized as Human Beings until the year 1960. Now let that shit sink in.

[fatbodypolitics]

In the US it wasn’t until 1968 that the Indian Civil Rights Act was passed and allowed for the right to freedom of speech / assembly / press, a jury trial, the right to an attorney etc. It’s so fucking frustrating.

[xpeachsweettea]

and it wasn’t until 1978 that we were legally allowed to practice our own religions. in a nation founded on religious freedoms, it was illegal to practice our own religions. in our own country. how fucked up is that?

[halfhardtorock]

Aaaand Native Americans weren’t entitled to their own languages (had no legal rights to teach them in their schools, use them in business) until the Native American Language Act of 1990.

[jeankd]

I teach this to my students, because NONE of it is in a single textbook. This is and act of indoctrination

[smallrevolutionary]

Boosting because I didn’t know any of this.

[travelerofthetimestreams]

These facts should be known by all.

[indirispeaks]

Didn’t know half of this.

[camiile17]

昨日の私とはうって変わって

恋をした私の顔は

とても可愛らしい少女だった

[thinkmexican]

Friends and Family of Agnes Torres Keep Her Memory Alive, Continue to Demand Justice

Editor’s note: Our post on Agnes Torres’ murder received thousands of new notes recently, with many appearing to believe it was a recent story. It’s not. She was killed more than a year ago on March 9, 2012. We’re taking the interest in her story as an opportunity to provide new details on Agnes, and an update on her case.

Agnes Torres was a counselor, human rights activist and respected leader in Mexico’s LGBT community. On March 9, 2012, she was lured to a party by a young man she was reportedly dating. Hours later her dead body was discovered in a gully off a highway near Atlixco, Puebla. It bore signs of torture.

Agnes was buried by family and friends on March 14, 2012, in San Lorenzo Teotipilco, Puebla. She was 28 years old.

Her car was found torched, and many believed it was part of a cover up by the group of men involved in her murder. State prosecutors, in fact, first claimed Agnes’ death was result of a botched robbery.

More than a year after Agnes’ death, justice has yet to be served. Days after her murder, prosecutors presented three suspects, one of which was a minor, and another had fled the state. Currently, Marco Antonio Berra Spezzia, Agustín Flores Zenchnelli and Luis Fernando Guerra Mazzoco are housed in San Miguel prison in Puebla. A fourth suspect, the minor, is being housed at a youth facility. Jorge Flores Zechnelli, reported to be Agnes’ boyfriend at the time of her death is still a fugitive of the law and has yet to be arrested for his role in her murder.

The accused murderers have all lost appeals to be released and will likely remain incarcerated until they are tried and sentenced.

In October, a series of photographs titled “Tribute to Agnes” (including some seen in the image above) won first place in a nation-wide photography competition.

In early November of this year, thousands marched in Puebla City in support of Ley Agnes, or Agnes’ Law, which would allow transgender men and women to legally change the name and gender on their birth certificate. The law has not been passed in Puebla, but there is strong support from legislators and the LGBT community.

Benicia Hernández, Agnes’ mother, continues to demand justice, as do many of her friends and former colleagues. Her work counseling LGBT youth, educating on sexual health and advocating for trans rights left an indelible impression on thousands, including many who never met her.

Let us continue keeping Agnes’ memory alive until justice has been served, and until trans women are no longer murdered with impunity!

Video: La Discriminación Empieza por la Boca

Stay Connected: Twitter | Facebook

[thinkmexican]

[thinkmexican]

From Tonantzin to Virgen de Guadalupe: How Myths Are Created to Erase Memory

The tradition of bringing offerings to Tepeyacac, today known as Tepeyac, predates the Spanish by at least a thousand years.

Originally, it honored the winter solstice. Soon after the invasion of Mexico, Franciscan monks established a church on Tepeyac where once stood a temple honoring Mother Earth.

Tonantzin, which is often translated as “Mother Earth,” is Nahuatl for “Our Revered Mother,” a title used in much the same way ‘Nuestra Señora’ is used today.

On December 9, 1591, a Nahuatl-speaking man by the name of Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin is said by Catholic lore to have received an apparition from a woman who told him to tell the Friar to build a teocalli, a temple, in her honor on the hill. Soon after, a Catholic church was built there.

Experts and historians have long challenged this account, many seeing it as a myth created by the Catholic Church to covert Mexico’s Indigenous Peoples.

Religious scholars refer to the act of replacing spiritual sites and combining symbols and images as a means of religious conversion as syncretism.

For millions of Mexicans, La Virgen de Guadalupe remains a central figure in their culture and traditions.

Image Credit: Idalia Robles De León

Stay Connected: Twitter | Facebook

[assassin-jester-deactivated2016]

[wonderful-language-sounds]

Here are some resources if you ever wanted to learn about the language of the Aztecs, as well as the language most spoken in Mexico after Spanish.  Hice esta colección de recursos del idioma náhuatl. Esto es para los que tienen interés en aprender el idioma y también para los que quieren conectarse con sus raíces.

Overview

http://www.omniglot.com/writing/nahuatl.htm

https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Nahuatl

Nahuatl Culture

Resources In English:

Grammar & Lessons

Basic Grammar

Foundation Course in Nahuatl with PDF

Grammar, Overview, and Lessons

Inadequate Nahuatl Lessons

Inadequate Nahuatl Reference Grammar

Pronouncing Classical Nahuatl

Wikibooks Classical Nahuatl

Dictionaries

A Nahuatl-English Dictionary 

Basic Dictionary

Downloadable Dictionary

Glossary of Some Words

Nahuatl Dictionary

Books

Basic Dictionary

Compendium of Grammar

Foundational Course in Nahuatl

Grammar of Tetelcingo Nahuatl

Introduction to Classical Nahuatl

Milpa Alta Dialect

Nahuatl Grammar

Nahuatl as Written

North Puebla Nahuatl

Studies in Grammar

Vocab, Apps, and Video

Classical Nahuatl Memrise Course

Intro to Nahuatl Youtube Lessons

Nahuatl Memrise Course

Podcast (1 Lesson only)

Videos of People Speaking

Recursos en español

Gramática y lecciones

Lecciones

Curso de náhuatl

Aprende náhuatl

Lecciones en Reddit

Libros

Curso Para Adultos

Curso de Grammatica Nahuatl

Gramatica Náhuatl

Diccionario náhuatl

Náhuatl

Náhuatl práctico

Diccionarios

Nahuatl-Spanish 

Diccionario

Videos

Curso de náhuatl

Diferentes lecciones

Canciones y poemas

Aplicación

App de iPhone del vocabulario náhuatl

[comoespinademaguey]

[cyborgsandmermaids]

Foods We Gave to Europe (AKA Foods the Colonizers Stole from our Ancestors)

Maize (from Taino, mahiz)

Tomato (from Nahuatl, tomatl) 

Papaya (from Carib, pawpaw)

Potatoes (from Taino, batata; from Quechua, papa)

Squashes (from Narraganset, askutasquash) 

Tobacco (from Taino, tobaco) 

Vanilla (from Latin, vaina)

Chilli Peppers (from Nahuatl, chilli)

Pineapple/Ananas (from Guarani, nana nana) 

Avocado (from Nahuatl, ahuacatl) 

Peanuts/Cacahuate (from Nahuatl, tlalcacahuatl)

Pecans (from Ojibwe, pakan/bagaan)

Chocolate (from Nahuatl, xocolatl/chocolatl)

[nativefaces]

“A lot of Spanish speaking indigenous people of Mexico always tend to say to me, "I see you writing & speaking Nahuatl. I wish I spoke, Nahuatl, too!” But what they don’t know is that MOST of us, more so us that were raised in pueblos, ejidos, little villages, we already speak Nahuatl, at least a large list of words we use daily are actually Nahuatl words.  What happened is that when the Spaniards forced our ancestors to speak Spanish (or Castellano/Castilian), and prohibited us from speaking Zapotec, Mixtli, Nahuatl, Maya, etc., our people had no choice, as captives, but to speak Spanish, but in secret they still spoke their indigenous tongue among each other. Our ancestors believed that it was very important to speak our tongue (regardless what tongue it is, as long as it’s indigenous to you) and that is why they continued speaking it, even if with time it watered down some, the fact remains that our ancestors passed it on. A lot of us that were born, and raised in, or by parents raised in villages, pueblitos, ejidos, we are speaking Nahuatl meanwhile we speak Spanish.  Don’t believe me? I’m going to write down a few words for you in Nahuatl, and you’ll be shocked as to how you thought you were speaking Spanish, but in reality you were speaking Nahuatl: Spanish/Nahuatl: Aguacate - Ahuacatl Camote - Camotli Chayote - Chayotli Chapopote - Chapopotli Chipotli - Xipotli Coyote - Coyotl Atole - Atolli Cacahuate - Tlacucahuatl  Elote -Elotl Huarache - Kwarachi Jicama - Xicamatl Mescal - Mexcalli Guajolote - Wuehxolotl Comal - Comalli Chiquito - Tzitz Quit (pronounced Chiqui) Mecate - Mecatl Popote - Popotl Pozole - Potzolli Papalote - Papalotl Mole - Molli Milpa - Milpa Mezquite - Mizquitl Jitomate - Xictomatl Chocolate - Xocolatl These are just a few that we use on a daily basis, but most of what we say is really Nahuatl, at times Zapotec, Mixtli, and other Native tongues, and that’s why when you go to Spain, or even attend a school in Mexico, you might even fail a Spanish class because, We speak Nahuatl mixed with some Spanish, and we owe all thanks to our ancestors that were so dedicated in passing down our tongue.  I hope that empowered you, and gave you pride as well!“ - credit to (Ricardo Ignacio)