MY MOTHER IS 1/4 PIIKANI

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Because many of us find ourselves in this position I share this email with you!

My mother is 1/4 piikani, and so I don't look the part so to speak, but I feel a connection to this world. To the old ways. Days when your people were thankful to our mother, and brothers upon her. It is ironic that I share more blood with the invaders of this continent than its people, for I would have stood beside my darker brothers to defend your home that has been taken.

It means nothing in these great many days after the event, but I am sorry for what my people have done in the past, and as the days progress, I am still the same person but I feel a greater conection to my lost heritage than I did before. I feel a brotherhood to the people of 1/8 of my blood more than all the white man's.

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Oki Brother
(This reply from Summer Fawn - my partner)


It matters not one iota whether you look the part or not, or what Native American blood quantum you have! There are plenty of “red apples” out there – people, who are red on the outside, but white on the inside … What matters is being a true Human Being. True Human Beings have red hearts.

You obviously feel that there is a rift between what you perceive to be the two opposing sides in you. And indeed, the genocide on millions of First People committed by a people who was so spiritually lost as to consider themselves superior to everyone and everything else was an abomination and a foul stain on the birth of this country. The atrocities cannot be undone, but they might be healed, and you can be a part of that healing of the past. Not with weapon in hand, but by remembering that which was dismembered.


So, if you feel an affinity with your heritage on your Mother’s side of the family, there is a very good reason why Spirit is guiding you in this direction. There are several books that will help you get started on your journey of rediscovery. A few examples are Ni-Kso-Ko-Wa, Blackfoot Spirituality, Traditions, Values and Beliefs by Long Standing Bear Chief, To Become a Human Being: The Message of Tadodaho Chief Leon Shenandoah by Steve Wall, The Ways of My Grandmothers by Beverly Hungry Wolf, The Sun Came Down: The History of the World as My Blackfeet Elders Told It by Percy Bullchild, The Blackfeet by Theresa Jensen Lacey (all can be found at amazon.com). And of course there is the Blackfeet Nation website http://www.blackfeetnation.com/ .


Please note that I am not saying that you should turn your back on the other side of your heritage. Before they lost their way, those ancestors too lived in tribal communities that knew and honored the sacred connection between all things. So if you decide to undertake this journey, you will actually be honoring both sides of your heritage.


Many Blessings and Happy Journey

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