First Nations Freaks

May Monthly Post

Sat, 02 May 2026 03:48:23 GMT

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

This is the May community post for first_nations_freaks. What powwows or other events have you attended? Which traditional crafts or recipes have you practiced? What tribal news have you heard? What were your other cultural activities during April? What plans do you have for May?

April anchor posts include:

~hair~, drugs, and jorbs.

Buffalo

Wildlife

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Wildlife

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 17:32:54 GMT

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

Waya, Saving Our Red Grandfather by Cherokee Nation and Cherokee Film

The Cherokee Nation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service present “ᏩᏯ Waya, Saving Our Red Grandfather,” a documentary exploring the historical and cultural significance of the Red Wolf and the efforts made by conservationists, governments and other partners to save the world’s most endangered wolf from extinction.

The documentary was produced for the purpose of raising awareness of the plight of Red Wolves while highlighting the animal’s cultural significance to Cherokee people who regarded the Red Wolf as a relative.

The 30-minute film, which explores the differing world views that contributed to the animals’ decline, was created through a partnership with Cherokee Nation’s Natural Resources Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Cherokee Film Productions.

I'm really pleased to see a tribal-focused film, as well as the wildlife restoration efforts. Think about what species live or lived in your current or historic area. What stories does your tribe tell about them? If there are missing relatives, what could you do about that?

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Buffalo

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 01:26:23 GMT

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

Colorado Released Thousands of Prairie Dogs In A Chemical Wasteland

Prairie dogs were released into one of America's most toxic sites — a former chemical weapons factory that manufactured mustard gas and nerve agents for decades. The soil was dead, the water poisoned, and the cleanup cost $2.1 billion just to contain the damage. But those rodents didn't just stabilize the dirt — they triggered a cascade that rebuilt an entire food web from scratch, culminating in the return of North America's rarest mammal to ground that once produced weapons of war.

( Read more... )

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~Hair~, DRUGS, and jorbs.

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 05:24:30 GMT

Posted by: gothfvck

Don't let anybody cut your hair, ever. Except someone you trust. Cut it as often as necessary to keep it healthy or if you feel like changing styles, of course.

Hair is sacred.
Hair is powerful.

My great grandfather was taken to a residential school where the christian priests beat him and cut hit hair. They forbid him from speaking nēhiyawēwin.

For many decades men with long hair have been looked down upon in western european / neo american society. It is considered dirty. Lazy. Only degenerates let their hair grow long, they say. Look at all the successful artists, musicians, and metalheads. Look at all the Indigenous men who have done well by their people. Yet, people are denied jobs. If not denied at the beginning of an interview then when one opposes having one's hair cut for a drug screening. People are denied all sorts of opportunities based upon looks and ill preconceived notions. They are targeted and treated worse because they dare to look different; to be different.

It's conformity. It's erasure of identity; of culture.

It's one thing to choose to cut one's own hair or have another do it. It's something else when an authority demands it for any reason. Stand up for yourself and others. Tell them it is against your religion, race, and culture to cut your hair. Tell them that's discrimination and you have the right not to have it cut but, you're willing to put it up, wear a hair net, or submit other drug tests. So, you are not "refusing" to do anything. You are willing to do other drug tests, just not one that involves losing your hair.

On that last note. It's especially unfair because some people will shave their entire bodies a week before or even a day of. That way, any drugs they may have done will not show in new growth. Meanwhile, a person with long hair might have a decade or more of history.

Throughout all those years, there may have been times before a person was restricted from smoking weed. Let's be real here, that's all they're really testing for. Other stuff might show up but, most of it tends to leave the system quickly and most people don't do too many actual drugs. Most US states and Canada have legalized weed. Many doctors prescribe it. CBD and THC products of all sorts are available on just about every corner in many cities and towns.

It's not going to matter to an employer when, how much, or why somebody used cannabis. That's something that'll be held against the person. So, even if a person had a medical reason to start using at any point in the past, and that person has long hair, it'll show up. Even if it's prescribed, legal, and only used for a short period of time years ago. There is too much competition and not enough real jobs that are actually available. Employers look for any reason to skip or fire people. It doesn't have to be logical. They live in their own twisted reality and there aren't enough lawyers to stand up to them.

It's not just Native Americans that consider our hair to be sacred. Most Indigenous cultures throughout the world do. Many Pagans and sorcerers place value on hair. Hair can be used to cast spells upon a person. Surely dangerous to let it go astray!

Imagine if Muslim folks started such refusals! 4.4mil across the continent.
https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/muslim-population-by-state

This article is a little repetitive but goes into why hair is a part of their religion.
https://shunsalon.com/article/why-do-muslims-grow-beards-and-long-hair

61 page paper. I only read a portion of it so far. Recommended as it is quite comprehensive and covers history and numerous cultures and religions.
https://doi.org/10.1080/09503110.2018.1435390

Here's a good article on First Nations and our hair.
https://www.indianreservation.info/native-american-tribal-hair-traditions-cultural-significance-and-sacred-practices/

Across pagan traditions the beard has been viewed as a natural manifestation of spiritual power. The idea stems from the belief that hair whether on the head or face acts as a physical representation of energy and vitality. Ancient pagans particularly in Norse and Celtic traditions saw beards as a sign of wisdom maturity and divine favor.
https://heathentemple.com/blogs/culture-and-traditions/the-beard-and-paganism

https://witchymagicks.com/using-hair-in-witchcraft/

https://witchsymbols.com/hair-witchcraft-and-spells-with-hair/

Do you have long hair?
Have you ever been discriminated against, made fun of, or given a hard time because of it?
Do you ever cut it symbolically, for use in ritual, or ceremony?
Have you ever used your hair or someone else's for use with magick?

note: I may edit this later for better flow. This is a first draft and I need a break from the PC.

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Lakota LLM

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 06:34:51 GMT

Posted by: beavertech

https://www.chronogram.com/arts/lakota-led-ai-research-at-bard-college-explores-ethics-through-indigenous-knowledge/

“I’m personally invested in any kind of AI research that isn’t a critique of current AI systems but is the development of new ones, so generative research that engages with Indigenous methods and produces new ideas.”
- Suzanne Kite

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Wildlife

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 05:10:48 GMT

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

Buffalo Return: New Herd Report Shows More Than 25,000 Buffalo On Tribal Lands

More than 20 tribal nations welcomed more than 1,500 buffalo back to their lands last year as part of a growing national effort to restore the animals to Indigenous stewardship, according to the InterTribal Buffalo Council.

ITBC coordinated the transfers with support from The Nature Conservancy, the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Denver Mountain Parks, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and The Wilds in Ohio. The work expanded a tribally managed herd network that now includes more than 25,000 buffalo across 22 states.

As a keystone species, buffalo have a tremendous impact on their ecosystems. Restoring them is a great way to improve habitat.

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poem: Find A Way Forward

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 21:15:43 GMT

Posted by: beavertech

Written by ysabetwordsmith

Marching does not feel
natural, just necessary.

Our feet were made for
forest trails, not for streets.

Our hands want to hold beads
instead of holding protest signs.

We want to sing in our language
and not shout chants in theirs.

The tension between past
and present is palpable.

Somehow, we must
find a way forward.

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March Monthly Post

Sun, 01 Mar 2026 06:42:46 GMT

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

This is the March community post for first_nations_freaks. What powwows or other events have you attended? Which traditional crafts or recipes have you practiced? What tribal news have you heard? What were your other cultural activities during February? What plans do you have for March?

February anchor posts include:

watch "not for sale"

read "the mahalat review"

poem: moving in circles

librofm audiobook authors

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LibroFM Audiobook Authors

Sun, 01 Mar 2026 06:25:15 GMT

Posted by: gothfvck

Libro.FM has a so-called playlist of Indigenous authors. I've already picked up a few books! If you're into or open to trying out an audiobook, here's a great place to start. Take a look into the site and support your local book shoppe.

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poem: Moving In Circles

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 06:42:26 GMT

Posted by: beavertech

written by ysabetwordsmith

We are moving together,
moving in circles, walking in
the footsteps of the ancestors:

Catkuta iyaya yo
means go to the back,
the place of honor.

Cokata hiyupo means
come to the center,
by the firepit.

Hamkamya upo means
come follow closely,
watch and do as I do.

In moving, we remember.

Unofficial Lakota Language Guide
https://www.wolakotaproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Unofficial-Lakota-Language-Guide.pdf

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Read "The Mahalat Review"

Wed, 18 Feb 2026 05:47:26 GMT

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

Check out The Mahalat Review.

The Malahat Review, established in 1967, is among Canada’s leading literary journals. Published quarterly, it features contemporary Canadian and international works of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction as well as reviews of recently published Canadian poetry, fiction, and literary nonfiction.

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Watch "Not for Sale"

Mon, 02 Feb 2026 23:38:07 GMT

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

There's a new Greenland Defense Front video, "Not For Sale." :D

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February Monthly Post

Sun, 01 Feb 2026 06:20:10 GMT

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

This is the February community post for first_nations_freaks. What powwows or other events have you attended? Which traditional crafts or recipes have you practiced? What tribal news have you heard? What were your other cultural activities during January? What plans do you have for February?

January anchor posts include:

poem: so many words for wood

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Poem: So Many Words for Wood

Thu, 08 Jan 2026 02:00:32 GMT

Posted by: beavertech

Commissioned poem written by: ysabewordsmith

Can is the prefix for anything made of wood:
can cega the drum, canozake the fork in a tree,
cannakpaa the wood mushroom called tree-ears.

Canoni are wanderers in the woods, Dakota families
who follow cankuna, the little path, and eventually
come out onto the plains under the open sky.

Standing alone, they spot canpaza,
wood-pointing-to-the-sky, a tree.

As they harvest canshasha,
red willow bark, they see a beaver,
capa, swims-stick-in-mouth.

The words in the language are as
trees in a forest: linked, part of a whole.

Unofficial Lakota Language Guide
https://www.wolakotaproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Unofficial-Lakota-Language-Guide.pdf

can (chun).... wood [preffix to anything made of wood]
can cega (chun chay-guh).... drum
cankuna (chun-koo-na).... little path
cannakpaa (chun-nah-k'pah).... mushroom growing on trees : literally "tree-ears"
Canoni (chun-oh-nee).... wanderers in the woods: some Dakota families who
eventually come onto the plain
canozake (chun-oh-zhah-kay).... fork in the tree.
canpaza (chun-pah-zah).... wood pointing to the sky, ancient term for "tree"
canshasha (chun-shaw-shaw).... red willow bark
capa (cha-pah).... beaver: literally "swims-stick-in-mouth".

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December Monthly Post

Mon, 01 Dec 2025 08:02:27 GMT

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

This is the December community post for first_nations_freaks. What powwows or other events have you attended? Which traditional crafts or recipes have you practiced? What tribal news have you heard? What were your other cultural activities during November? What plans do you have for December?

November anchor posts include:

Land

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Land

Tue, 04 Nov 2025 00:09:12 GMT

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

22 Ways To Celebrate Native American Heritage Month

November is Native American Heritage Month, when we all come together to honor and celebrate the culture, traditions, history, and contributions of American Indian and Alaskan Natives.

They left out the Real Rent / Voluntary Land Tax movement, where people of non-indigenous heritage send money to the nearest extant tribe or sometimes a formerly-local tribe that was ousted to live elsewhere. If someone doesn't have that option, they can also chuck it into any current fundraiser to obtain land for a tribe or fight legal battles over land.

Closely related, if someone owns land -- especially big enough for some of it to be wild or nearly so -- they may consider programs to share access with tribal people. Some folks have negotiated deals where the tribe will help manage the territory in return for sharing use of it, which can grant access to much better techniques. Tribal people may wish to approach nearby landowners with a mutually beneficial arrangement for land sharing.

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November Monthly Post

Sat, 01 Nov 2025 08:17:37 GMT

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

This is the November community post for first_nations_freaks. What powwows or other events have you attended? Which traditional crafts or recipes have you practiced? What tribal news have you heard? What were your other cultural activities during October? What plans do you have for November?

October anchor posts include:

ORANGE SHIRT DAY

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY

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Indigenous Peoples Day

Mon, 13 Oct 2025 21:57:55 GMT

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

Today is Indigenous Peoples Day. Here are some ways to celebrate it...

9 Things to Do on Indigenous Peoples Day! -- Cultural Survival

11 ways to observe Indigenous Peoples' Day with children

16 Indigenous Peoples Day Ideas, Games & Activities

( Read more... )

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Orange Shirt Day

Mon, 06 Oct 2025 05:46:28 GMT

Posted by: beavertech

Sept. 30th was (Orange Shirt Day)[https://orangeshirtday.org/].

It's a day where people... wear orange shirts. Not just to be cool and get into pumpkin season. It's to raise awareness for residential school survivers and descendants of. All the kids who were taken or sent to boarding schools and either killed or put through all kinds of abuse.

These things forever change the people and their families. It affects people generations later who have likely been deprived of experiencing everything about one's Native culture. Among other issues.

Is anyone else out there a survivor or know anyone?

Also, many NDN shoppes and organizations are fundraising this time of year.

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September Monthly Post

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 01:30:56 GMT

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

This is the September community post for first_nations_freaks. What powwows or other events have you attended? Which traditional crafts or recipes have you practiced? What tribal news have you heard? What were your other cultural activities during August? What plans do you have for September?

August anchor posts include:

Indigenous People

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Indigenous People

Sat, 30 Aug 2025 01:18:09 GMT

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

Cherokee, Osage, and the Indigenous North American Type Collection

After five years of community-partnered research with First Nations and Inuit communities in Canada and the United States, Typotheque is proud to announce the release of new Cherokee and Osage script fonts. Accompanying these is the Indigenous North American Type Collection, a large set of fonts that support the Indigenous communities in North America and their unique writing systems, in terms of digital access, use, and local typographic needs.

Speak it. Write it. Read it. Live it. Remember it.

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August Monthly Post

Fri, 01 Aug 2025 18:23:48 GMT

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

This is the August community post for first_nations_freaks. What powwows or other events have you attended? Which traditional crafts or recipes have you practiced? What tribal news have you heard? What were your other cultural activities during July? What plans do you have for August?

July anchor posts include:

Green Building

Conservation

WEBINAR: THE DEMISE OF INDIAN TIME

Libraries

BLAZING THE TRAIL: CELEBRATING INDIGENOUS FIRE STEWARDSHIP

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Green Building

Fri, 25 Jul 2025 21:32:02 GMT

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

Indigenous-designed mural doubles as a giant solar power generator, reducing 150 tons of CO2 emissions annually

What if public art could also power an entire residential building?

The SunRise Building, an apartment complex in Alberta, Canada, has answered that question — and is now the title holder of the Guinness World Record for the largest solar panel mural on Earth.
[---8<---]
On the northern wall of the building is the main mural, called “The Land We Share,” which stands 85 feet tall, by the Edmonton-based Indigenous artist Lance Cardinal. The photovoltaic panels are strategically placed to depict a tribute to the First Nations and Chinese cultures that are integral to the history of the area.

More of this would be good. People often resist green energy projects because so many of those are eyesores. Make them beautiful, and they will become more popular.

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Conservation

Fri, 18 Jul 2025 01:26:12 GMT

Posted by: ysabetwordsmith

The Thunder of Bison Finally Returns to the Osage Prairie

60 million American bison, commonly known as buffalo, once thundered across the prairies of North America — until 1889, when they were almost driven to extinction.

These mighty giants terraformed the land, diversified prairie ecosystems, and sustained many native tribes across the continent. Now, tribes and conservationists join forces to bring the species back from the brink, finally returning the American bison to their native grasslands.

The Osage Nation in Oklahoma, with help from allies at the Nature Conservancy and the Bronx Zoo, are reviving their cultural and spiritual connection to buffalo by rebuilding a herd that once shared their land. By reigniting traditional land management practices like prescribed fire, the Osage support the herd as it continues to grow, which in turn, restores natural balance that helps the entire prairie ecosystem thrive.

As a keystone species, buffalo restore prairie habitat to health. They also help restore the tribal nations who depended upon them.

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webinar: The Demise of Indian Time

Wed, 16 Jul 2025 12:59:47 GMT

Posted by: dorkbird

You’re invited to “The Demise of Indian Time”, a virtual webinar event with Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) on Tuesday, July 22, about the closure of an independent Indigenous newspaper, and what it means for its community.

RSVP NOW
FPF’s Director of Advocacy Seth Stern will moderate and be joined by:

Isaac White, Mohawk journalist and former reporter for Indian Time

Marjorie Skidders, writer, photographer, editor, and former editor of Indian Time

Stephanie Sugars, senior reporter for the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker

📅 Date: Tuesday, July 22, 2025

⏰ Time: 12 p.m. EDT | 9 a.m. PDT

📍 Location: Zoom (freedom.press/end-of-indian-time)

We’ll discuss the history of Indian Time, the reasons behind its closure, and the challenges Indigenous journalists face reporting on and within their own communities, from political pressure to assaults and arrests. The panel will also explore how the absence of independent local media harms public access to information and press freedom across Indian Country.

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