Throughout my time as a student and as a teacher, just as a person living life, I have always known that there will always be something more that we can all do to help ensure and secure the futures of our peoples here on Turtle Island. To begin living in harmony we must first begin to understand the effects of the past and learn from them rather than hold onto them with pain.
It will always be my intention to help all people understand who we are and where we come from as Haudenosaunee people. The ways of life and views of the universe are vast and diverse compared to that of the Western culture that depends so much on gain and wealth. To help better understand these things myself, I have journeyed into the world of Western Education and graduated going on to be an educator myself.
The way I had seen it for a long time if for the truth to be told, I needed to get into a place that never usually tells it to begin with, the education system. This was a choice that I had made at a young age, maybe nine years old, and the ways I educate people have evolved many times over the years. Now it is a time where both Indigenous and Non-Indigenous peoples alike relearn their roles and responsibilities in upholding true rule of law, which is precolonial in nature; revisiting the Two Row at every turn.
I have travelled from my home in the Woodlands across the Great Plains and over the Rocky Mountains to see both oceans and learn from the original people who reside between them. I travelled through the original homelands of the Mohawk River Valley and Genesee, and observed ceremony and thanksgiving from many nations; and my gratitude will be forever, as many of the e voices have passed on and it is the responsibility of us in this generation to preserve their knowledge.
In preserving tradition, it means going out onto the land and seeing, recording, and telling the truth about everything that is happening and now is a time more important than ever. One intention is to mobilise with a van equipped to go anywhere I am needed loaded with any resources that may be helpful, including gifts in exchange for knowledge.
All of this will be brought back to Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, the Birthplace of the Great Peacemaker Deganawida to be preserved and protected for the rest of time and ready to be deployed at any time to protect the Great Peace and all the people of Turtle Island.
My goal is to preserve as many voices and truthful history as possible by creating a space where all can come to learn at their own pace and are welcome to ask as many questions as possible, because the answers are endless. In this space there will be a resource area where people can come to see treaties on paper and wampum belts, different artefacts, and be witness to living culture through social dances and traditional feasts provided by indigenous chefs; sourcing all fruit and vegetables, etc. on site and working with traditional hunters, gatherers, medicine holders, and knowledge keepers.
Also, a place where people can come for regular classes based in the Great Law of Peace and the traditional ways of the Haudenosaunee peoples. The intention is to gain as much access to information as possible in order to carry on the prophecy of the Peacemaker to have everyone in the world observe the power of peace and riotousness through creation and thanksgiving.
In order for this to happen I have formed an Indigenous Solidarity Project called the White Stone Canoe Peace Projects which consist of everything from news, entertainment, education, to consultation on solidarity moments involving Indigenous people, more with a focus on decolonization and putting the cultural lens back on to start seeing things the way our ancestors have; rising up in peaceful civil disobedience according to original laws, Kayanere'kowa. Everything will continue to be documented on the Indigenous Education, News, and Entertainment website The Credible Mohawk. Donations contributed will also go toward the access to historical and educational journals and extensive research which will be shared for all to access; this will also support audio/video production and the ability to share resources.
For every donation contributed, I will make and send a small black and red dream catcher in and gratitude with a note thanking you for your support.
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Keep an eye out for more Resistance Merchandise like mugs, t-shirts, stickers, and more.
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