Who I am and I am not.

How would you describe yourself to someone who can’t see you?

7/31/2024

11:56 pm

I woke up after a short nap and saw this prompt.

This is a good question.

Growing up, here in the United States, I do not exist to most people. Well, my people do not exist, most think we went extinct. A very diluted history view.

I remember as a young adult before I gained more knowledge about my own ancestors how weird people would be when I say I was “Indian”. Not to be offensive to anyone out there, the joke was always “Tech support Indian or Casino/Smoke Shop Indian?”. A dumb stereotype continually perpetuated by uninformed masses. This still occurs occasionally. I am not this.

Then I met people online from other countries when I started on social media in 2015 to 2016. I realized that most still called us “Red Indians”. Once again another misnomer that was placed upon us. I am also not this.

By this time, I was more informed about not only my tribal nation but the other 573 federally recognized tribal nations and the 400 tribal nations still yet to be recognized by the United States government. There is more than “The 5 Civilized Tribes”

These sovereign tribal nations have treaties in place with the United States Federal Government that continue to be challenged by those still not wanting to acknowledge we exist. These treaties are hundreds of years old. We were here long before colonization and we will be here long after.

I try to educate and convey these facts to people that I meet whenever possible.

I went off on a tangent, this prompt was to describe myself to someone that cannot see me.

I am an indigenous woman from the Thunder clan of the Sauk and Fox Nation. We originated from the Great lakes region of the United States.

A side note, the language of my people is Algonquian. “The Algonquian language family is made up of at least 24 tribes of Northeast and Plains Indians. Languages in the family include Cree, Ojibwa, Blackfoot, Cheyenne, Mi’kmaq, Arapaho, and Fox-Sauk-Kickapoo. They were spoken in many areas, including Canada, New England, the Atlantic Coast, the Great Lakes, and the Rocky Mountains. Some scholars have classified Algonquian languages as part of a larger group called the Macro-Algonquian phylum. “ – Oxford Dictionary

I am just one of the 52 first grandchildren from the 10 children raised by my Sauk and Fox grandmother Rose and my Euchee grandfather Anderson.

I am the proud mother to 4 of the 85 great grandchildren from this same family.

I am the first female veteran in my family as well as retired from the military.

I am an educated person with several diplomas, associates degrees, and a still pending dual bachelors degree.

I am a creative person with skills in fiber arts, painting, drawing, bead work, and edible arts.

I am a winner of ribbons and recognition for cake decorating and sugar art competitions. I taught cake decorating skills to around 500 people as a Wilton Method instructor.

I am a movie buff. “Hello Dolly” with Barbara Streisand is my favorite musical. My favorite all time movie is “Star Wars”. It is the reason I went into the Air Force, it was the closest thing I could get to being an X-wing fighter pilot. Air Force jets would have to do but not for me, vertigo and glasses ended that chance.

I am geek at heart. It is a toss up between Marvel and DC comics, I wanted to be Superman as a kid but Batman had the Batmobile. I also grew up on Star Trek, Doctor Who, and Transformers.

I am a self-proclaimed “Word Nerd” that loves to write. I enjoy the process of conveying thoughts and ideas but terrible at learning languages.

I am eclectic when it comes to my musical tastes. I am just as comfortable listening to Beethoven as I am attempting to sing terribly a song from Eminem. It depends on my mood and what I am working on. I love discovering new music from around the world, the best thing about technology.

I am honest to a fault, kind when necessary, and compassionate when needed. I know how to be tough during difficult situations but stern when required.

I am a kid at heart. I love to laugh until I cry and dance like no one is watching.

I am compulsive when it comes to cleaning but sometimes it just doesn’t matter.

I am dependable. I can be someone who you lean on but not for too long. I will pick you up, dust you off, and push you to try again.

I am a mother, a friend, a companion.

I am just me.

Thank you for stopping by and supporting this blog.

Have a wonderful week!

Peace, love, happiness, and good vibes, always!

Suzanne