A lot happening at once
I just got back from Anchorage from a summit on Indian boarding school research.
It is no secret that many within the Trump administration is wildly anti-Indigenous, and it is showing in these wide reaching cuts to important programs and systems built to help Indigenous communities grow. Many Native orgs have lost grants and funding for health, education, culture and food programs- and last month the Trump admin announced cuts to funds allocated for Indian boarding school research. I spoke to AP news about how the access to digital records have affected me personally.
Searching that database last year, Roberta “Birdie” Sam, a member of Tlingit & Haida, was able to confirm that her grandmother had been at a boarding school in Alaska. She also discovered that around a dozen cousins, aunts and uncles had also been at a boarding school in Oregon, including one who died there. She said the knowledge has helped her with healing.
“I understand why our relationship has been the way it has been. And that’s been a great relief for myself,” she said. “I’ve spent a lot of years very disconnected from my family, wondering what happened. And now I know — some of it anyways.”
And dad is already telling me about another trip coming up quickly. He wants my help with another repatriation project/ceremony. I am still pulling things together and I will share more information when I can. Here is some footage from my trip to Anchorage:
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Thank you to everyone who has continued to make my role in this work possible. My dad told me he wants me to bring my camera to his next repatriation ceremony. It’s coming up fast and I don’t have a lot of details right now but I will share more when I can. I am going to make an ask for folks to consider joining the Patreon to help me with these trips as well as support my family while I am out of town. You all help me keep things moving and I am eternally grateful to the community we have built here. My role in my social media career is changing quickly and the political landscape is unpredictable. Thanks to all of you I am able to keep going.