Dear President Trump, When I was nine, my father left our family. I was young, so I don’t remember much. I was young, so the foundations of what I thought a family ought to be were suddenly gone. So it is encouraging to see fathers who truly work to love their families, who deeply care to protect their children. I am encouraged when I see men who are humble and able to process their grief with others, who are willing... Read more
It is no secret that as women, we carry our babies for nine months. We create and nurture and grow life in a womb of water until birth, when we care for them as our newborns and on into childhood. Some of us, who cannot have children, care for and love the children that are in our lives, the children that become a part of us, whether it’s through a bloodline or not. Some of us have lost our babies,... Read more
Dear Syria, I admit that growing up as an everyday American, I did not learn your history. I have to look online to educate myself, to learn the things I need to know to remember that you’re there and I am here. But there’s another reality to all of this. Something I don’t need to search in google to understand. You are a country made up of humans. Of mothers and daughters, of fathers and cousins and grandfathers and... Read more
I came outside to listen, but all could I hear was noise– the hum of the car next door, an audiotape blaring through closed windows. I thought I might hear from the seeds in my garden bed, but they were quiet. Instead, my dog whines at dogs passing by. The crickets begin to sing, telling me an age-old story, I’m sure. The birds are quieter tonight than they were this morning, and I understand that I am still practicing how... Read more
Every Friday, I join a group of friends as we share seven things we are grateful for. Sometimes they are moments. Sometimes they are people and encounters, stories of community. Sometimes they are challenges to find gratitude in the midst of chaos or pain. The point of it all is the search and the acknowledgement of what is good in our lives, what keeps us tethered to each other and to God. Today, I’m grateful for seven people who walk my... Read more
During long drives in the car, I’ve had some difficult conversations with my boys about justice, the law, the difficult history that we’re a part of as native people and as Christians, and the overall climate of our nation today. A hundred years ago, we probably would have been told that parenting is hard– just like it’s hard today. Maybe the world is worse in our century, or maybe it’s a little better– whatever it is, chaos is still present, and... Read more
cross: to start one place and get to the other side When I was young, I saw time and again a drawing of the cross used as a bridge. We are on one side, completely disconnected from God, while holiness is across the large abyss that is life and sin. Then, Jesus comes along, and suddenly we know God. He comes along and bridges the gap with the power of the cross. Every time I saw that diagram I felt... Read more
When I began my blog five years ago, I named it Stories because I needed a space to tell mine, and a space that might encourage others to tell theirs as well. Many things in my life have changed in these last five years, but the reality that storytelling is necessary in our world hasn’t. In fact, that necessity has become increasingly more clear. On March 6th, I hosted an event in my city called DAPL & NATIVE AMERICA: AN EVENING... Read more
Migwetch Mamogosnan. Thank you, Creator. This Potawatomi prayer has been on repeat in my head and heart for several months, ever since I began learning my native language. Basically, it’s a general prayer of thanks, because native people tend to be grateful people. Thank you, Creator, for everything that you have done for me… And it continues from there, relaying gratitude after gratitude, asking that God be present and known. So in that vein, I pray today, in snippets. In... Read more
Photo by Amy Paulson Photography I’ve never been one for confrontation. My need for inner and communal harmony is pretty high, so you can imagine that with the current dividedness of our country, and the ongoing pain of learning about my native ancestors’ struggle over what we call Turtle Island, I am pretty emotionally exhausted. Since the election, I’ve been wary of calling myself a liberal or a progressive out loud, because with every mention of a political or ideological... Read more
Stories - with Kaitlin B. Curtice
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