Laws of Matriarch

Here’s the article of the day: "All Indians Are Dead" - Indian Country. For a long time, I didn’t think much about it. I kept hearing stories about Indians who once existed, as if they were just figures in the past. I never knew anything different until I left the Indian Reserve for Vancouver.  My son’s dad opened my eyes to the truth—we are still here, and we are still practicing our laws and traditions.  At first, I learned about the smudge, a powerful ritual for cleansing and connection. Then, I was taken to a sweat lodge. I was shocked! This is it! This is happening! We still do this!  The sweat lodge I attended was different from how the Gitxsan use them. For us, the lodge was a place for emotional healing; in our tradition, we would use it to remove the human scent before going out to hunt. We don’t just go somewhere to pray; we believe that the Creator is within us and with us always. Every thought is a prayer. We would also fast in the mountains to learn respect f...

If this were written from a white man’s perspective, it might look something like this: I’m not sure if we discussed the electronics. I’ve been trying to call my granddaughter D’s cellphone, the one I bought her as per court order, but every time I call, it goes straight to voicemail. D says it’s because they never charge it, and it just sits in a drawer. I would like to have the Samsung tablet and Motorola cellphone returned, since D will never be allowed to use them to contact her biological family—me, her brother E, and her relatives. Instead, I hear her stepmother and stepsister use the tablet most of the time. These devices cost a lot, and I’m now stuck in a cellphone plan that I thought would be respected. I believed the judge when he said this court order would actually mean something.  It feels like D’s stepdad has gotten away with kidnapping my granddaughter. He’s lied to the court, his family, and the community. Only my family knows the truth because we know who my daug...