Lakeland’s Strongest – Bringing a new sport to the Bush

Family, community and life couldn’t be better

tea&bannock

One thing I found lacking while growing up was the lack of exposure to different sports. It was n grade nine that I started getting out of my comfort zone and playing sports. I was, of course, limited to school sports. I thrived in the environment though and made some amazing lifelong friends, as well as gained confidence and a quiet resolve that I didn’t know I had.

Fast forward a few years. I’m in my final year of University and my friend convinces me to go check out a “weightlifting club.” I went in not knowing what to expect but I was filled with fear and bravery and I was introduced to a new passion and love. I previously didn’t know what weightlifting was (or “olympic weightlifting”) but after training at Olympic Power and Fitness in Edmonton, I became hooked. I started posted videos on my social media and…

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Which Favorite?

I find myself in agreement with this summation ‘a favorite book can be a matter of the season, or a matter of my mood, or just what happens to be prominent in my brain at the moment.’ I do nut understand how anyone can have just one favorite. There are so many books to love and I love 95% of those I have read, both lesbian and mainstream.

Women and Words

Today a friend texted me: Random question, what is your favorite book?

My immediate thought was, “Favorite book?! I don’t have a favorite book. I have a hundred books I love.”

For me, a favorite book can be a matter of the season, or a matter of my mood, or just what happens to be prominent in my brain at the moment. It turns out she needed a recommendation for a book game she was playing, similar to the Lesfic Bingo Jae set up (https://jae-fiction.com/lesbian-book-bingo/). The most recent Book Bingo blog is about favorites. I ended up giving my friend a short list of mainstream books I have loved over the years. I think she will end up choosing Erin Morganstern’s The Night Circus.

“Favorite” has come up a few times recently. A couple of weeks ago Sheena Lemos Ebersohn asked me if she could chat with me on her…

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For the reader in your life

so true

Women and Words

Buying gifts for a reader is tricky. Unless your reader is actively supply you with an up-to-date wish list that includes new releases and doesn’t include newly purchased, then the odds are seriously against you getting the right book.

Yes, I agree that it’s the thought that counts when giving a gift, and no decent human being will complain because you bought her a second copy of a book she loves. Still, as the gift giver, you’ll feel better if it’s the book she wants. Otherwise, why spend the time and money getting a gift in the first place?

***Pro-Tip: If your friend does this, complains because you bought her the wrong book, or wrong anything really, it’s probably time to re-evaluate that friendship. And by re-evaluate, I mean break up. Maybe.***

And yes, gift cards for her favorite bookshop is never a bad idea. Who doesn’t like…

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#IndigenousLove

Thoughtful and worth reading

tea&bannock

It’s been a hard month.

I’m not gonna lie.

I was the guest host of the twitter account @indigenousXca for a week. It’s a space where each week, a different Indigenous host will take over and basically send out awesome ish into the twitter sphere.

My theme was #IndigenousLove.

I was hosting the account right after the Colten Boushie and Tina Fontaine injustice’s – and I needed to be able to grin and laugh for a few days. I needed to heal. So I focused on love and joy and all aspects of that, and well, I made a lot of new friends. I creeped on all my favourites, and I just shared what I was celebrating.

It felt so good.

I remembered that I come from people who are storytellers. Artists. Lovers. Foolish friends and mischievous family. We are drenched in the survival and reclamation of generations past…

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Stickgames and Stories – Starleigh Grass, Guest Blogger

tea&bannock

My people, the Tsilhqot’in, were traditionally nomadic people. Because we were nomads most of the things that we owned had practical value. Our art was used to adorn clothing, basketry, and practical items. Prior to contact, art was not something behind a glass case or hanging on the wall. It was something we interacted with on a daily basis. Everyone had the capacity to create art and most people did in some form or another.

During the period of time that our material culture became commodified and our subsistence culture became criminalized, people made items to sell to non-Tsilhqot’ins. I’ve seen some of these items in the Museum of Anthropology, including items made by one of my great grandmothers. I’ve held some of her items.

I know on an intellectual level that if it weren’t for colonialism, I would have learned the art of basketmaking, and to hold…

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Native Sistah’s Unite

tea&bannock

Since moving to the big city, much like Amanda in her last post, I’ve been experiencing some challenging transitions. Having this be my 4th move in one year and as a newcomer to the city, I definitely have my moments of longing to be back in a small community with all its laughter. Luckily, I have my amazing partner who continues to remind me that those things take time to build. One warming sense of community I feel like I always have, however, is our blog. ❤

When one of the Tea&Bannock members first posted that they were coming to Portland to be extras on Portlandia, I became super thrilled. I thought, not only was I going to meet another Tea&Bannock artist, but I was going to have some super rad Indigenous woman to roam the city with!

Already knowing that Joi was part of our blog made it super…

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fish camp

tea&bannock

From the moment I jumped into the boat to head my Jijuu’s fish camp, I could literally feel my mind ease and my body begin to let go of tension and stress. I can honestly say that our fish camp is my happiest place on Earth. It is where I can think my straightest and find my balance all while learning about my Gwich’in heritage and spending time with my Jijuu.

While at fish camp, there is always work to be done. The nets have to be checked all day long, the fish need to be scaled, gutted, cleaned and cut to be dried, we need to gather the right type of wood to be burned for the fish to dry properly, fetch water from the creek, cook meals, keep the place clean and we always end our nights with a game of soccer. Some would say that the best…

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Shame…A Cousin of Humiliation

Annette mori

Today I was summoned to go to our local Worksource center to orient and learn tricks and tips for obtaining a job. I realized as I was getting ready this morning that this is the first time in 42 years I’ve been unemployed. It was a sobering thought.

As I drove to the center, I tried unsuccessfully to choke back my tears when the full force of the shame and humiliation hit me square in the gut. I’d been asked to be a presenter at that very center just two months earlier, a couple of days prior to leaving employment at the hospital. I used to teach people how to interview and create a resume and now I held my pride in my hand and walked through the doors prepared to listen to whatever pearls of wisdom they had to my current situation.

Since I love research, I looked up the…

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