The last few days/months/years have brought a lot of new folks to me, my work, and this ever-aging blog. I wanted to take a minute to introduce myself to anyone who may be new here, and re-introduce myself to anyone who may have jumped in at any point along the last 14(!) years of Native Appropriations and my journey. I …
The Next Chapter
As of Monday, January 15, I am no longer a faculty member at Brown University. I made the very difficult decision to resign from my position as an Assistant Professor of American Studies and Ethnic Studies in November, after nine years on campus. I’ve held in the back of my mind that I needed to write this post and to …
A Letter to Elizabeth Hoover
Yesterday, on May 1, 2023, Elizabeth Hoover put up a “Letter of Accountability and Apology” on her personal webpage in which she states, “I am a white person who has incorrectly identified as Native my whole life.” I have had the following post sitting in my drafts for a few months, and feel ready to share it because I feel …
NOTABLE NATIVE PEOPLE (my book!) in stores 10/19
Siyo Friends! I know it’s been ages since I’ve written here, and a lot has changed in the last year or so. We’ve all been through, and continue to go through, times that would have been unfathomable a few years ago. I hope all of you are finding space for healing and reflection as we move into this next stage …
Holding the Breath
Life is sacred. This conviction is nothing short of revolutionary when those in power are calculating how many Black, Indigenous, and Brown lives society at large will quietly accept in order to go “back to business” and reopen the economy.
Race, Anti-Blackness, and the Cherokee Nation: A Reading List
With our history of slaveholding and ongoing disenfranchisement of Cherokee Freedmen, our nation has upheld anti-Blackness for generations. I and many white-coding Cherokees are complicit with our silence, it’s much easier to point the finger outward toward the structures of white supremacy that pervade American society, rather than inward toward the ways our own tribal structures and narratives perpetuate anti-Blackness. I know I have personal learning to do, so I commit to try and do better, and hope others will as well.
Indigenous Stories of Uncertain Times: A Series
Creating an open space for Indigenous stories and reflections during the COVID-19 pandemic. The world has changed in the last few months, and the world continues to change. The media has shown us plenty of footage of armed white protestors at state capitols demanding haircuts and gyms, but still largely leaves out the human stories of struggle and survival, the thoughtful, first-person perspectives and reflections that bring a face and voice to the reality that is right now.
An apology to Navajo, Hopi, and Choctaw
Yesterday I tweeted something quickly during a meeting, an insensitive and misguided attempt to critique media framing around Irish support of Navajo and Hopi Nations. I immediately deleted less than 20 minutes after I posted it, once I realized how off the mark and harmful it was. But in the land of screen shots, the tweet has now circled all …
What happened to @NativeApprops?!
Hi Y’all, Long time no talk. I thought I would throw up a quick post in case any of you follow me on social media and were concerned that my accounts seem to have disappeared. They did! I’ve been on Twitter and Instagram for nearly (or over?) a decade without a substantial break, and things have felt hard online lately. …
How I hope 2019 unfolds: A quick success in San Diego
Last week I was in Pacific Beach with my partner, and we stopped by a bar/restaurant called “Crushed” to grab a drink. I got up to go to the restroom, and in the hallway was confronted by a large mural of a headdress. It was painted facing a mirror, with words in reverse, so bar patrons could take mirror selfies …