How do you want to feel in April, May, and June? 

I am honored to speak with students at Pacific Lutheran University later today about my book Yakama Rising. Thoughtful students sent questions in advance and one question asks about “negative” emotions. I love this question!  In our beautiful Yakama storytelling traditions, we learn about the importance of the full range of our emotions. Even one of our mostContinue reading “How do you want to feel in April, May, and June? “

Courage and Wisdom To Do Less

I love planning. Planning, for me, is a time of hope and possibility, a time when I can pause from my daily routine and ask:  What do I really want?  What steps might I envision to help get me there?  I savor these questions and the work they inspire to create my own answers.  Many planning approachesContinue reading “Courage and Wisdom To Do Less”

Thoughtful Gifts

Over winter break, I thought a lot about gifts. This holiday season, like always, I was given an abundance of thoughtful, generous gifts by many, many loved ones. In between gatherings, visiting, and gift exchanges, I also took several hikes in the mountains of my beloved Yakama homeland. I love winter hiking–the thoughtfulness I putContinue reading “Thoughtful Gifts”

Early Morning Light

It’s daybreak on my Yakama homeland. Aan (Sun) is preparing for another day of work, perhaps like me drinking a morning cup of coffee. Aan touches the eastern horizon with light and I feel lucky to witness the artistic transformation of the sky–from a cool blue to warm yellow, and now bits of orangish-pink. IContinue reading “Early Morning Light”

Celebrating Indigenous Peoples

Today (August 9) is International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. To honor this occasion, I was invited to write for the SAGE Perspectives blog. SAGE Journals are renowned for their high-impact and world-class research across many academic fields. I am hopeful that my blog published today, “4 Ways You Can Support Indigenous Self-Determination Today”Continue reading “Celebrating Indigenous Peoples”

Traveling 

I recently returned from my first airplane trip in over two years. I attended the American Educational Research Association conference held on beautiful Kumeyaay homeland (San Diego). It was a blessing to return to this special place that nurtured me for so many years, including when I had the honor of attending a class atContinue reading Traveling 

What the World Needs

What the world needs is love–powerful, fierce, quiet, flowing, generous, abundant love.  Love you can swim in.  Like Nch’i Wána (Columbia River).  She gathers up gifts and returns them one hundred fold.  She nourishes us.  She and her tributary sisters have carved the landscape we know best.  She sustains us.  What the world needs isContinue reading “What the World Needs”

What We Want for You

Where do strength and creativity come from? Where do vast stores of energy arise from? Where do quick smiles and joyous laughter originate? For me, these gifts come from my strong and unwavering sense of home. They come from a loving and unbreakable connection with all lands and waters that feed and are fed byContinue reading “What We Want for You”