Rock Creek Park by Dr. Jeffrey Fearing (c) 1990
Anamakeesuk Papon
Today is Winter
Papon is the season when Mother Earth rests from the labor of giving us shelter, food and the beautiful her formations including the land for our feet to walk. In the winter, Father Sky covers Mother Earth with a blanket of snow where our ancestors rest. Papon is the season when we honor our dead. We gather for Midwinter Ceremonies to honor them with Spirit Feasts. The Shushakwun is rattled to welcome the old ones to the sound of the galloping deer. We share a drink of maple water that symbolizes sweet memories and then partake of the food everyone has brought to the feast table. It is a gathering for both mourning the loss of our loved ones and celebrating the happy memories. It is also a time of reflection and reconsideration to ready ourselves for the new year that will begin in the Spring.
Here’s to happiness, peace, and fortitude to to find our way to paths of the old ways.
Wanatowush Paponanit
Blessings in the Spirit of Winter
Thank you for visiting!
Happy 2026! We made it!
America is a year out from the swearing in of Donald Trump as President. America is five years out since the insurrection of January 6th. Below is a reprise of what I presented in January 2025 Given all that has happened I hope that at least look-back can add a reflective layer to confronting what I have committed to exploring, systemic oppression.
America was never a democracy, therefore American democracy cannot be saved. If America is ever going to be an authentic democracy, its truthful condition must be confronted and resolved. America is on stolen land obtained by invasion and mass murder. The violent beginnings has only been able to succeed over time by a rationale of entitlement and control kept in motion by a system of oppression.
By the way, the mention of the book The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President. Has now been updated to 50 psychiatrists and mental health professionals.
Revisiting January 2025:
The election season, not to mention the result, has been exhausting and traumatic. Hopefully, the winter holidays brought plenty of enjoyment and rest because America is upon the inauguration of a convicted felon 34 times in addition to a litany of demonstrated predatory behaviors presented by a group of psychiatrists in a book rooted in a professional practice known as a duty to warn, The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President. This book has been expanded and updated with 10 additional participants. In addition to this book, there were the continued warnings from a specific psychologist with first hand personal experience, Dr. Mary Trump.
"I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
Hearing those words come out of the same mouth of the one who has bombastically trashed, trampled, violated and misrepresented the very Constitution being sworn to protect and defend would be a hoot. Saturday Night Live couldn’t come anywhere near this. The ironic hypocrisy would be hilarious except for the grave consequences straight ahead. Hell, how much should be expected of anyone who lacks the moral capacity to keep marriage vows to have the capacity to keep an oath of office?
However, after all is said and done, it isn’t any degenerate individual who is a problem. It is the conditioned populace that put such an individual in the position to commit and repeat perversions in an environment that systemically permits, protects, celebrates and blindly enables it all by failing to uphold it’s laws and authority alleged to be a democracy. Consciously or not.
As mentioned previously, I never held any illusions about the American electoral process nor its outcomes. The left wing and right wing are both on the same bird. Regardless of how the election turned out, my view is that systemic oppression - the identity, rationale and behavior of America - is the bird flying with both those wings. I will note, however, I considered my vote as a tourniquet to America’s bleeding situation alleged to be a democracy. I voted for the Presidency that would at least give a measure of civility to give our collective efforts to recalibrate a chance.
When I learned the outcome of the election my initial reaction to the consequences was to have a spoonful of poet, teacher, musician and messenger, Gil Scott-Heron to help the bitterness go down:
“Somebody said, brother man gonna break a window, gonna steal a hub cap, gonna smoke a joint, brother man gonna go to jail. The man who tried to steal America is not in jail”
This is an excerpt from one of his masterpieces titled, “We Beg Your Pardon (Pardon our Analysis)” from the album First Minute of a New Day (Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson). It is a response to the pardoning of Richard Nixon in follow up to the previous composition, “H20 Gate Blues” detailing the events of the Watergate break-in.
In my opinion, an unjust pardoning of a conviction, admission of guilt or guilty verdict in a system of oppression can evolve, mutate and get to the point where a crime doesn’t even need a pardon to erase any form of accountability. Fifty years after Watergate, a crime can simply be dismissed before it's even adjudicated or sees the inside of a courtroom. The expectation is that the crime will all be forgotten in the American abyss of entitled domination. All it takes is a degenerate thug and the right currency (like white domination) to groom an already conditioned situation to take hold. But be clear, a degenerate, broken or insane individual or singular event is never the problem. Any situation that allows, celebrates, protects and upholds the perversions of said individual or any singular event - knowingly or not - will ensure the continuation and worsening of any problem or crime.
In my opinion, America’s condition must be acknowledged, confronted, and unlearned in order to truly bring change. No trophies, designated months, political apologies, temporary acknowledgements, a street naming or a damn parade will do it. The American condition is rooted in its foundation of invasion, conquer, holocaust, displacement, nullification and dehumanization and the power to cover it up and dress it up as something else. But the truth cannot be erased. Instead, the decades of cover-up only complicated and evolved into a rationale, thought process and set of behaviors encoded to enforce compliance and obedience. America must be detoxed or more will morph and repeat.
We can do this. Some can’t, some won’t. Those of us who have the capacity to access our human DNA wiring for empathetic intuitiveness to survive must get to work.
“Now more than ever, all the family must be together….
Common blood flows through common veins
And the common eyes all see the same”
From Peace Go With You Brother
Gil Scott-Heron
To be continued.
In the meantime, be happy, be healthy, be safe and just be...
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Asiba
Matinecoc Nation
Confront oppression
All it takes is a change of mind
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Rock Creek Park by photographer Dr. Jeffrey J. Fearing appeared on the very first issue of my print newsletter, “The Spirit of January Monthly” in 1990. Rock Creek Park is in Washington, DC where we both attended Howard University in the late 60’s. It was a golden time at a phenomenal institution where I met Jeff, a friend for life, Nemot - my brother. I am honored to share this photograph once again 30 years later.