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2021-03-20
Deb Haaland Sworn in as the First Native American Cabinet Head
Photos of Deb Haaland proudly wearing the ribbon skirt I designed for her brings me so many emotions that are difficult to describe.It is such an honor to see an Indigenous woman be sworn in as the first Native American Cabinet head. Deb Haaland is such a gracious, humble, and compassionate leader who exemplifies all the teachings that are pretty universal for Indigenous Peoples. The teachings of love, kindness, humility, honesty, truthfulness and courage can be felt every time someone meets Deb or each time we see her speak. Today not just as a ribbon skirt maker but as an Indigenous woman….I feel SO SEEN. I know that feeling echoes tremendously with relatives all across Turtle Island. I am so proud to have been a part of this historic moment in some way. Thank you and shoutout to my friends Margaret Gonzalez and Shane Balkowitsch for asking me to make her a ribbonskirt. ✨✨✨✨✨✨ The ribbon skirt reminds us of the matriarchal power we carry as Indigenous women. They carry stories of survival, resilience, adaption, and sacredness. As survivors of genocide we wear our ribbon skirts to stay grounded in our teachings, to stay connected to the earth and our ancestors. ✊🏽✊🏽✊🏽✊🏽✊🏽 Wearing it in this day and age is an act of self empowerment and reclamation of who we are and that gives us the opportunity to proudly make bold statements in front of others who sometimes refuse to see us. It allows us to be our authentic selves unapologetically. This is extremely important to me because when I was a little girl, the hate and racism I experienced as a First Nations person left me feeling shame. As the daughter of a Residential school survivor and a Sixties scoop survivor, sewing ribbon skirts has brought so much healing to my life. Expressing myself in a cultural and creative way that allows me to feel the strength of my ancestors has given me the space I needed to shed that shame I carried. Sewing is my love language. Extremely honored ~ Agnes Woodward @agneswoodward #ribbonskirts #ribbonskirt #IndigenouswomenEmpowered #DebHaaland #MatriarchalPower -
2021-01-24
Almost a Year of Virtual Girl Scout Meetings
When our Girl Scout troop transitioned online in the spring, we never foresaw the entire year being online. When my best friend/co-leader and I made the calendar in the summer, we originally made it through the end of 2020, thinking that by January we’d be back in person. I guess that shows how short sighted humans can be, a virus doesn’t run on a calendar, so it was silly to think things would be dramatically different without widespread access to a vaccine. So here we are in 2021, pushing through every other week. It has been really great to maintain the normalcy of meeting together, though. All the girls are either going to school on a hybrid (half the week in person, half at home) schedule or a full distance learning schedule, so it’s just nice to have the regular interaction with each other just like they did before quarantine. This also was a perfect opportunity to give the girls increased ownership of the troop. Now that they’re in fourth grade, we have made leadership roles, so the girls are responsible for different parts of the meeting. This takes the pressure off me for having to fill two hours on Zoom in a way that is fun and meaningful and doesn’t feel like school! I absolutely love seeing their creativity in making up games, activities, snacks, and issues/problems in our community they want to help fix. There also are some girls who used to be passive who have really loved this platform and have really stepped into being leaders. I am, however, running low on badges they want to earn that are easy to do over Zoom. The one shared here ended up pretty fun. To earn the “Simple Meals” badge, the girls worked in virtual groups to make different breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals. Then they basically did their own cooking show by walking the other girls through making whatever the dish was. Bonus - everyone was nice and full by the end! I miss my girls terribly, but we are so fortunate to be able to have the girls continue to meet, share, and support each other while we patiently wait for the cases to decrease. -
2020-09-08
The Puzzle Pieces of America
This essay was produced as a part of the American Studies program at California High School in San Ramon, California. The essay is in response to the prompt "Is America currently living up to its core values?" This essay argues that leadership and hard work are currently being fulfilled today. It also includes references to the following modern events: foreign aid and current high school graduation rates .