Just to let you know I have two books out now. Sure Ain't Like It Used It Use To Be: The Vanishing West and Gone But Not Forgotten are available. You can get them at Amazon, Barns and Noble (on line) or go to bedazzledink.com/books.html . Click on the authors tab, find my name and you will find all my books. Enjoy.
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There is an ongoing epidemic of murders amongst Indigenous women over the last six decades. These incidences of missing and/or murdered women has escalated in the 2000s. There has been little or no response from law enforcement entities from tribal, county, state, or federal authorities. No one seems to care about these women except, of course, their loved ones who are left to mourn their loss and have no closure. One has to wonder why authorities seem to ignore this situation: perhaps the reason is as simple as Indigenous peoples are invisible by our larger society: what happens on the rez stays on the rez. Unfortunately, the situation is far more complicated that that. Tribal authorities are overwhelmed by life on reservations...drug abuse, poverty, spousal abuse, alcoholism, apathy and despair.
So, what is the answer? All of us need to shed a light on MMIW. I truly believe many people had no idea the scale of women being taken. We need to keep communicating and putting pressure on authorities to act. I personally, am gratified to see Indigenous people are clinging to their ancient rituals and way of life. But no matter how much we deplore the way Indigenous people have been treated over the last 250 plus years, nothing will change until we value all life and work together to make change. Tell me what you think. BTW The date above is wrong...today is 5-30-2020
Just a short blog to introduce myself and what I'm about. I'd like to have conversations about writing...what you write, how you get prepared, what possessed you to start writing in the first place, and do you have a muse? My muse is rather irreverent...he/she shows up whenever the mood strikes. Doesn't seem to matter whether I'm sleeping or awake, and I must say, is rather persistent. There are times when I can write four poems in a day or get a good start on a short story. Then my damn muse disappears for days or weeks and I don't write a thing. I'm in the middle of a particularly long, nonproductive dry spell...nary a word have I written in months. Then again, that isn't horrible...I write for enjoyment. I'm sure as hell not going to get rich writing. For me writing is cathartic. In the midst of this covid-19 pandemic, I think maybe we should remember that although we can't physically touch, we can stay 'in touch' through social media and the like. I still think we can 'talk over the fence' with our neighbors and still be 6' apart. We go to the grocery store always wearing masks and gloves. I use the drive-up window to get meds, and we are able to go to the barn to visit the horses and ride. I don't guess I'm going to catch anything from the horses...and the visits do a great deal for my mental stability. Maybe I'm naive, but I believe in the resiliency of the human spirit. I believe in the dogged determination of human beings to rise from the pits of despair and beat whatever ills stand in our way to a brighter tomorrow. Jimmy Valvano's voice echoes in my ears...'don't give up, don't ever give up.' Enough said. Okay, your turn. |