Happy Indigenous Peoples Day

Browning Montana, 1910

Chief Dan George

President Kennedy welcomed the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) at the White House in March 1963 to discuss tribal sovereignty, economic and educational opportunities, and prejudice toward Indigenous groups.

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Personal note: I'm back in my Black Mountain apartment, which is just as cluttered and comfortable as ever. Electricity means cooking and refrigerating. Only water for flushing (and apparently sewers work!) So I brought some drinking water, and things to cook. One must go about 30 miles east to get many things, though Ingles, the local grocery is open. Another store, Hopey's has different kinds of things at reduced prices. I heard the laundromat has opened, as well as a pizza place for carry-out. There's a curfew at 7. We must take garbage bags to town dumpsters, as the garbage trucks all were damaged in the flooding from the storm. So why did I come back at this point? I'm aware that I am adding to a population that relies on outside help at some level still. But I hadn't planned ahead enough when I left, and two of my medications were out as of today. I could get one filled by Tuesday but the other was through a mail order pharmacy, and I didn't want to go to the bother of having my prescription sent to a new address...and the delay of shipping would be probably a week. I had refills of both sitting here in my home already. If push comes to shove, I might have to leave again, especially if the water situation worsens. But that's another day.

PS. I had difficulty going to sleep last night. I kept seeing highways that would fall off into oblivion, or end in  a wall of blackness. I'd try to concentrate on something else, but these visuals would intrude, it seemed like hours. I had no difficulties on the road coming home yesterday mid afternoon. Eventually I got my 8 hours of good sleep. Perhaps some PTSD from the storm conditions remains.

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Today's quote:

“We are citizens of the world’s greatest republic, a nation of ideals, not blood and soil,” McCain wrote. “Americans never quit…. We never hide from history. We make history.” John McCain