Yakoke for your POV. I think my intuition had me headed toward your conclusion.

I have at times found myself trying to draw parallels between our tribe and the Irish. They too have suffered indoctrination and removal (in a way). But then again, it can be problematic to compare any two cultures after a certain extent.

These are wonderful details. I’ll now know what to look for next time I’m at church. Also, I have more than a few Choctaw preacher ancestors. One was present at the last Choctaw execution. I can take a second look at their lives as well. Yakoke

Yakoke. Your story is appreciated as well as its considerate delivery. It does help me understand the perspective of some.

Gave it up and now, I have one drink a week at most. My kiddo is 2. I’m just too tired, too busy to deal with sluggishness and hangovers. Plus, I do want to remain responsibility.

Athletic brewing is a good alternative.

Happy to have you here as we learn more.

I should say I don’t expect us to find some sort of perfectly reasoned position that is logically unassailable. People (certainly myself) are full of conflicting complexities, and I can’t expect individuals to have a personal worldview that holds up through all historic context.

But given the CNO’s more official support, it does feel like a rationale should be presented to help span that dissonance. Perhaps that’s what I’m seeking.

Yakoke. Really appreciate your experience and the resource you shared.

San Diego here! Reach out if you’re nearby.

Some quick tips for first time Powwow:

- It will be unlike any event you've attended. It's one part community fair, one part contest, and one part sacred. My suggestion is to treat it like a slightly casual church function. While you don't need to wear dress clothes, leaning more towards modest apparel is a good idea. When I was in college, I chaired the powwow at our campus, and college kids being college kids showed up in short-shorts, sleeveless, and low cut stuff, and that was frowned upon a bit. It didn't cause a scene, but that's the vibe.

-Sometimes you will find seating closest to the circle/floor. It's best to assume that seating is reserved for dancers/elders. There will probably be something like bleachers or seating a few rows back. If you're curious, just ask. No biggie.

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-Always a good idea to ask permission before taking a picture of someone in their regalia. Some will be pleased to show off but others might not.

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-And then enjoy! Eat the food. Buy a couple of things. Talk to people. That's how you build community.

Have fun!

How old are they? There are some young adult and children's books by Tim Tingle (choctaw) that could do well.

Are they near Durant, Oklahoma? You could take them on a day trip to the cultural center or mark your calendar to attend some of the festivals/events. Labor Day is a big one, but there are others.

And then if they are into sports, there is always stickball. Kind of a big deal in the tribe, and I am not sure how you go about getting on a team. But it's out there.

Score/Soundtrack are not typically dictated in the script since that is "non-diegetic sound". Non-diegetic sound is any sound that the audience hears but the characters don't. A traditional script, in its purest form, only describes what is seen and heard in the story's world. So in theory, you would only mention music that the characters can hear and react to.

Of course, people break that rule all the time. People describe camera movements, character's internal thoughts, and a bunch of other stuff. These scripts even get made some times, but they are the mark of an amateur.

I would try not to do this for any other reason as it comes off as unprofessional. But it's not bad to be thinking about it if you are going to direct.

There's no reason you can't seek enrollment. In some ways, it can actually benefit your tribe to have another person included in the tribal roll. A couple quick things...

Tribal roll is a colonial construct. It's not like we had lists of people before. So you being on a list or not does not dictate your identity. Like others have mentioned, it has more to do with your intention. There are certainly people who are on a tribal roll who have not connected with their community, and there are people who are not on a tribal roll who have connected with their community.

I hope your community does not allow the color of your skin to be a barrier as you begin this journey, but remember, those who are not white passing have gone through a different experience than you. You are both Native American, but it is important to not take space in those conversations since we might all have different experiences thanks to racism. As someone beginning your journey, I expect you will do more listening than talking anyways, but our skin color unfortunately affects our experience in the U.S. so we have to listen to individual experiences. Still doesn't mean you are lesser for being white though.

It's a life long journey reconnecting. Be brave and lead with your heart first. Happy for you!

I feel that. I've been kicking pillows. You might find that keeping an eye on your stress and agitation throughout the day (i.e. before the outburst) might help you regulate things before they boil over. It'll feel like you're being soft at times or asking too much from your partner, but those moments where you choose to gut it out or be a home-hero, might also be setting you up to be emotional drained later. Resulting in a hole in the wall.

I certainly haven't mastered it on my end though.

Halito!

Nope. SAG is just a union, and IMDB is just a website. I do work in film from time to time, and you don't need to be SAG or union to be credited anywhere. If the credits aren't filled out on this thing, then it is extremely odd and doesn't bode well for the future of the project. Which of course is fine by me.

I'm just wondering why he would even pursue this. He has a longer film background than I do. Surely Schneider can see how shaky this looks.

Ooooooweee. I was all geared up to analyze and write something meaningful, but I couldn't get passed the wall to wall green screen issues. Could they not afford some of these locations? The entire trailer is just over the should conversation coverage.

Because the visuals are in tatters, I had a hard time knowing if anything was satire or sincere.

Bummer. Really enjoyed some of her thoughts and work. Hope she can find a way to continue, but of course, with better clarity on her background and role in the community.

Gotta give you credit for a well thought out and thorough context. I mistrust DNA results like many on this thread, but I think you did a good job lining everything out and explaining the dynamics.

Funny you mention Harjo though. The community/main characters of Reservation Dogs do not belong to a named tribe either, but I personally liked it. Of course there are other times when I don't appreciate the ambiguity. Maybe it just depends on the context, but yea, if things panned out the way Jim describes, I would be disappointed.

University of California system offers free tuition for any California resident who is from a federally recognized tribe, local or no. Also, they've partnered with some other scholarship/non-profits to provide funding for those from non-federally recognized tribe.

If you have a good relationship with your coworker, you can probably reach out, but if you don't, I probably wouldn't come right out and expect the to be your Native arbiter. It's a tough call.

BUT you could always ask your company to bring in a consultant or a speaker, someone who has voluntarily chosen to speak on these matters and help companies navigate them.

I understand your point. The potential for offense is so high there is no safe space to write in. I think we should step back and focus on the fact that writing publicly is inherently a risk. I think you recognize that when you say inevitably someone is going to be offended by something. That's always been the case.

The only difference now is that people who previously couldn't easily express their offense now have a voice. Technology and cultural awareness has opened the door, and I don't think there is anyway to close it. I think this discussion might also be circling around the ethics of cancelling and mob-rule, but i digress. Thequestion remains as it always has: are you brave enough to put your thoughts on the page for the world to see and put your name next to them?

You're right. Someone may take offense to your character's blue shoes or whatever. I don't think art or writing will ever be free of scrutiny, and I don't think you should expect the world to give you a certified box to operate in. We all answer for what we create.

Happy for you! It's already alive in my mind's eye.

I wish we would quit trying to navigate this issue with a logic structure. There will never be a concrete rule book for cultural context, so perhaps empathy is a better tool set than logic. Someone is offended by X. I should not do that if I can.

X in this case being reference a mythological creature. Is our writing so stale that we must reference entities from existing culture? Do we have to borrow like that? Inevitably we will always allow our experiences to leak into our writing, but surely we all have enough imagination to create something new from our cultural inspiration.

Bruh, just combine two animals. Look at Unicorns, Pegasus, Jackalopes, Sharktopus, Centaurs, Minotaurs, Satyr, Mermaid, Manticores, Chimeras, etc. You can do this.

...or...OR a spider with a clock face. What does it mean? I don't know, but I don't want to think about it coming for me in the night. You don't have to directly reference a culture I promise.