By Cindy Kendall Sun contributor As my dad would say, “It’s been said: There is a good purpose to every season; every season’s fruit is nourishment for another season.” I smile to still hold the fruit of my father’s sharing after all these years. The memory of my parents is alive in Leelanau’s Sleeping Bear. […]
It was my first tropical winter, and the culture of New Orleans had me in slow motion shock, writes Andrea Maio, a filmmaker who lives in Benzie County. I arrived there on Christmas Day, after a tough boat trip down the Mississippi river. My boat had broken down in a nearby town and left me stranded from my family for the holidays, so I rented a car and drove with my dog into the city. There, I found a dingy bar on Decatur Street offering free Christmas dinners to all of their customers. They didn’t mind dogs in the bar, so I brought in my lab mix Butch and sat, and drank with the regulars. When the levy broke and New Orleans started to enter its nightmare, all I could think about were the dogs. The wild pack on my block, the puppy left in the park, the neighbors chained up rottie, all seemed more helpless than the thousands of people who were suffering. I know it was a crazy reaction, but it must have been easier than thinking about the true scope of what was happening. The truth was that thousands of people were suffering due to the inhumanity of people towards other people. For years we knew what could happen. For years nothing was done.
By Lois Beardslee Sun Contributor • Do present Native peoples as appropriate role models with whom a Native child can identify. * Don’t single out Native children, ask them to describe their families’ traditions, or their people’s cultures. * Don’t assume that you have no Native children in your class. * Don’t do or say […]
By Ron Schmidt Sun contributor GRAND MARAIS, Michigan — I bolt upright from a deep sleep and try to get a handle on what has roused me so abruptly. The clock reads 2 a.m. and I’m not expecting company. My cabin is three miles from the nearest neighbor and I rarely hear any man-made sounds. […]
By Jen Semanco Sun contributor Every seventh grader at my middle school was required to take a class called “Guidance.” This class was supposed to help “guide” us through the beginning of adolescence — to teach us how to make good choices, to educate us about our changing bodies, to build our self-esteem. Towards the […]
By Lois Beardslee Sun contributor Part of an ongoing series by this renowned local Indian author on Native American issues While she dipped and swished at the white five gallon bucket, Ima Pipiig fantasized about addressing the audience: “I’d like to answer that one question about Indians that has been on everybody’s lips… “Why is […]
By Nadine Gilmer Sun contributor Like many horseback riders I began riding at a young age, although I started later than most. Since the day I learned what horses were I have loved them. When my parents and I drove to Traverse of Empire I would watch out the window for horses in their pastures. […]
By Lois Beardslee Sun contributor “No. You can’t have the shirt.” “But I want it.” “I know. But you can’t have the shirt.” “My friends will think it’s cool!” “I know. But you can’t have the shirt.” “It’s on sale, isn’t it?” “Yes. But you can’t have the shirt.” It is a camouflage design, in […]
By Lois Beardslee Sun contributor The following is an excerpt from the collection Calm Days and is the first in a series of nine pieces the Glen Arbor Sun will run this summer, exploring the lore of Michigan’s Native Americans as well as current issues. Epanigishimoog is resting. This monstrous, overwhelming being, the Wind Himself, […]
By Jen Semanco Sun contributor This summer I have had an ongoing debate with a good friend of mine who wants a kitten. Not just any kitten, mind you, but a pedigreed “pixie-bob” tail-less kitten. These cats run between $600-$1200, not including the cost of shipping it to Michigan. So why pay that much money […]