“I live in Ukraine with my family. I love my country, family, friends, people.
I fight for them. I fight for Ukraine.”
-Oleksandr Usyk
—
art credit: elana vasylieva, ukranian landscape watercolor
Feb24
Tag Archives: people
Nov21
freerice.
during this time of year, when we are so lucky for our bounty, why not help to feed someone else
and maybe learn something along the way?
freericetrivia by the U.N.’s World Food Programme
Want to test your knowledge while helping end world hunger? freerice can make it happen. For every question you answer correctly in the trivia quiz, 10 grains of rice are donated to those in need. Since 2010, freerice has raised more than 214 billion grains of rice (equivalent to $1.5 million) for people around the world.
—
“poverty’s child – he starts to grind the rice, and gazes at the moon.”
-matuso basho
Oct10
gichi-gami.
Ojibwe entering the gichi-gami
(artist unknown)
In honor of Indigenous Peoples Day
City of Ann Arbor Land Acknowledgment:
Equity and justice are at the center of our city’s critical principles. In that light, we’d like to take a moment to honor the geographic and historic space we share. We acknowledge that the land the City of Ann Arbor occupies is the ancestral, traditional, and contemporary lands of the Anishinaabeg – (including Odawa, Ojibwe and Boodewadomi) and Wyandot peoples. We further acknowledge that our City stands, like almost all property in the United States, on lands obtained, generally in unconscionable ways, from indigenous peoples. The taking of this land was formalized by the Treaty of Detroit in 1807. Knowing where we live, work, study, and recreate does not change the past, but a thorough understanding of the ongoing consequences of this past can empower us in our work to create a future that supports human flourishing and justice for all individuals.
Lake Michigan is named after the Ojibwe word “mishigami” which means “large water” or “large lake.”
Also known as Michigamme/”mishigamaa” meaning “great water“, also etymology for state of Michigan.
The Great Lakes were called “gichi-gami” (from Ojibwe gichi “big, large, great”; gami “water, lake, sea”).
—
“man belongs to the earth, the earth does not belong to man.”
-ojibwe saying
—
credits: project.geo.msu.ed, city of ann arbor, ann arbor public libraries
Oct11
indigenous people.
According to the United Nations, there are currently more than 370 million Indigenous people spread across 70 countries worldwide. In total, they belong to some 5,000 different Indigenous groups and speak more than 4,000 languages. Many of these groups have distinct social, economic, and political systems, as well as distinct culture and beliefs. Sadly, they are often marginalized or directly threatened by more dominant powers in society — despite having been the original inhabitants of the land they occupy.
Indigenous peoples often have a strong attachment, understanding, and respect for their native lands, be it the great plains of the United States, the Canadian prairies, or the Amazon rainforest. This connection is frequently apparent in the wise words of Indigenous leaders both past and present. Today, with many Indigenous communities on the frontlines of the battle to protect our natural world, this wisdom is perhaps more important than ever.
—
“Even though you and I are in different boats,
you in your boat and we in our canoe,
we share the same River of Life.
What befalls me, befalls you.”
-Oren Lyons, Onandaga Nation Chief
and member of the Indigenous Peoples of the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations
—
Indigenous Peoples’ Day is a holiday that celebrates and honors Native American peoples and commemorates their histories and cultures. On October 8th, 2021 President Joe Biden signed a presidential proclamation declaring October 11th to be a national holiday.
—
– credits: Penobscot History Museum, United Nations
Sep29
stick together.
our rainbow of people
—
“look at the rainbow, it is made up of different colors, yet they do not split,
because they know how beautiful they are when they stick together.”
―
Nov9
all.
Nov4
along for the ride.
on last night’s walk downtown
i was behind a person who was
giving a skeleton a piggyback ride
heading to the polls?
—
“i just enjoy being along for the ride.”
– darryl royal – american football player (1924-2012)
Apr2
census.
‘We Are Part Of The United States’: The 1st People Counted For The 2020 Census
In the fishing village of Toksook Bay, Alaska, the 2020 census officially began last month. The national head count starts in remote Alaska in January because the frozen ground makes it easier to reach the distant communities.
Older residents still remember when they moved their homes, pulled by dog sled, from neighboring Nightmute, Alaska, to make what was once a fishing camp into a permanent settlement. Now dogs abound, but the moving of goods is mainly done with snow machines and all-terrain vehicles.
Lizzie Chimiugak Nenguryarr, an elder of Toksook Bay who recently celebrated what she considered to be at least her 90th birthday, was the first person counted for the 2020 census.
—
“the true test of civilization is not the census,
not the size of the cities,
nor the crops – no,
but the kind of man the country turns out.”
-ralph waldo emerson
—
credits: npr – claire harbage, hansi lo wang
Mar23
distance.
on a long walk in the park each day
i see people and animals outside
staying a safe distance from each other
alone
alone together
—
“nothing makes the earth seem so spacious as to have friends at a distance;
they make the latitudes and longitudes.”
-henry david thoreau
Dec25
happy christmas.
I saw
a tiny tricycle
decorated in garlands and sparkles
parked in the bike rack at the library
heard the train come through town
softly whistling the tune of jingle bells
watched the people line up
to catch the bus to the airport
taking them somewhere
where people were waiting to see them
turned to say hello
to the man walking his dog
in his Christmas pajamas
spent the day with family and friends
playing and laughing
simply enjoying the celebration
happy Christmas everyone.
—
“our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at christmas-time.”
– laura ingalls wilder
I didn't have my glasses on.... 