Image Copyright Wings, 2011; all rights reserved.
In late 2010, Wings was honored to receive a commission for two very special pieces from internationally acclaimed author George R.R. Martin and his beautiful wife Parris McBride. Wings was asked to design a matching pendant and pin, each in the shape of a turtle, a totem that holds special significance for the Martins. Each sterling silver turtle is hand-cut and hand-stamped, with each shell formed of a deep blue-green spiderweb turquoise cabochon. These two matching cabs, mined from the same vein of host rock, are from Wings's special "stash" of turquoise: old, hand-cut, hand-buffed untreated stones from Nevada.
Since that time, we've been blessed to get to know Parris well, and through her, I've met her husband briefly. You may recognize his name: George R.R. Martin is perhaps best known as the author of the best-selling literary fantasy series known as A Song of Ice and Fire, what will eventually be a seven-installment history of the fictional medieval world of Westeros. I have now read, and love, the first four books: A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, and A Feast for Crows. The fifth book, A Dance with Dragons, is slated for publication on July 12, and I'll be picking it up the moment it's available.
More immediately, the first book has been turned into a cable television series, Game of Thrones, which premieres tonight on HBO at 9PM EDT (7PM here in New Mexico). We've seen the trailers, and we'll be glued to our TV tonight. We hope you'll join us - and if you haven't yet read the books, do so! It'll be some of the most vivid writing and fully-realized imagery you'll read anywhere.
And Parris and George: Chi miigwech and ta'a, from both of us. Congratulations to you both on tonight's well-deserved success, and on the many more to come. Blessings and love.
Image copyright Wings, 2011; all rights reserved.
Yes, I miss home. But I'm away for a good cause. And in a few weeks, I'll be back where I belong.
In the meantime, I'm going to try to use whatever spare time is available to me to do something I've been meaning to do for four years now: Create an educational space for issues related to Wings's artwork. Everything from silversmithing techniques to information about gemstones to Native arts generally - you'll find information here, liberally sprinkled with cultural and political references, no doubt, since that's what I do. but if you want to learn more about what he does and how and why he does it, drop by every now and then. There's a lot to discuss.
Image copyright Wings, 2010; all rights reserved.
(As nearly as we can tell), Griffin turned 10 today. After nearly losing him to a truck's front bumper a little over a year ago, we're profoundly that grateful that he's here and healthy today.
Griffin has been with me since he was five months old. He is sui generis - my companion, my guide, my manitou.
Happy birthday, baby boy. We love you.
Image copyright Wings, 2010; all rights reserved.
At 1:12PM this afternoon, it will be exactly three years since you left us.
Not a day goes by that I don't miss you terribly.
We love you, baby girl. Chi miigwech for sharing your life with us.
Image copyright Wings, 2010; all rights reserved.
We love you.
Tomorrow, July 15, is the deadline for public comment on the U.S. State Department's review of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples [UNDRIP]. Only two nations - Canada and the U.S. - have openly opposed the Declaration, and Canada is now getting ready to add its endorsement. This leaves, as usual, the U.S. as the lone holdout. It's long past time for the U.S. to come to grips with its past, and to begin doing the right thing for the future. Below are two e-mail templates: one to the State Department; the other to President Obama. Feel free to use them, in whole or in part, to lend your voice to ours as we call on the federal government to do the right thing in this initial step to help protect the rights of indigenous peoples the world over. Note: When using the White House's Web contact from, be sure to check the box at the bottom asking for a response.
THE STATE DEPARTMENT
July 14, 2010
Hon. Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary, U.S. Department of State
C/O S/SR Global Intergovernmental Affairs
2201 C Street, N.W., Suite 1317
Washington, D.C. 20520
Via e-mail
Dear Secretary Clinton:
I write to ask you to expedite the State Department's review of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP), and to recommend to President Obama that the U.S. become a signatory to the Declaration.
Canada has now expressed its intent to "'endorse" the Declaration, leaving the U.S. as the only country to oppose it. This does not reflect well on the U.S., either with regard to our international standing as a good citizen, or with regard to our country's desperate need to come to terms with the sins of its own past, which continue today to inflict a disparate negative impact upon our own indigenous peoples.
As a wisaakodewikwe, a woman of mixed-blood ancestry, I know all too well the dire straits in which too many of our Native peoples find themselves today, including the continuing loss of land, resources, culture, language, spiritual traditions, and even identity. UNDRIP is necessary to ensure the very survival of our peoples, both in the U.S. and around the globe. It is long past time for the United States to do the right thing: Become a signatory to UNDRIP, work to enforce it, and remove the taint that comes with being the only nation in the world actively to deny indigenous peoples this first step to ensuring their fundamental rights.
Please: Complete the review and recommend signing UNDRIP now.
Very truly yours,
Ajijaakwe ("Echo Maker Woman")
THE WHITE HOUSE
July 14, 2010
President Barack H. Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20500
202.456.1414
CC: Kimberly Teehee, Senior Policy Advisor for Native American Affairs
Via e-mail
Dear President Obama:
I write to ask you to expedite your Administration's review of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP), and, on behalf of the United States, to become a signatory to the Declaration.
Canada has now expressed its intent to "endorse" the Declaration, leaving the U.S. as the only country to oppose it. This does not reflect well on the U.S., either with regard to our international standing as a good citizen, or with regard to our country's desperate need to come to terms with the sins of its own past, which continue today to inflict a disparate negative impact upon our own indigenous peoples.
As a wisaakodewikwe, a woman of mixed-blood ancestry, I know all too well the dire straits in which too many of our Native peoples find themselves today, including the continuing loss of land, resources, culture, language, spiritual traditions, and even identity. UNDRIP is necessary to ensure the very survival of our peoples, both in the U.S. and around the globe. It is long past time for the United States to do the right thing: Become a signatory to UNDRIP, work to enforce it, and remove the taint that comes with being the only nation in the world actively to deny indigenous peoples this first step to ensuring their fundamental rights.
Please: Sign - and enforce - UNDRIP now.
Very truly yours,
Ajijaakwe ("Echo Maker Woman")
Image copyright Wings, 2010; all rights reserved.
Today is the 6-month anniversary of the devastating Haiti earthquake. Very little has changed since January 12th: A quarter of a million people are dead; hundreds of thousands more are suffering from terrible injuries; and more yet are homeless and living under plastic tarps in makeshift camps where disease is rampant. It's now hurricane season, and conditions are going to get much worse very rapidly.
Over at DK, we're holding a fundraiser for some of the organizations that are working to make a difference on the ground in Haiti. We have $700 in matching funds, but we're hoping to far exceed that: Our last such fundraiser, three months ago, raised $3200.
Wings has designed and crafted a pendant exclusively for the fundraiser, and we're auctioning it off in the DK diary. So if you're a DK member, come and bid - current bid is for $200, from one of my dear friends, but let's take this much higher, and help provide food, shelter, and medical care for some folks who are battling to survive conditions that, Spirit willing, none of us will ever know.
Chi miigwech and ta'a.
Image Copyright Wings, 2011; all rights reserved.
