Wilma Mankiller RIP

Today, I am grieving. I just read that Former Cherokee Nation Chief Wilma Mankiller has died and now I am in mourning.

And although I had never met her, I was/am deeply proud of Wilma Mankiller. As the first woman to lead the Cherokee Nation, it was exciting and deeply satisfying that she was also a strong feminist.

She resembled my mother in many ways, especially her younger photos. I used to wonder if my mother would have turned out like her if she had been allowed to grow up in her own culture. I loved to read her words, hear her speak and gaze at her photos. It was as if my mother was still alive and was still able to impact this world in the flesh.

And I confess that I loved her family name. I wondered what our family name had been. I use to pretend in my fantasies that we were related somehow. But truthfully, my mother was from the eastern band.

I sit here with tears in my eyes, because like my mother, I had felt safer with her in the world than I do now ... without her.

I am so sorry she spent so much of her later life ill, a trait she shared with my mother. And they both died so incredibly young -- Mankiller at 64, my mother at 59. It is maddening how often this happens for Native American women ... especially the strong ones.

I want to scream ... and tear at my hair ... and go burn something the fuck down! I am so angry ... and hurt.

Why do *we* die so quickly when all the terrible fucks live on and on ...

I know ... I know ... there is no answer ... only pain and grief.

Wilma Mankiller .. Rest in peace ... What is remembered lives ...

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February 2010 Update

I am so late in getting back to this blog. This year began with a bang and has not slowed down even with four snowfalls and loads of time spent hibernating. When I wasn’t twirling around like crazy, I was resting and recuperating – which is a good thing, right? Yet, it has meant that I have not written seriously in a really long time, at least not publicly. I am writing like crazy for school. And hopefully I will find a way to share some of that content here.

I took a short detour to get the first two of three Facebook pages up and running. There is still a lot of work needed to get the Reflections page to auto-magickly update – but it is good for now. I still need to put up a brand spanking new Connect DC web site and Facebook page – hopefully in time to announce our upcoming Ostara ritual (March 21st). Aiieee!

And the fun doesn’t stop there. I am teaching a bunch of classes starting in March. The first will be a weekend of Elemental Psychology. I owe this blog a write up on this topic especially since I have already taught two short versions and two overview classes on the topic of my book already. Then there is my Healer Weekend coming up in April. In between, Anne Hill flies in to teach a class on dreams. Reflections has a solid selection of teachers and classes this year – I am very proud. In fact one of the things I am editing is this year’s welcome message that I delivered to the school during orientation.

I am really satisfied with a new technique I am using to manage my Getting Things Done action list. It works with both sides of your brain at once, and makes working feel good way down deep in your soul. It also means that when you stop using the system, your younger self complains big time -- more on that topic later as well. I also want to share the progress I have made toward my long-term goals. And lastly, I want to share that Reflections is reading Romancing the Shadow as our 2010 book study. I am getting my entire school ready for my June Shadow class.

Well, I think that pretty much brings folks up to date. Okay, Katrina, back to work!

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Taking the Facebook Plunge

I have avoided it long enough. So as of today, I am on Facebook.

I decided to just put up a Facebook page instead of opting for the personal profile. This was mostly because I hardly have time to keep up with Live Journal much less add another social media site to my growing list of commitments. I hope folks understand.

I asked for advice from several folks who have already taken the plunge and the results were mixed. Finally my dear niece warned me against having a personal profile and a page -- "Pick one", she said.

Now I have to figure out how to have my events, rants and other items appear auto-magically. We will see how this works out. One thing I have already noticed is that with a page I cannot look up anyone. So if you want me to find you, you will have to become a fan of moi.

Look out world, Katrina is now on Facebook. This has to a sign of something or other -- just not sure if it is really bad or just sorta ... y'know really inconsequential.

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Get Dark Beauty for $10 (or $3!)

Just a quick note to say that I lowered the price of Dark Beauty to match what I sell them for at conferences. I sold them at a higher price to cover shipping costs, but now since I am letting lulu.com handle the entire process, I can drop the price.

But more importantly, I took a page from Wil Wheaton, and I am now offering a PDF version for $3.

What can I say? It is my first book of poetry and Thorn yelled at me for not bringing them to sell at the Sacred Space Conference.

So consider this my feeble attempt at avoiding the wrath of my baby sis! Ya, I know ... very scary!

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