You better not pout...

Krampus is coming to town!

I love this guy. Santa's sidekick in old world Germany and other European countries. He's spanks bad children with sticks... so be good for goodness sake!

Summer Mantel

We honor the seasons at our house as part of our Native American culture. Also because we love nature and it just feels right to honor the gifts that the Great Father has given us in way of animals, the trees and plants, the changing seasons.

One way we embrace the changing seasons is to decorate the mantel.
This summer I've used sunflowers, lemons, a honeycomb, rocks and crystals, peacock feathers, sage and a smudging shell and lots of candles in gold, red and orange.
Some handmade items:
The sun medallion that Noah made (I adore that!) I've also added the gourd bowl I made a few years ago. I left the painting of my mom hanging that Autumn painted. We'll just call her "Mother Earth" for now:)

This weekend we'll have a bonfire in the back yard after the Pow Wow. We'll honor Dad with a prayer. (for Father's Day) we'll also do a Birthday blessing for Kevin. We'll roast marshmallows (just cause they're good!)
I'm also coming up with a strawberry dessert for the Solstice. The Ojibwa use the full moons to mark the months of the year. The month of June is Ode' imini-giizis meaning Strawberry Moon. So I'm thinking Strawberries are perfect! The Summer Solstice is also known as The Rising Day to the Ojibwa. It is a time of renewal, sacred ceremonies, a time to pray for healing medicines, good crops and good harvests.
Hopefully Noah and I will take a nice long quiet walk in the woods on Monday to refresh our souls.
I'd love to hear if you have any plans to celebrate the Summer Solstice!

Thanksgiving woes...

For the past few years we've been on a journey of seeking the truth. Being homeschoolers we have all the time we need to research the truth. Sometimes not an easy task to do! No more public school history B.S. for us! In doing so, we've learned many things about the beginning of this country, the true meaning of the holidays. It's getting harder and harder to just go with the traditional flow of things.

My husband being half Ojibiwa Indian and our children quarter blood. We have a hard time embracing a traditional Thanksgiving. Every time I hear the story of the pilgrims and the Natives happily sharing a Thanksgiving meal together I have to cringe. (no hard feelings toward anyone with bloodlines running way back to the first white settlers, it's all good.)
We celebrate a bit different. We do have the turkey with the trimmings...as it's my favorite meal of the year. And yes, I know there wasn't a smidgen of turkey on that first Thanksgiving table!
We celebrate it as a Ghost/Harvest Supper, honoring our past loved ones and being thankful for what the Great Father has been so gracious to give us during the past year.

Oh, did you know that November (gashkadino-giizis/freezing moon) is Native American month and November 27th is National Native American Day? I think we'll have our Ghost Supper on the 27th. which is a Friday.
Well, I wanted to give you a few links to the Native American Month proclamation from the President for 2009 and some posts on our homeschool blog from last year... but for some strange reason, (a blogger gremlin or a grumpy pilgrim spirit, I'm assuming.) I cannot link or paste anything on this post. Weird!

Riverbank Powwow /2009 Summer Solstice

Connecting...

...heritage ...earth ...the Great Father.

Megwetch.