Reznjun

just finished up my third week on the job. i am glad i took the job. i just never wanted to work for the tribe. i had a few times in the past and didnt like it. too many little power games by some extremely insecure people. this time around i am enjoying it. alot of my misconceptions about the system have cleared up. others were confirmed. but then who said life would be easy.

i have been planting warm weather crops. i think the ground is just warm enough now. it had been cool. i got a kick out of a comment the other day. i was planting corn and a passerby asked who was going to water it. i said i have had a garden for 26 years and i depend on rain. she said they planted corn before and no one took care of it and they didnt get anything. i passed on the opportunity to pick my gear up and quit since i was doomed to failure anyway. instead i told the lady ‘well if it dont grow, it wont be because i didnt try’. she nodded and left. i dont understand the negativity of some people. i know there is no guarantee in gardening but i do it anyway. i dont go into it thinking i will fail. i always bank on having success. our program got a directive from a ‘higher up’ that our gardening WILL succeed this year. it will succeed because i will give it a hellva go. not because some pencil pusher issued a command.

the comment also shows where some are in todays world. i work on a ‘traditional’ (whatever that means) gardening program. long ago they didnt have garden hose and outdoor faucets. they grew crops without them. now some think we can only do things the modern way. no doubt having modern methods available when there is no rain is very beneficial. maybe its not just one or the other.

i gave some of my seed corn to the three tribal gardens. i am all for growing our own corn. our ancestors wouldnt have kept it all these years if they didnt want us to have it. the genetics of it is selected to withstand the extremes of weather conditions. it was heirloom before the term existed. i have 12 105 foot rows of it growing in my garden. so i know there are 4 gardens with the seed i had. i remember an old lady told me ‘corn is our life, once we quit growing it that is the end of our life.’ taken at face value some of our people just let that comment pass. we use corn and pumpkin in most of our ceremonies. they are our sacred foods. i am also planting alot of our indian beans. when i was hired to do a traditional garden i took that to heart.

while i am thinking traditional gardening and recycling cans and plastic untold gallons of oil is spilling into the gulf. i say lets do away with the suspense and hand the oil company a blank check from stimulus money. we reward big businesses failures with hundreds of billions of dollars. after we bail them out they can jack up prices to cover loses and increase their profit. they wont share in profits but are kind enough to pass the costs on to us. the greedy bastards.

sometime this weekend i have to catch up on my yard and garden. the garden is getting weeds and my lawn has to be mowed again. i also have two turtles to clean. some one told me they were looking forward to a 4 day weekend. i said i didnt have a weekend. the days just run into each other. thats okay it is what keeps me going…..

was heading to work today and i spotted a shikeh. i pulled over and tossed him in the trunk. later at work i got a call from wetase and they said they had one too if i wanted it. i said sho nuff and went over to pick it up. the program i am working on also promotes eating our native foods. i know from growing up on the rez we ate turtle. so now i have two to clean. my program has to put on a cooking demo sometime. maybe i will fix one of these. them country injuns will eat that up.

working on the tribal gardening program kinda keeps me away from my own garden. it still produces. the mailman told me it was looking good. we picked about half a gallon of radishes this evening. my spinach is ready to pick. i eat fresh strawberries whenever i feel like it. i have a bed of sage i can pick anytime. my cabbages are getting big. i have rows of vegetables that are growing good. as soon as i made it home from my last road trip the first thing i noticed was my corn had come up. my sema is growing good. i gotta make time to weed the garden next.

speaking of my last road trip on the way home i had to go check out a casino. it was called terribles. for good reason. it was a terrible place to stop. lost a few bucks. had a good breakfast there tho. i added to my players card collection. like i really need some more.

i met a friend on my trip. i returned his manuscript to him. i was asked if there were any changes i would recommend. i said no, its his story. he can tell it better than anyone. he asked me about how my book was coming along. i said i am working on it when i get a chance. he encouraged me to keep at it. i agreed. i have alot of friends that are writers. they all tell me that. not many indian authors. i want to join their ranks as a published author. thats been one of my dreams for a long time.

i got a notice from the mayetta alumni association. it gave june 19th as the reunion. i called and made a reservation. no offense to my indian friends. i will go since my class is one of the honored classes. i am now keeping in touch with my classmates thru the net. wish i had kept i touch with them over the years. they are all good people.

my job keeps me amused. i kinda enjoy doing it. gotta get ready for it….

george mary me steve bob

got home from visiting mounds in the state of illinois. i am fortunate in that i know a couple of guys that are archaeologists. they know where alot of the mounds are located from their work. i have known dave and steve awhile now. i consider them friends. i went on the mound tour last year in quincy. dave said he knew a place where a potawatomi chief named senajwen was buried. i commented that i would like to see it someday. and forgot about it. a month or so ago steve asked me to come back to quincy for another mound tour. i said yeah. then i found out dave made arrangements  to visit where senajwen was buried.

i left the rez last thursday. had to miss work friday. since i am a contract worker that meant no pay. the trip i took was worth more to me than money. i had a great time and met alot of great people. money cant buy that.

friday mary and i rode with steve and dave on a three and a half hour drive north of quincy. we drove along the illinois river. all along the way they would point out where the mounds were located. if i had been driving i would have totally missed them. i got like a crash course as they described the sites, who built them, how old they were etc. i am always open to learning something new. on the way we past the general area where komo’s village was located.

we arrived at the farm where senajwens village was located. the farm had been in the same family since the 1890s. they took good care of it and the site where senajwen was buried. he is buried on top of a hill that has a series of mounds on it. they predate potawatomi occupation of the site. long ago potawatomis marked the spot where they laid senajwen to rest. it overlooks the valley where his village was. i stood on the hill and was amazed that i was where some of my people came from. i was also aware that senajwen and some of his braves were buried there. senajwen is the grandfather of my misho nagmo. i felt a connection to the place. the owner of the land and the archaeologists left me to spend time on the hill. i had brought my pipe along for the occasion. i smoke with our ancestors on the hill. i felt at peace in doing that. i hope they did too. i left them some sema.

after i came down from the hill i was allowed to see the museum on the grounds. it housed many artifacts that were found over the years. i enjoyed looking at them. i took many pictures of them. many of the items dated back hundreds and even thousands of years. i thanked george and his brother bob for allowing me to spend time there. i really did appreciate that. they said to come back if i am ever in the area. i said i would.

on the way back we stopped at a site where they said was ground zero for the hopewell civilization. it started there and spread out. there was a big mound there. the museum was closed. in the old days some used to exploit the sites. a family that called the land theirs lay open the graves and charged admission for the curious to come look at the skeletal remains. that practice was stopped. the artifacts are still there though. i didnt get to see them or the sites that housed where the remnants of ceremonial lodges were.

the next day, saturday, i went back to visit the mounds located in quincy. they are cleaning the sites up. they had become overgrown with trees and vegetation. some have been cleared of them. more will also be cleared in the future.  the bluff where the mounds were built has a great view overlooking the river. plans are to restore the site to closely look like it did originally.

i met and talked with most of the ones on the tour. i met some of them previously. they were all good people. i was asked to say a prayer in my language. i did. they were all were respectful of it. we had a meal when we were done. i didnt want the day to end. i had a great time.

now it is back to the grind…..

a classmate of mine sent this picture of me from back in high school. i dont remember being that young and innocent. well i was starting to lose my innocence by then. i started to rebel against all that insanity from parochial boarding school. i think my class is one of the ones being honored at this years high school reunion. i plan on going if i can. i am in touch with my classmates now. facebook and email.

i was talking to a home girl at the health center. we were talking bout my job there as traditional gardener. i said hell i do this for nothing. now they paying me for it. she said at least i am doing something i love. i agreed. it is such an easy job. i could garden in my sleep.

i work with the language program and senior citizens in my work. i delivered plants to them. they were tomatoes, peppers, squash and cucumbers and other things.  i also dropped off some of the seed from my corn and indian beans  and wild onion seed. this program is suppose to be about returning to using native foods. i said we have our own seed and foods we eat. i believe we should grow and pick them.

so far i have started about 300 seeds of various vegetables. they are all heirloom seeds. i will share them with the other programs and transplant some in the garden behind the clinic. i have set out two rows of plants including tomatoes, peppers, cukes, squash, zucchini and tomatillo. i also planted potatoes, onions, zucchini, carrots, radishes, onions, green beans, spinach, lettuce and amish melons. i will continue to plant other things. i have only been on the job 7 days. so i got a hellva start.

tomorrow i am hanging out at the casino for the wellness fair. if someone wants to come talk about gardening or whatever check me out. i will be there most of the day. thursday i am hanging out with some of our seniors on a field trip. we are going out to pick nenwezhek. that ought to be a fun excursion. i will take pictures of our outing. i take pictures of everything to document what i am doing. i also keep a daily log of what i am up to. thats in case i get the third degree from someone. i can lay it all out there. this injun got educated.

i have notice that many people have been giving me gardening advice. i listen to them. i am always learning. on the other hand i would put my garden up against anyones. i grow enough food to last most of the year. i can, dry and freeze alot of what i grow. i also pick wild foods our people ate. i will share what ever knowledge about such things as i can with people. i take my job serious.

i am up for a road trip. heading out to the mound tour this weekend. that should be fun….

i had this picture of my aunt zelda on my last post. then i went to make a correction and zapped the whole blog. no i didnt save it.

i am back on the job tomorrow.  ready for week two.  strangely enough i am having fun doing what i do. i love gardening. now they are paying me to do it. officially i am listed as project coordinator. when people ask me what i do i say i co-ordinate the project. in laymans terms i am called the traditional gardener.  no we dont sacrifice a chicken before we plant.

the weather has kinda held gardening back. my personal garden is doing great. the ground has been wet the past week so the garden at my work is still getting started. i started about 300 plants in the greenhouse. all kinds of things. they will take a while before they come up.   for people that want instant gratification our program scored some plants from a local nursery. i set some out last friday in the garden spot. i wanted them in before the rain hit. i transplanted about a dozen tomato plants, half a dozen hot pepper plants and some zucchini. then i planted a row of potatoes and a row of onions. i will finish planting what i can this week.

wednesday they are having a health fair or something at the casino. i am suppose to be there to discuss traditional gardening with anyone that is interested.  so come on over and help me pass the time. i like meeting and talking with people.

at the end of the week i am heading to quincy illinois. i was there last year for the mound tour. they are burial mounds on the bluff overlooking the mississippi river. i get a private tour of a burial mound site north of there. they have a potawatomi chief named senajwen buried there. one of our old chiefs here used to go up there to visit his burial site. he would do a ceremony there. so the farmer that owns the private land said i can have private time to do whatever. i probably will just smoke my pipe there.

i see my neighbors were woke up by the closing of our dumpster. since it has been re-opened it has been kept cleaner. no trash laying on the ground. glad to see that. they musta realized what they were doing to themselves.

i am ready for the week to begin…..

i have been easing into  my gardening  job. so far not a hitch. its only been two days now. i know as soon as the ground is workable i will be busy planting. and then some. oh well i took the job because i know i will enjoy it. i agree with the goals of the program. for years i have been saying we should grow our own food. the other year 100 foods were banned for some reason or other. we know what we put into the food we grow ourself.

the program i work for is launching a new website. it may be up and running today. i will link the site. it will just deal with gardening and traditional foods. since it is at the health center it will also include health related topics. its not so much a blog as an informational site. i cant wait to begin writing on it.

my own garden is doing good. the rain we have been getting is making everything grow. i wouldnt doubt that mushrooms are out again. i found some last year around this time. i just dont have time to go out and check.

i have to be off to work. cant facebook or blog on the job.

seen litefoot at the haskell pow wow the other night. i had to stop and visit with him. i have ran into him at different pow wows around the country. i like it that he always makes time to talk. we share many of the same concerns. i admire him for trying to do something about helping native causes. i first met him when i was going into leavenworth. i made a home video for the brothers inside and he let me interview him.

yesterday my son joe and i planted 12 rows of corn. we were done in a little while. i tilled the ground up a few days ago to kill the weeds coming up. it was still very workable. we sank in the ground as we walked, the soil was so crumpled up. the weather people say we have a chance for rain all week. thats good. i know the corn will sprout. i will add pumkin and indian beans in the rows of corn when i get a chance.

i noticed our buffalo herd has many new calves that were born this spring. i took a few pictures of them. will post one later. i like to stop now and then and just watch our buffalo. they are fine looking animals. maybe i will post some video of them on my facebook.

since the weather has kinda warmed up my chickens are producing lotsa eggs. now i dont feel put out that i fed them all winter while they werent laying. a friend of mine told me i should have put a light in the chicken house. they lay if they have 10-12 hours of light. i will file that away for next fall and winter. i am now getting a surplus of several dozen eggs a week. they are big brown eggs with rich looking yolk, better than store bought. some people told me they would buy some from me but never have.

i seen that they opened the n road dumpster back up. i hope my neighbors got the message that it can be closed. in the past few days they havent piled up the trash or threw it on the ground next to the dumpster. seems just a few can ruin it for the rest. thats how it always works. the majority get punished because of the actions of a few. gotta be a lesson in there somewhere.

i start work tomorrow on that traditional gardening  job for the tribal health center. its the kind of job that some resent mexicans for taking but no one wanted it. so i got it. i feel i can do a good job. i am well aware some wont like the way i strut but i took the job because i enjoy that kind of work. i have been doing it most of my life. there arent many out here that raise gardens. we should. many of our health problems are caused by our diet and lack of proper exercise. we can do something about that.

i hope to keep up with my blogging for my site here. i may have to write in the evening. i just added a new page showing the roaches i have for sale. check it out. part of the job i will take involves creating and writing on a new website about the gardening program. i can handle that. i will link that site to this one. the nice thing about living a number of years is that you have more things to remember and can write about them. 

tomorrow is my birthday. so i asked if i would get the day off. i was told no because i am on contract work. i was only kidding. then i asked when i would get a cell phone and laptop computer. again no. i was kidding again. i said i know how the system works. then i asked if i could have a vehicle for personal use. surprise–another no. again kidding. so i wont the kind of fort injun that i sometimes write about. i think the new job will be an adventure. i just took it to spike my retirement. i consider myself semi retired and will be retired in 4 years. this is just to keep me entertained for awhile. i will have fun…..

happy mothers day to all our mothers. there isnt a day that goes by that i dont think of my mother. i admire that woman for raising her kids on next to nothing. that was b.c. (before casinos) she was one hellva indian woman. i learned so much from her. wished i could have learned more. to all appreciate your mother. when she is gone you will fully understand how much she means to you. we are having a cookout and volleyball here today around 4 for wabeno and my birthday. and for mothers day….anybody is welcome to come…

last night we had the our first volleyball game of the season here. my kids have been inviting their friends and cousins over for the past several years. at times they have enough for 3 teams. winners stay on the court to face the next challengers. last night they had two teams. they always have a good time. it is fun to watch them play. i have enjoyed these same kids coming to my house for years. i have known them for their entire lives. we are having a cookout sunday and they will play again. anyone is welcome to come. its a birthday cookout for wabeno and me. also mothers day.

for years i would never consider a job working for the tribe. i did apply a few times only to be turned down because some fort injun didnt like my style. i got tired of my own kind trying to do me in behind my back.  i have seen that there are too many chiefs and not enough injuns. recently i was approached to put in for the traditional gardening job. i held onto the application for a week and a half before i filled it out. finally i figured what the hell and turned it in. i have had a garden for the past 25 years. my garden has gotten progressively bigger each year. it is now 81 feet by 105 feet. i dont know of anyone on the rez that has a bigger garden or has gardened as long as i have. there may be a few but not many. gardening is hard work.

i wondered if i had a shot at the job. then i heard it was posted and had a deadline of april 12th. i was told about it two weeks later. so i guess no one applied. since i may be the only candidate my chances are good. i pissed in a cup, filled out a criminal back ground check and am not waiting to see what will happen. this is just a seasonal job without any benefits. i usually get the jobs no one else wants. i know i can a pretty damn good job. i have been preaching the value of growing food for years. i didnt think anyone listened to me.

speaking of gardening, my garden is thriving. my potatoes and onions are doing good. i have cabbages, leeks, radishes, carrots,  turnips, spinach, green beans, lima beans, bell peppers, sweet potatoes and hot peppers growing. i transplanted 70 strawberry plants and 50 sema plants. i havent put in my warm weather crops like corn, pumkin or tomatoes yet. no big hurry. sometimes i think people get corn in too early. i have seen there is no real benefit other that saying you did it early. the corn gets taller but doesnt produce any more. i like to plant it first part of may and will continue to do so. i know it works for me.

my phone has been ringing daily. even though i am on a no call list i get calls from 800 numbers. i dont bother to answer. they hang up as soon as the recording comes on. a few give their spiel. usually some political group saying how horrible the other guy is. i dont even want to hear it. i wont answer the phone either if the caller i d  lists ‘unknown’. those calls may be people i know but if they dont want me to know who they are i wont answer.

tonight is the haskell pow wow. i plan on heading down there. i havent caught any pow wows yet. the price of gas is a factor. the gas mongers are screwing the american people. we will pay 3 bucks a gallon real soon. the price will drop a dime and we will feel real grateful. then we will have to pay for the oil spill down in the gulf. they wont pass on the profits to us but will gladly hand us a bill for their costs. the bastards.

we had a good rain last night. my garden and i appreciate that. gotta live with nature…

the dumpster on n road has been closed. it has crime scene looking tape and an orange fence blocking entry. dont know who is responsible but i applaud their action. it was very convenient to drive there and empty house hold trash. it got to be an eyesore though. i live here on n road and that site was an embarrassment to all that live in this neighborhood.

you give something free and some people want to take as much as they can get. a sign posted near the dumpster stated household trash only but some just dumped everything. the dumpster was emptied twice a week. some people couldnt wait until it was empty. they would pile it on or toss trash anywhere close to the side of the dumpster. some of the trash would blow around. i seen plastic bags in the hayfield and the timber. i dont know how someone can accumulate that much trash in a matter of days. they must have borrowed trash from others. it had to be shipped in from somewhere.

a few days before the dumpster was closed i seen my neighbor taking a pickup truck full of trash to dump. as i drove by the dumpster i noticed it was overflowing. the lids couldnt even be closed. i wondered where the neighbor was going to put it. he backed into the drive anyway. guys like him are the reason we lost the convenience of free trash disposal  somewhere close in the neighborhood. now we lost that privilege. now my neighbor and others will let their trash pile up in their yard. probably wont even bother them.

ever notice that when indians break out the playing cards they all have a hole thru the deck? they are the rejects from casinos. once the decks start wearing the casinos get rid of them. they punch a hole thru the deck first then either sell or give the cards away. so indians have decks with holes in them. i have decks from indian casinos from around the country.

my monitor went out on my computer. so i wasnt online for a coupla days. it was pure hell. couldnt blog. couldnt check my e mail. i get mail everyday. i couldnt get on facebook. that site is better than the holton recorder. it is updated constantly. i get more news from that site. i deleted half my friend list though. i got tired of reading some of that.  

i seen where the tribe has launched a new web-site to communicate with the people in illinois. too bad they couldnt do that here. it would be nice if they could keep us informed.

i gotta have a drug test today. dont know if i have to know the lyrics to the grateful dead songs, or the members of the doobie brothers or dates of death for hendrix, joplin or morrison. or maybe i just gotta piss in a cup. dont know what kind of drug test til i get there. i also have to have a backgound check. no problemo. i had security clearance to go into maximum security prisons. so i better be off…