"Who Is An Indian?": On The Origins Of A Persistent Misunderstanding
Examining the colonial legacy, administrative categories, and sovereign realities of Indigenous identity. Written as a Chahta citizen living within the Cherokee Nation Reservation in northeastern Oklahoma.
The question "Who is an Indian?" has circulated through Indian Country for more than a century, gathering urgency as identity fraud, institutional confusion, and federal pressure on sovereignty intensify. It is a question that arrives already shaped by outside hands. Its grammar carries the residue of policy offices, census takers, and courts that once believed they could define Indigenous peoples through paperwork alone. The phrasing seems simple, but its lineage is unmistakably colonial: it presumes the authority to classify, to delimit, to decide…
The Vulnerable Years: Rethinking What We Call the “Golden Years”
We call them the Golden Years. The phrase conjures images of retirement, freedom, leisure, and finally having the time to enjoy life after decades of working, raising families, and caring for others. But after watching my mother grow old, I began to question those words. For her, the Golden Years became something closer to the rusty years - a slow tarnishing of the independence and simple pleasures she had enjoyed throughout her life…
5 Rabbit Holes Worth Exploring
As cheesy as it is, “rabbit hole” is an excellent image for the binge-worthy content we’re sharing today. There’s the initial allure of an idea, and then pursuing it further you realize that there’s actually an entirely different world of thought. You may spend time twisting and turning but eventually emerge from the depths, changed. We long for the golden age of internet content, where you could easily get lost in a blog’s archives…
Process-Striving: A New Form of Status Competition In The Social Media Era
In every creative endeavor, there is a “behind the scenes” component that is less refined than the end result - a messy kitchen before a stunning meal, or the awkward rehearsals before opening night. Beauty routines, diets, workouts, planning/life management systems, and cleaning schedules, are just a few examples of the essential “behind the scenes” aspects of womanhood. These processes are integral to excelling at the roles we play in our day-to-day lives but until recently they were intentionally concealed from public view and open discussion. The allure of well-executed womanhood…