Tag: herstory

Polly Coppinger’s Son: Osceola,”Master Spirit of the Seminole Nation” (1804-1838)

Polly Coppinger’s Son: Osceola,”Master Spirit of the Seminole Nation” (1804-1838)

Posted by | Oct 13, 2020 |

National Indigenous Peoples Day is being celebrated across the United States this week. Malinda Maynor Lowery, professor of history at UNC-Chapel Hill, in her article The Native History of Indigenous Peoples Day, relays, “More and more towns and cities across the country are electing to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day as an alternative to—or in addition to—the day intended to honor Columbus’ voyages…The growing recognition and celebration of Indigenous Peoples Day actually represents the fruits of a concerted, decades-long effort to recognize the role of Indigenous people in the nation’s history.” You can read Lowery’s full article here. In the spirit of...

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Joy Harjo: “The Knowing” (Muscogee (Creek)-American, b. 1951)

Joy Harjo: “The Knowing” (Muscogee (Creek)-American, b. 1951)

Posted by | Sep 1, 2020 |

I was elated to discover that the Library of Congress has appointed Joy Harjo to a second term as United States Poet Laureate! In addition to her poetry, music, and speaking engagements, Harjo is working on two exciting projects. According to the Library of Congress, one is “Living Nations, Living Words: A Map of First Peoples Poetry…a web mapping application geared toward storytelling, to showcase contemporary Native American poets from across the country,” billed as Harjo’s “signature laureate project.” The second project is hot off the press, released August 25, 2020, When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our...

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Pocahontas was a Powerful Medicine Woman with a Plan

Pocahontas was a Powerful Medicine Woman with a Plan

Posted by | Jul 28, 2020 |

#Nastywomanwriter Paula Gunn Allen (1939-2008) sets the record straight about another #nastywoman from history in her book Pocahontas: Medicine woman, Spy, Entrepreneur, Diplomat Gunn Allen rescues Pocahontas (childhood name) Matoaka (adult name) Amonute (medicine woman name) Rebecca (Christian name) from the story told and sold about her and in so doing opens the setting of this story wide and large enough to include the reality, place, time and belief systems of all the players involved. The Powhatan Alliance (people of the Dream-Vision), the loosely allied group of 30-35 Algonquin speaking tribes settled in what we now call Chesapeake Bay, then known as...

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A Tipping Point: Open Spaces in Our Public Places

A Tipping Point: Open Spaces in Our Public Places

Posted by | Jul 21, 2020 |

My sister Theresa and I started this website, Nasty Women Writers, three years ago, our goal being to highlight feminist women writers, artists, and activists, many of whom have been marginalized, silenced, and erased. Last year I wrote a post about Dr. Tererai Trent (The Awakened Woman: Remembering and Reigniting Our Sacred Dreams), an incredible woman from Zimbabwe who wrote the book The Awakened Woman. Occasionally my sister and I will follow up on a woman we’ve written about to see what’s happening, if there are any new projects they may be working on, or any updates in general....

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A Re-Declaration Of Independence That Includes Everyone This Time

A Re-Declaration Of Independence That Includes Everyone This Time

Posted by | Jul 14, 2020 |

I guess it is true that humans often resist change. Hold on to tired old things that are no longer working. I guess we all feel this within ourselves when we need to change and we cannot make ourselves do it because things are comfortable enough as is or we are “attached.” I guess that could be what is going on with white people in the United States around the most recent request for change from the black community. I guess even having the option to resist change is a form of privilege. If it ain’t broke…well guess what?...

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