Woke Up This Morning With My Mind Stayed On Freedom

May 02, 2020 | First Saturday in May Devotional
#seed2runway
Fiber Art by Carola Blog

Music is the key that opens the lock to our healing.  Music empowers us with the energy to transform ourselves.  My Momma would say, “you don’t know what love is until you know the meaning of The Blues!”  Life 101 is about The Blues!  The Blues hurts and stings like a hard slap in the face but it’s part of our humanity.  Life isn’t fair, never has been and never will be.  It’s just how it is.  For indigenous people “Waiting On The World To Change,” our time to stand up and say “Not Today Colonizer” is now.  It begins with us applying the lessons of Sage Paul Cardinal and the healing philosophy of Tala Toostoosis to take ownership of what we wear.  We need to take responsibility for healing our own intergenerational trauma by healing ourselves and our land.  Take action by learning to bead, machine sew and slow stitch by hand.  The process of creating something from nothing with your hands, will help heal you.  Let music open your heart and mind to “What If?” possibilities.

My Take Action Music Playlist
*Drum | Northern Cree | Dancerz Groove
Dance with Me
Dancerz Groove
Earth Angel

• Turtle Island Waltz | Robert Tree Cody & Will Clipman | Heart of the Wind
• Ancient Mi’kmaq | Ulali > Eastern Eagle Singers | Eagle Song
• Buffalo Song | Olivia Tailfeathers
• Waiting On the World to Change | John Mayer
• Woke Up This Morning With My Mind Stayed on Freedom | James Horner & Sweet Honey In the Rock | Freedom Song
• New Woman’s Shuffle Dance | Young Nation | Creation’s Journey
• Round Dance | Smokey Town Singers | Round Dance Song
• Do What the Spirit Say Do | Sweet Honey In the Rock | Experience 101
• A Cappella Native American Church Song | LeeAnn Brady | Songs of Native American Women
• Tapwe Oma | Fawn Wood | Songs of Native American Women
• Beautiful Dawn | Radmilla Cody | Songs of Native American Women
• Euphony | Nitanis “Kit” Largo | Songs of Native American Women
• Never Let Go | Nitanis “Kit” Largo | Songs of Native American Women

I began my weekly Fiber Friday Blogs dancing with the world wearing flowers in my hair.  I’ll share something that I know about textiles from a Tosinot Skaru’re Curricuk point of view each Friday.  These are teachings that I learned from my momma, Doris Jones, who was a Home Economics teacher for 43 years.  I’ll also share teachings from two grandmothers, Minnie Haskins and Mattie Randolph, and two great-grandmothers, Mary Burnette and Hattie Harris.

Artistically, I’m a result of the Art Department at Carolina through Xavier Toubes, Marvin Saltzman, Carol Mavor,  Dr. Sherman Lee, Jayne Bomberg and David Branch Sutton.  My arts and crafts philosophy comes from participating in The Penland Experience on top of a Tsalagi Energy Vortex.  Mentors include Eva Kwong, Kirk Mangus, Paulus Berensohn, Cynthia Bringle, Edwina Bringle and Gay Smith. Special thanks to Cherokee Studies at Western Carolina University.  I dance in The Sacred Circle because it connects me with both my past, my present and my future. The dance is my medium for active prayer for Divine Mercy for the world. The dance given to me by Mattie Burnette and Minnie Haskins at an Algonquin Picnic (unofficial Pow Wow) on Roanoke Island in 1955 is Women’s Southern  Cloth. I’m also gifted old fashion flat footed Jingle by Dr. Karlee Feller, Cree/Metis, Associate Professor at University of Calgary, Canada in honor and support of Poo’miikapii: Niitsitapii Approaches to Wellness.

I’ve also learned from Christine Zoller at East Carolina University’s Textiles Department, and from textile workshops at Penland School of Crafts with Charllotte and Sophia Kwon from Maiwa, Luke Haynes and Katherine Diuguid.  My indigenous teachers and mentors are Sage Paul Cardinal and Pura  Fe and Tala Tootoosis.