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<\/a>As in most things Native, we don’t do this sort of thing lightly. Or without guides. One of my guides has been a mixed culture person like me \u2014 and a not-too-distant cousin (our ancestors come from the same camp on the Lower Tanana of Alaska). She is the artist who has gifted me with the wristband you will see me wearing and other articles. My aunt, also mixed culture (now deceased) gave me the beaded-case for my eye glasses. My mother, my oldest living maternal relative of our tribe, has given me her blessing as well \u2014 for First Nations in Alaska, we’re matrilineal, so that means a lot. An Ojibwe woman, a traditionalist and also a Christian, took this name to a moon ceremony on my behalf \u2014 in the Native world that I belong to, our mothers and sisters play a significant role in our human formation, and I’m no exception.<\/p>\nI will also say that everything Native is, for me, salvage. I have come to where I am today the way someone comes to collect precious things after some catastrophic loss. You walk a little ways, you see something of yourself, or it calls out to you, and you recognise your name in that call. For me, that’s the way it has been. If you read my name, pray for indigenous peoples in our world \u2014 whether living on a reservation or in the inner city, or somewhere between, indigenous Nations face enormous challenges. But as you might also guess, our Nations include people of courage and great wisdom. When you see my Native name, and you sound it out, remember that you’re holding these in the presence of the Great God of Heaven.<\/p>\n
In the Spirit of our Creator,<\/p>\n
Rob Hoch (Yidokodiltona)<\/p>\n
18 December 2023<\/p>\n\n