upthewitchypunx:

themanicbibliophile:

kaylaincarnatetarot:

littlewitchlingrowan:

dogbearspeaks:

The Plains warbonnet is not a Cherokee thing. It is not a Navajo thing. It is not an Indian thing. It is a Plains thing.

Stop calling every silly thing you draw that even vaguely resembles a native “Cherokee” or “Navajo” or “Aztec.”

Stop drawing the warbonnet everywhere as the apparently definitive native thing. It isn’t part of all of our 600+ cultures.

Same goes for the tipi, not part of every one of the 600+ indigenous cultures.

Stop thinking that if a native person doesn’t have dark, “mahogany” skin, that their heritage is invalid. Even without admixture, we actually do have varying skin tones.

Stop wearing crappy fake warbonnets.

Stop wearing redface.

Stop using us as your silly mascots. We are people.

Stop saying “spirit animal.” It’s derived from a New Age bastardization of a something that actually exists in some of our cultures.

Don’t smudge. Cleanse all you like, that’s fine, but don’t smudge.

Don’t call us “Indians.” “Native American” isn’t great either, it is not our name, but it’s slightly better than “Indian.” “Indigenous” is also fine.

Don’t use NDN/ndn. That is ours.

Step off about our hair. If you meet a long-haired native, admire it if you like, maybe even ask them about it (RESPECTFULLY), but do not touch. The same applies for someone with short hair, but additionally for those with short hair, don’t say things like “oh you’d look more native/Indian/etc if your hair was long.” We didn’t all traditionally have long, flowing hair. Believe it or not, there are actually different haircuts existing in our various cultures, and aside from that ultimately it’s a personal choice, one does not need to have long hair if they don’t want to. Doesn’t make them any less native to have short hair.

Don’t pray to our spirits/gods/energies. Native spiritualities are closed, they are not for outsiders.

Don’t say “The Native Americans believed…” Firstly, the past tense is silly, we still exist and do things. Secondly, we are NOT A MONOLITH. As I mentioned before, there are upwards of 600 different Native American cultures.

Don’t ask about someone’s “Indian name.” That’s not only insensitive, the name you are referring to in that instance is something sacred, and might not be something that person wants to share with you.

Don’t call yourself silly crap like “howling wolf” or “flying eagle.” That’s also racist and insensitive.

Regardless of whatever you might think you’re doing, or what your intentions may be, if a native person tells you that what you’re doing is disrespectful, STOP DOING IT.

You aren’t honoring us. You’re just mocking us further, demonstrating your continued ability to treat us like shit and get away with it even now, centuries after our colonization began. Your feelings are not more important than our history and survival.

To those doing your best as allies, thank you, keep doing what you do. HOWEVER, don’t let opportunities to educate others escape you. By letting them continue to be ignorant, you are failing. Spread the message.

There will be no “please.” It’s been more than 500 years, and we still are made to be invisible in our homelands. Still we are treated like less. Some even think we all died long ago.

We are still here

We will still be here

Treat us with respect.

Bringing this back again.

In regards to smudgings/cleansing is that just about the name of the practice or is there a specific way of cleansing that is considered smudging and not okay?

From what I understand, smoke cleansing is ok. Calling it smudging when you do so is not.

Feel free to correct me if there’s more.

Smudging is the name of specific rituals that vary from nation to nation. If you have not been instructed on how how to do it, you are not smudging so do not call it that. Call it smoke cleansing, recaning, fumigation, or something else.

spevvy:

garryjerrylarryx:

If you have epilepsy, seizures, or anything that can be caused by excessive light use, DO NOT WATCH STRANGER THINGS ON NETFLIX. It has a lot of flashing lights, strobe lights, and can cause episodes. Idc if you reblog this or not, but if you know someone that this can possibly happen to, let them know. It already happened to a friend of mine while she was watching it. 

PSA for my fellow epileptics

geeko-kat:

neuroatypically-speaking:

cultural-temmieism:

moody-poet:

I’m not a Muslim but I just thought I would reblog this because I think it’s definitely worth listening to.

New rule, non muslims can’t say the word jihad. Until you stop conflating a word that means personal struggle with faith and temptation with terrorism youre just not allowed to say it.

Oh god, finally someone said it. Every time I see words like “jihadist” I want to scream, but I’m not Muslim, so I wasn’t sure I should say anything. 

Jihad means struggle. It doesn’t mean holy war or anything like it. In fact, there is no word in Islam for holy war, because the nature of Islam does not leave room for holy war. Islam has a juridical system, not a Pope who can just say “Go wage holy war.” Conflating the personal nature of jihad with violence is so very gross and it needs to stop. Period.

Actually, there’s another word non-muslims in the media shouldn’t use:

Allahu Akbar. It’s not a statement of terrorism. It means “god is great”. It’s something we say to praise our lord. It’s what we say when we pray. It’s not a statement of terrorism. Allahu Akbar doesn’t mean terrorism stop using it as one

tzbutts:

j-j-j-jenny-and-the-cats:

freezeflare:

It would seem that there is in fact a way to force an evolution of your Eevee. The Eevee Brothers from the original anime were named Rainer, Pyro, Sparky and they owned a Vaporeon, Flareon and Jolteon respectively. If you nickname your Eevee either Rainer, Pyro or Sparky, your Eevee will evolve into that desired Eeveelution!

Sparky = Jolteon

Rainer = Vaporeon

Pyro = Flareon

[[source]]

I thought this was bullshit, but people in the local PokeGO community are reporting a 100 percent success rate, including a dude who named all six of his Eevees Sparky, and all six evolved into Jolteons (thanks, dude).

So I’m willing to try it and pass it along. 

i did this last night with Pyro and it worked. heard from a local player it worked 12/12 times for him and people he knew. i think it’s legit

thephotogfeminist:

1.    Do you know your REAL parents?

My “real” parents are the ones raising me. The term you are looking for is: biological parent, bio parents, or birth mother/father.

2.    Why did your mom give you up?

Again- it’s birth mom, and she did not “give me up.” She placed me for adoption because she thought that was the best option for everyone involved. 

3. Why didn’t your birth mom want you?

Many birth mothers DO want their babies, but they decide that doing so would be detrimental to her life as well as the child’s. 

4.What if your mom had aborted YOU?

This is usually said to me before the person discovers I’m adopted AND ITS MY FAVORITE. My birth mother almost did abort me and she aborted a pregnancy before mine, and guess what, I still vehemently support her right to do so. My birth mother carried me as a GIFT to my parents and me. She was in no way obligated to do it and it wasn’t easy. Saying she shouldn’t have the right to abort is a slap in the face to her CHOICE. Because that’s what it was. A choice. NOT an obligation. 

So in short, don’t ask this unless you want to completely lose your argument.

5. God blessed your parents when he gave them you!

Well first he tormented them with years of infertility, 6 ectopic pregnancies, and some very dangerous miscarriages. Oh, and it was my birth mom that “blessed” them with a child. 

6. Where are you from?

This is not one I experience, but many trans-national and trans-racial adoptees HATE this one. It’s mostly annoying because you’re basically asking why they don’t “match” the physical appearance of their adoptive family, but there’s also the fact that they’re not really “from” another country. If they were adopted at a young age, they probably don’t remember living in their birth country.

7. How much did you cost?

Ummm, I was not sold. The phrase you are looking for is: “How much did the adoption process cost?” Adoptions are expensive, but you’re not paying for the child. You pay for lawyer fees, home studies, and agency fees, NOT the child. 

8. What was the orphanage like?

If you’re talking to a domestic adoptee, this just tells us you have absolutely no idea how adoption works. No, I was not dropped off at an orphanage. In America (and Canada),very very very few children ever stay in an orphanage. There are only a handful left and most are for special needs children. When a child is placed for adoption, they stay with foster parents or the couple that is planning to adopt them.

As for trans-national adoptees- if they actually did spend time in an orphanage, that may not be an experience they want to talk about with just anyone, so don’t be a dick.

9. WOW! You look like their real kid!

I am their real kid …

10. I don’t think I would feel like an adopted child was really “mine.”

If you feel this way, please just keep it to yourself. I respect your right to make a family in whatever way works for your, but this is not a discussion that I want to have. I feel strongly that family is made of the people that raise you and are there for you. If you try to tell me how “blood ties” are stronger, I will feel extremely awkward and probably a bit upset. Just please don’t …

giveitawideberth:

bdsmpetplay:

So I am one of the unfortunate souls who goes nonverbal whenever I get severely stressed out and/or self-loathing (because I think I screwed something up between me and my partner)

SO,

To help others out  who have possibly had this issue (or have a partner who have this issue), here’s some tips that might help you!

1. BE PATIENT! Give them time to formulate words. Give them time to ground themselves. Don’t get mad at them if it’s only a 1-5 word response, and/or they stutter. They are TRYING to speak to you, but their anxiety is preventing them.
   
2. Ask questions that will be simple “yes” or “no” answers. This requires precision with your words (for example: “ Do you want me to hug you? Do you want me to put a blanket around you?”).
3. Offer them a notepad with writing utensil. If they can’t speak for whatever reason, they might be able to write down what is on their mind. There are some applications out there that helps individuals who are nonverbal
4. Give them something cold to hold that has texture (such as an orange).This can help ground the individual and bring them back to reality.
5. After the incident, offer to talk about it in a safe, comfortable setting. Your partner might be able to better talk about the specific incident after the incident has taken place. They will have had time to process what had happened. 
6.  Take them out of the stressful environment. If there is something (or someone) in the room stressing them out, offer to remove it. Be specific with your questions. This might help them be able to form words again.

WOW YES

rosenby:

the-vaudevillain:

rosenby:

iliveondaydreams:

rosenby:

Summer means poor children are not getting 2 free meals a day at school so if you’re able, please consider donating to your local food bank.

Until September 2nd, if you’re under 18, you can receive free lunch at public library branches in NYC (proof of age shouldn’t be required), and from trucks at certain locations around the city. Some schools should be open and providing them, too!!

This is so helpful for anyone that needs it!

here is a website where you can find similar programs based on your location.

These links are so helpful and I’m glad to spread them!

But for those of you in a position I still urge you to donate to your local food bank. Their supplies run low in summer as not everyone has access to or knows about programs like these.