Russ #Diabo shared a link to his friend, #Milton Born With A Tooth who is a #Blackfoot warrior, First Nations #activist and nature #defender regarding his Epitaph on Twitter a few days ago and it has really stuck in my head for a number of reasons:
1. Milton has written his own #Epitaph before he leaves this plane of existence. This is not the usual way...as Milton has not left us yet--- but he is very ill and is living "second to second..."
2. Milton defines, in the video shared in the link, what it is to be a #warrior and defend the ways of his people...
3. Milton refers to Settlers as "#visitors" and says that we need to work together to overcome this situation, echoing the words of #Bob #Marley, whose face appears on his T shirt throughout the video.. making me think again, regardless of what you call it ---- #reconciliation, making #amends, or settling #debt with First Peoples, this process is not a spectator sport. It is not up to our Government to do this either, we all need to take responsibility for what has happened and work collectively to right the wrong! That is our duty as #Treaty People. While I did not know of Milton before this post, I have many friends in the Blackfoot Nation, including a Hereditary Chief and so I will be asking after Milton over the summer as I go to various events to learn more about his great Warrior Legacy.
UPDATE: Monday May 20, 2019 Milton Born with A Tooth flew away home yesterday morning, Sunday May 19, 2019. He has gone to the place where the ancestors and star people gather. For some time I have been wanting to start a public facing blog on this commons and finally did it today. For reasons too many to explain, re posting this blog for all Treaty People in Canada to see makes sense right about now. AMEN. .
Thanks Sheelagh — glad you mentioned this — I saw that Terrill had done that and wonder why, on just hearsay alone he had deleted his post. Russ D. Was a personal friend and he did not do the same! Milton is Blackfoot as is Terrill but w 15 yrs in age difference. I read the tweet about the alleged murder of Milton’s son and then the entire court doc that was linked to it....in spite of the allegation it was never proven and if you read the court doc you will see for yourself that the mother gave 5 separate accounts of the boys death while standing by doing nothing— including the first report where she said that th…
Terrill Tailfeathers has deleted his original memorial post and added this to the conversation - https://twitter.com/Terrilltf/status/1132111966275657728 (see https://twitter.com/chipotalosa/status/1131999277801062400 for more details). People are, and continue to be, complex. I think we need to be aware of the potential for pain that this post may raise in some readers as Indigenous peoples in the region where his son lived have pointed out that the media epitaphs are opening old wounds.
Thanks Susan - I like your idea of being able to honour Milton by asking after him among members of his community, as well as learning more about his legacy. I'm lately working on the implications/importance of granularity - making myself familiar with not just "the Nation", but the locations and names of the traditional villages and modern reserves around me, and the people, like Milton, who have put out something settlers can access and learn more about. To get serious about learning decolonizing myself, I need to get past generalizing. I must find some time to blog about what I am learning about the #Stz'uminus.