Tag Archives: Smithsonian Native American Heritage Month

SHM: Native American Heritage Month and “Behind the Scenes”

November is Native American Heritage Month. This is a hodgepodge post of … the update, information, etc. I’ll try to keep it upbeat.

One interesting thing I saw and will hopefully remember to follow is this:

The Cherokee Nation says it has a right to a congressional delegate. Now it wants Congress to fulfill its promise.

I saw on twitter that a congressional representative had been selected – we’ll see what the legislative body does. I don’t know if it’s more prevalent, or my timeline, or what, but I’m seeing more and more from Native/First Nations people and I’m glad. The US (and various other countries) have a lot to apologize for, and make up for. 

Compounded by the attitude of this current administration and probably the less I say here the better.

Anyway, I had at least one post lined up but the author has gone MIA – so if you or anyone would like to write a guest post for the month I’d be very very happy to have you. If you don’t know, the Smithsonian Heritage Months – Black History, Women’s History, Asian Pacific American Heritage, Pride, Latinx Heritage, and Native/First Nation Heritage Months are what we try to celebrate here at ALBTALBS. It used to be “limited” to USians who fall under the umbrella category, then to anyone who fell under the umbrella category, and last year or so I opened it to ANYONE who wanted to write a thing. 

We do have a few Native American romance authors out there, and you can see guest posts from years past in the archives

We could probably do with some tag clean up/better tagging but … 🤷🏻‍♀️ this is a money pit pet project, so you get what you see. 😛 Truly though – thanks for sticking with us <3

Oh! And – if you’re interested in more information and education, personally I’ve been checking tweets Rebecca Nagle’s timeline.

Lastly if you or anyone would like to write a guest post for any of the Smithsonian Heritage Months in 2020, or if you’d like to step up and shout out own voices individuals in the community and run the celebrations for any month … please. Do – I’d love to have you. Let’s talk.

SNAHM = Smithsonian Native American Heritage Month

Hi friends! So I guess ALBTALBS is in partial hiatus – not really planned but it happened and is how things will probably be for the foreseeable future.

HOWEVER I do want to note that November is Native American/First Nations Heritage Month!

If anyone is interested in or willing to write a guest post or review please let me know! We’ve had a few guest authors and readers in the past, so definitely check those posts. I’m doing this via a mobile now but I hope to soon update this with a list of First Nations romance authors, once I have reliable internet and access to a computer.

  1. If you know any romance authors who are Native American feel free to mention them in the comments!

SNAHM: Yasmine Galenorn

Hi friends – I’m … still here. It’s been … a year, huh. Lots going on. Lots. Let’s just move right along. I have to say straight up, this post is a year late, and it’s on me. It is entirely, absolutely, 100% on me. My apologies. My apologies to you, my apologies to Ms. Galenorn. I messed up. I did want to share her post though – but also note – it was written almost a year ago, it should have gone up at that time. I will say, I definitely think it’s still relevant. (In fact, maybe it was meant to be – to be posted now considering…)

So without further ado … Yasmine Galenorn

I want to thank Limecello for asking me to write a blog post on diversity/being a writer of mixed background. The world of media’s been filled with a lot of controversy this year—well, every year, I guess, but this year I’ve noticed it more. Continue reading

SNAHM = Smithsonian Native American Heritage Month

Hi friends! Remember how I used to try to celebrate each month, line up guests, and do all the things?

Well, my “give a damn” broke a while ago, but I definitely still want to do something. Something that makes me happy though – that is positive, that isn’t a burden. And, allows for interaction.

So from now on, I’m going to start each Smithsonian Heritage Month with a post, a list, and an open call.

What do I mean? I’ll let you know when it is a Heritage Month.

Since this site is heavily romance slated, I also want to celebrate romance authors who are POC according to month. November is Native American Heritage Month. These are the authors *I* know to be [at least in part] Native American. Check out their books! Support these authors! 🙂

In alphabetical order:
Pamela Clare
Isobel Carr
Cynthia Eden
Yasmine Galenorn
T.J. Michaels
Sharon Sala
Dee Tenorio

If you know of any more please let me know! I’d love to add to my list – and be prepared for suggestions for future and other Smithsonian Heritage Month posts! <3

SNAHM Guest: Cynthia Eden

Hi friends! Today we have the lovely Cynthia Eden guesting with us. As she says – November is winding down, and I know the rush is starting for holiday madness, but I hope we all take a minute and reflect. I love that Cynthia has such a rich background, but I think all of us can take a look back. I hope you’ll all chime in – especially since Cynthia is so beautiful and adorable. Seriously – you want to hate her cuz she’s basically so perfect but you can’t because she’s so nice. XD

Anyway, here is what Cynthia had to say.

Memories In A Box

Hi, everyone! It is such a pleasure to be here with you—a huge thanks to Limecello for inviting me over! When I was growing up, one of my very favorite things to do was to pull out the old box of pictures that my mom kept in the bottom of her closet (yes, these were the non-digital days!). In that magical box, my mother kept pictures of her relatives and my father’s relatives. They were grainy, faded photographs. The edges had turned nearly white because they had been touched so many times over the years. Continue reading

Happy Day of Thanks!

So I’ve realized that “Thanksgiving” is … not exactly the greatest most authentic holiday, not just because of the obvious consumerism, but also because it trivializes and appropriates Native American … well everything. There’s a blog post from the National Museum of the American Indian that says it much better, from someone who has much more right than I do to speak on the subject. It’s written by “Dennis W. Zotigh (Kiowa/San Juan Pueblo/Santee Dakota Indian) is a member of the Kiowa Gourd Clan and San Juan Pueblo Winter Clan and a descendeant of Sitting Bear and No Retreat, both principal war chiefs of the Kiowas. Dennis works as a writer and cultural specialist at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C..” I hope you’ll read what he wrote. I had to include his credentials because … you did you read them?!

Anyway – here’s my otherwise awful contribution. I wanted it to look like kidart – so … heh I think the words are much worse than the image. Regardless I hope you all had a lovely holiday, ate lots of delicious food, and get all the deals your heart hopes for. And if you have a bit extra to buy me a gift … well that’s just gravy. 😉

SNAHM Guest: Pamela Clare

Hi friends! Time flies, yes? Today we have Pamela Clare is visiting with us today, and I’m so excited to have her share. I don’t know if you’ve ever read her I-Team stories, but if not, you really have to, and especially don’t skip book 1 – Extreme Exposure – which is one of my favorites. Anyway, what a timely post, and lovely yet painful – like so much of Native American history.

Naked EdgeAs a writer of Native descent, I’ve tried to cover Native issues in ways that make them accessible to the outside world. As a reporter, I spent years traveling back and forth to the Navajo and Lakota reservations covering a range of issues from forced relocations to the struggles of traditional native people to hold onto their culture and languages. As a fiction writer, I put my years of reporting on these topics into Naked Edge (I-Team #4). Continue reading

SNAHM Guest: Dabney Grinnan

Hi friends! So – it’s Smithsonian Native American Heritage Month and I’ve been extremely remiss in my posting I know, but we’re working on it. What I love about the Heritage Months is different voices and perspectives. Both what we might expect to be usual as well as the ~Unusual ones. I roped Dabney into writing a post for me based on a conversation we had about names – which led to this little tidbit about her. I hope you all give her a warm welcome.

When I was in kindergarten my grandmother, Pocahontas, came to my school and gave a presentation about our famous ancestor. I still have the newspaper article about my grandmother’s visit—it is, I suspect, the first time I was ever quoted by a reporter. When asked how I felt about “being descended” from the Indian princess, I shared I didn’t like it when my friends teased me about it and I was very glad I wasn’t named for her. Continue reading