It’s life, my life…part Deux
Since my last reflection piece in 2019, well, a lot has changed. For one, me and my wife Amanda welcomed our daughter Aniah Princess Arentz into the world in September 2020. The size of or readership has grown immensely, and yes, this COVID thingy is still here and has gotten old. On a sad note, I lost a great brother and one of our contributing writers, Thomas Simon Tourtillott, aka Turtle.
So, I decided to blend some of the old with the new, taking a few bits and pieces from that reflection.
It has been challenging at times during this pandemic to conduct interviews for my stories. I have been mindful, wearing a mask and social distancing, so as not to expose those I interview, myself, family, and friends, to any uninvited guests to the body.
As long as there are stories to tell in the Driftless, I will keep telling them, albeit slow at times due to the pandemic. FYI, I really hate that word.
While my wife Amanda and I started this website to share stories about the Wisconsin Driftless area, I thought to myself, I know my readership, at least demographically, but they know little about me, my wife, and our family.
Kudos to Amanda as she handles all of our social media and advertising, and contributes a piece now and then. I would never speak for my wife nor her feelings, and if she chooses to share about herself, well, that’s up to her.
We have three sons, Tyler, Nathan, Brayden and our daughter Aniah Princess. Oh, can’t forget our Crisis Response Team (CRT) our pets, Princess the cat and Nelly the ferret. On a side note, sadly we recently lost two other CRT members Sammie and Wolf (ferrets).
While, I could go deep into my whole life and experiences, both good and bad, I think I will stick to more recent with a hint of the past.
Our website and Facebook page have done very well since we started back in May of 2019, regardless of the pandemic. I continue to enjoy meeting new people, making new friends, and telling their stories along the way.
I have enjoyed traveling thousands of miles meeting many special and unique people, not discounting we all are special and unique with our own stories to tell. Enjoying the endless scenes of nature and amazing geology that the Driftless has to offer tends to be a perk of a job I love.
For those that came to follow DriftlessNow.com after my 2019 reflection or read it, I share a bit of my story. Some or all may not know, I am a Native American. My mother hails from the Acoma Pueblo and my father from the Tecuexes tribe in Mexico. My Waksik (Native American) name is ‘I in bit’s’i-Ligai (White Feather in Dine aka Navajo). It was given to me by my Dine father Carl Nakai. Though I live up here in the North, I am a transplant from the Southwest via a North suburb of Chicago by default.
I have spent most of my adult life around and living with the Hoocąk (Ho-Chunk), and have great respect for the way they treat me as family. I spent years working for them and advocated for Native American issues on Turtle Island (North America) during my time as the editor of the Hocak Worak tribal newspaper.
I pull my strength from my culture, and have a deep faith in Creator and his plan for my life. Spirituality to me is not a part of life, but rather a way of life.
In light of this pandemic (did I mention I hate this word), I miss seeing my friends and relatives and being around the Native American culture as often as I have in the past.
I continue to think about all my extended and adopted Hoocąk relatives and those that I have seen walk on over the past couple years.
While writing this piece, my mind goes back to a decorated Hoocąk Vietnam Combat Warrior by the name of ‘Haga Mike’, aka Owen ‘The Bull’ Mike.
Years ago, while working at the Hocak Worak, Haga Mike came into my office for a visit. I asked how he was doing, and he just stared at me. He finally spoke, telling me that he appreciated me as a brother. He liked what I was doing for his people telling the news. I told him it was all of my staff that should be recognized, and not me.
With a chuckle and a smile, Haga said, “I would like to honor you”. I couldn’t quite grasp the words he just said and replied, “Honor me, I didn’t do anything that remotely deserves honoring from a great warrior.” He said he wanted to feather me, and introduce me into the dance arena at the Labor Day powwow.
I was speechless, well, actually, beyond speechless, that a Warrior I had so much respect for would have a feeling like this for me. I accepted.
Now, for those of you not privy to what a feathering ceremony is, let me explain. When you see a Waksik dancing at a powwow, many have an Eagle feather(s) worn on their head. The right to wear an Eagle feather is only given by a Warrior that has taken a human life in combat.
The Warrior shares the story of a time and place in combat, where they were faced with taking a human life. That story goes with that/those specific Eagle feather(s), and honors the spirit of the person whose life they took. A kind of, for a lack (a big lack) of better terms, a recognition of their existence on Mother Earth and an apology for taking their life.
Today, my mind is on my culture and the meaning behind powwow. A gathering of friends and relatives, a time to eat, share memories, laugh, and enjoy a culture that re-energizes the spirit.
I recall what Haga Mike would tell me. “Go to powwow, get out there and dance. Dance for those that can’t, and enjoy your life that Creator has given you. Enjoy the gift.”
I miss being around the powwow. Since the pandemic, most powwows have been cancelled. Eventually, they will resume and I will enjoy visiting relatives and friends, the singing, dancing, and feeling the drum beat of Mother Earth. I will feel the beat in every part of my body. It is good medicine and can heal, physically, spiritually, and mentally.
I could spin off a blog, but I am content on sharing now and then, a snippet of my thoughts and feelings. I mean, why shouldn’t you learn a bit about me. Not to say Driftless Now is about me, it is not. It is about you, the people that live in the Driftless and sharing these stories with the world. There are endless stories to tell in the Driftless, and I feel honored to tell what is just a fraction of them.
It’s life, my life.
As always, be blessed.
