tvstvnvkke

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Hv'tkē-káfkv

milkweed

A very important plant! If you're looking for a native plant to grow in your garden, milkweed is a good one to go with! This plant plays an important part in the lives of monarch and queen butterflies. The plant is often treated as a weed, so it's often cut or pulled, leading to food scarcity for butterflies.

If you want to help butterflies, consider planting milkweed!

Tvffolupv

Is the Mvskoke wood for butterfly! A beautiful and important insect in the world.

#native blogs #muscogee #indigenous blog #indigenous #native american #mvskoke #native artist #muskogee #indigenous history #butterfly #butterflies #milkweed #monarch butterfly

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Government

the Muscogee (creek) nation, like most tribal nations, is an operating government within the US. Each tribe determines their own citizenship, creates their own laws, and regulate their own license among the citizens of the nation.

The current Muscogee constitution was voted on and approved in 1979. This replaced the original constitution in 1867.

The tribal government has three branches that mirror the United States constitution.

There is the Tvstvnvkvlke encuko (house of warriors) and the Mēkkvlke encuko (house of kings), which are two houses that make up the legislative branch. This national council is the lawmaking body of the muscogee nation. Sixteen individuals serve in this council.

There is an executive branch headed by the principal chief and second chief. Both are elected offices. David Hill is the current principal chief with Del Beaver operating as the second chief.

The national council elects the Supreme Court judges of the Muscogee nation.

The muscogee nation provides social services, a tribal police force, an accredited tribal college, manages seven tribal health clinics, two community hospitals, and a physical rehabilitation center within the Muscogee nation territory.

The nation is a federally recognized self-governing tribe. The nation consists of eight tribal congressional districts, making up 5,000 square miles across 11 counties in Oklahoma.

Okmulgee, Oklahoma is the capital of the Muscogee nation. It has been the capital since 1868. The name comes from the Ocmulgee mound builder site in Macon, Georgia. This historic site is believed to be the first settlement of the Muscogee people and can be visited today. Many Muscogee people visit this site, and it's very beautiful from what I hear.

#native blogs #muscogee #indigenous blog #indigenous #native american #mvskoke #muskogee #indigenous history

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Final sentence!

#native blogs #muscogee #indigenous blog #mvskoke #native american #native girls #muskogee #native artist #indigenous

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Mvskoke sentence

#native blogs #indigenous blog #muscogee #mvskoke #native american #native girls #muskogee #native artist #indigenous

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Mvskoke sentence

#native blogs #muscogee #indigenous blog #mvskoke #indigenous #native girls #native artist #muskogee

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Mvskoke sentence

#native blogs #muscogee #indigenous blog #mvskoke #native american #indigenous #native artist #muskogee

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Muscogee sentence

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Muscogee sentence with English

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Muscogee sentences.

#native blogs #muscogee #indigenous blog #native american #indigenous #native artist #native girls

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Hvresse hvse teyoposkat

When the sun and moon trade places.

There are two Muscogee tales I've heard about the eclipse.

One is about a frog eating the sun when the earth is still young. Then, regurgitating it because the sun is too big.

The other is about the moon and the sun doing a friendship dance. Friendship dances are common at stomp dances.

Either way, the common wisdom is to give the sun and the moon their time together. Stay inside and stay quiet, don't eves drop by watching them.

#native blogs #muscogee #indigenous blog #native american #indigenous #mvskoke #indigenous history #native artist #muskogee #eclipse #eclipse ritual #frog #friendship dance

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Language fact

I'm learning family titles. For a woman, the term for daughter and son is the same (eccuswv). For a man, however, there are two different words for son and daughter. It's interesting and I'll ask what the other words are.

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White sage

Contrary to popular belief, white sage, or even sage in general, was not used by every tribe. White sage has developed into the go-to "smoke cleansing" plant. However, this has led to a number of problems.

For the Muscogee tribe Sage as a plant was not commonly used. Cedar, Tobacco, and Ginseng were more commonly smoke cleansing plants. The word for Sage that I was told was "Vpvketv" which also means to add something. White sage would be "Vpvketv hvtke".

Today, white sage is commonly used to smudge. Packages can be purchased with a shell, feather, and a sage bundle to burn. Smudging, in the sense of using a shell to burn in and a feather to guide the smoke, was mostly a Dakota and Ho-chunk practice from what I know. With white sage specifically being native to lower modern-day California. The Cahuilla and Kumeyaay tribes are two who often use this plant. Smudging and white sage have both been taken up as practices among modern witches, pagan, Wiccan, and other spiritual groups. However, to anyone doing the practice, I highly recommend caution in continuing.

The modern practices of white sage harvesting are often harmful. The practices often leave the local environment poorly cared for. The plant is overly harvested by people generally paid very little and often with no consideration to the local communities that normally use the plant. The over harvesting has led to fears that the plant may go extinct if proper growing and harvesting techniques are not taken into consideration.

Another important aspect to consider is the spiritual aspect as well. If you are using white sage to purify the air, I would assume the hope is to clear away negative spirits or energies. I can not speak for all communities that smoke cleanse, but when smoke cleansing, you should use plants you were gifted or gather yourself. The intention when the plant is harvested affects whether or not it will clear away bad things. If you harvest it yourself thinking of how grateful you are for the plant, it will clean. If your friend harvests it thinking of how this will hopefully help someone, it will clean. If the person harvesting your plant is mistreated, in bad conditions, over harvesting a plant just to be underpaid. I feel like that may do the opposite of cleanse.

All around, it's just not a good idea. Be very mindful of who your practices come from and who your items come from. Look for answers online as to whether those communities welcome outside practicer or if your version of their practice is actually harming their ability to continue it.

I've heard debate on whether it's okay to purchase white sage from indigenous farmers. I would say if you're going to purchase it, that would be the best. I'm sure there are many indigenous people who sell it.

Be mindful of your practices. They could be harming you and other people.

#native blogs #indigenous blog #indigenous #native american #native girls #witchcraft #witch community #wiccan #wiccablr #pagan wicca #wicca #pagan #smudge #smudging #smoke cleansing #white sage #sage

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Vcenv

Juniperus silicicola

Red Cedar

A very important medicine to the Muscogee people. It's said that the creator put protective spirits in this long living tree.

Some common uses are:

The berries and leaves can be steamed in warm water. This drink can help with minor illnesses. I've also heard of grinding up dried berries and mixing this in water.

For aches, pains, and joint swelling, steam the sprigs or leaves in warm water. Apply the warm water or the sprigs themselves to the afflicted area.

This plant was also used in smoke purifying. Put lit cedar chips in a bowl to burn, sprinkle berries, leaves, or whole sprigs on top to start the smoking. Hecē (Tobacco) and Heles-hvtke (Ginseng) can also be sprinkled on top. Use the smoke to clear out unwanted things from the home then yard.

The current Muscogee chief has also used Vcenv to bless rescued and rehabilitated wildlife. Smudging the air upon release to bless them on their way.

With most traditional medicine, I HIGHLY advice collecting it yourself. Purchasing the plant may be contributing to environmentally harmful harvesting practices. As well its believed the intent in collecting affects the medicine. You should think of what you want while you collect it and thank the earth for providing. Purchasing makes this an unknown factor, and you may instead see bad results. Receiving it as a gift from someone who collected is also good.

From a medical standpoint, red cedar has been known to help with joint pains, coughs, digestion, and flatulence. It's also said to be a good natural antibiotic. Many Junipers have a small amount of toxin, so consume the plant in moderation. With any natural medicine, try a small dose first to make sure you do not have a negative reaction.

As far as I'm aware, the usage of Cedar, at least within the Muscogee tribe, is not a closed practice. Although smudging Cedar may be a more delicate situation. If you are a tribal citizen, I would recommend researching your tribe's usage of Cedar. If you are not a tribal member, I would recommend caution around such practices.

Much of the information on traditional uses comes from Muscogee medicine man David Lewis Jr.

#native blogs #native american history #mvskoke #native american #indigenous #indigenous blog #native artist #indigenous history #muskogee #natural medicine #alternative medicine #foraging #foragecore #foraged food #foraged medicine #indigenous medicine #medicine

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Nex Benedict

A 16 year old Owasso student who died after being beaten in the head by three other students. They were nonbinary and a citizen of the Choctaw nation. They lived in the Cherokee reservation of Oklahoma. They had complained of bullying about their identity prior to being assaulted. Police are claiming their death was unrelated to the assault they experienced just a day prior.

Nex enjoyed nature, minecraft, drawing, and reading. They had a cat named Zeus.

I grew up near this region. I have identified as nonbinary since freshman year of high school. I'm a citizen of the Muskogee tribe. I was bullied in high school. My sister is much the same as me in most of this. I hate to think either of us could have been this poor child. They didn't deserve this. I can say from first-hand experience that the handling of bullying in Oklahoma schools is pretty much non-existent. This situation makes me so incredibly sad. This did not need to happen.

I hope Nex rests peacefully. Hopefully, something good can come from this tragedy. Hopefully, we will see change.

#nex benedict #art #oklahoma #owasso #tulsa #two spirit #lgbtq #lgbt #nex #benedict #crime #lgbtqiia+ #queer #indigenous blog #queer indigenous

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Beringia

One of the biggest and most taught misconceptions is that all Native American people traveled to the continent over the Bering strait that connected modern day Alaska to modern day Russia.

Now, it's undoubted that a number of people crossed the Lang bridge following herds of animals. However, it is also undoubted that many already resided in The Americas prior.

This theory was originally formed in the 1930s when a large number of clovis points were examined. This original theory dated the migration to 13,000 years ago. In the 1970s, this was pushed back to 16,000 years ago after further study. Linguists have since weighed in saying that the language diversity found in the Americas could have taken up to 50,000 years to form. Genetic tests also suggest that some tribes share genetic similarities to aboriginal Australians. The latest archeology findings show that man made tools were being used in Idaho as far back 18,000 years ago.

Some tribes have oral traditions that suggest indigenous people arrived in the Americas by boat. One Cherokee origin story believes the first people arrived on canoes. Fleeing from an island destroyed by natural disaster, 14 canoes set out, and only 7 made it to their new home. One of the Blackfoot creation stories says that the first man came floating in on a log. Many other tribes describe their people first coming from a great ocean or even from boats.

While I think there is a lot of research worth doing around the Bering strait, I'm not saying the theory is absolutely incorrect. I do believe that too much weight is put on it being the only explanation. Many people, even those who study history, still believe in the "13,000 years ago by the Bering strait" as the only explanation.

#native blogs #native american #indigenous #indigenous blog #indigenous history #muscogee #bering strait #beringia #native american history #native americans #north american history #history

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Hi, First of all, feel free not to answer to this ask if you don't want to, I'm aware that it shouldn't be your job to educate others, but if you feel like it, I could use your help. I'm currently working on a linguistic paper on the Muskogean languages and I saw on your blog that one should favor using Mvskoke over Creek for the language. Do you know of any "reputable" sources that would hold up in an academic paper takling about that? (sorry for the phrasing, I'm not a native english speaker and don't know of a better way to say that). Most of the sources I have refer to the language as Creek and I am looking for papers or other things that could help me justify the use of Mvskoke in my work (especially since my professor has expressed a dislike for "politically correct language").

Hello! I'm so happy to answer!

It's very cool to hear you are writing a paper on Muskogean language!

"Mvskoke" is the way you write "Muscogee" in the language. "V" makes a "uh" sound, and "k" makes a sound that can be both "k" or "g." I think in all technicality, it's written "Mvskokē". The Mvskoke language did not have writing when first meeting the europeans. Thus, when writing in Mvskoke you use English letters, however some have a different pronunciation. "I" sounds like "aye", "c" sounds like "j/ch", "r" sounds like "thl", "ē" is "ee".

The rebranding from "creek" to "Muscogee" was a recent effort in rebranding from the tribe itself here in Oklahoma. Here's an article writing about the subject from Mvskoke media, which is an official source from the tribe.