July

Happy end of July all! I started working on my July blog earlier today, only to realize that my June blog is absent. I am not quite sure what happened, so will go back and post a few June updates in its place.

And July? Suffice it to say that July has been one of the quietest months I have had in a long time. I’ve spent it rearranging most of the house and reconnecting with writing projects that I’ve had underway for many years, but not had the time and space to work on them. In some ways, making time and space has meant letting go of things that do not directly connect with the goals I have now - to maintain and grow my language proficiency, to write stories, make art, and otherwise work on projects that feel like they are in alignment with my responsibilities as an Ogwehoweh woman. Overall, it’s been a good exercise.

On the reading from, I’ve had a few books underway. I’ve been reading the Thursday Murder Club book series, “Tricky Grounds: Indigenous Women’s Experiences in Canadian University Administration” by Dr. Candace Brunette-Debassige, and a few new master’s theses that have come out from the University of Victoria’s Masters of Education program (specifically those focussed on language revitalization). I’ve also been reading Audre Lorde’s, “Your Silence Will Not Protect You,” and thinking about silence, about what it has meant in my life at different stages, and where it has (or hasn’t) led me.

A lot of the cleaning, tidying and reorganizing I’ve had underway has been to make way for writing and art, and on that front, I’ve been re-outlining novels, reviewing my epistolary graphic novel and adding new bits to it, and making some new art. I’m happy for this renewed energy, even if it can feel odd to be happy about anything these days with the war and suffering that continues in the world.

Finally, I participated in a very cool event at the Indigenous Literatures Lab at the University of Toronto. A panel with a few other Haudenosaunee scholars and writers about our work and its relationship to land. I had originally wanted to read a bit from my new graphic novel project, but chose to read an excerpt from a non-fiction piece I have in the new book: Deyohahá:ge:: Sharing the River of Life.

Pictures from our visit to OISE in Tsi Tkarón:to (Toronto). We also stopped by the Royal Ontario Museum briefly, which is right across the street.

I can often be self-conscious and shy of my writing, but of storytelling and just engaging with our Haudenosaunee narratives, I think I’ve always just felt a lot of joy and peace in that. In listening. Reading. Writing. Understanding how the stories apply to my experience here, on Turtle Island. And also understanding when I have words, stories, or images that I need to put to put to paper or bring to life—I will always appreciate this process and how differently it works every time, how it changes depending on so many factors—including your audience. This is a little bit of what I talked about that night, or at least - what I was trying to talk about. Some of the storytelling that I have felt the most authentic in, has not even been stories that I’ve written or drawn, but stories I’ve conveyed to family and friends over long drives or tea.

That said, it is quite beautiful to bring a story to life, and to bring it to life with others is a really special experience. I recently visited the site of a very special project that I’ve been helping out with, and fairly soon, will be able to share that with the world as well. Here are a few photos from my first site visit, and I can’t wait to see it in its entirety next month.

A photo I took at Tsi Tewa’séntha (Niagara Falls), 2025.

Being out of my language program means I have to adjust my life to make room for these storytelling moments. I hope that with the work I did over June and July - I am going to be better prepared than ever before. And with that, this blog must come to an end. August is coming, and with it, updates on some truly exciting projects that have been underway for the last year and that I have been excited to share about.

Ayá:wens tsi akwé:kon skén:nen ne sarihwà:ke :),

S.