Amhran nam Bandia: Northern Cheyenne Fire Relief

Friday, June 29, 2012

Northern Cheyenne Fire Relief

Relief efforts for the Northern Cheyenne families displaced by the Montana wildfires are getting more organized. So far eighteen families have lost everything, about 32 houses have been destroyed, and the fire is still spreading. There is now a Facebook page for coordinating the relief effort. Please follow them for the most up to date information:

Northern Cheyenne Fire Relief - Lame Deer Boys & Girls Club

Update: Friday, June 29, 2012. 12:07am
The Boys & Girls Club disaster relief shelter in Lame Deer is doing well. The salvation army arrived this evening with kitchen staff to help serve our meals to the displaced victims of the Ash Creek fires. The donation area is now at the Catholic Church in Lame Deer. Allen Fisher is the main point of contact for the donations, please send him a facebook message, or post on this page regarding donations, and Allen will get back to you. You can also call the B&G Club to speak with him at 406-477-6654. Please keep us in your prayers during this trying time. Thank you.

We're currently compiling the needs for our community members who are displaced and have lost everything due to the fires. We're doing inventory of what we already have in donations and then we will have a more finalized list for people to pass on to their networks. ETA: Updated List Here and In Comments.
Donations can be dropped off at [or mailed to] the Boys and Girls Club:
Northern Cheyenne Boys and Girls Club
101 Cheyenne Ave
Lame Deer MT, 59043
and Allen Fisher will coordinate the storage and transport of items to Ashland and Birney. Cash donations are always helpful, please use the link below.

[You can send cash directly via PayPal.] Our donation account is bgcncn@gmail.com. The email is linked to the Boys and Girls Club's Account. Thank you everyone. Send it far and wide. 18 families so far that have nothing left.

The fire is continuing to spread. Details on the wildfire itself, projected movements and map of the area affected are being posted here:

Ash Creek Fire: Incident Overview

Video of Fire

All photos courtesy Northern Cheyenne Tribal Health
and Northern Cheyenne Fire Relief - Lame Deer Boys & Girls Club

2 comments:

Kathryn Price NicDhàna said...: More specifics on which areas have been hardest hit:

Ash Creek fire burns 110,000 acres, 18 homes

Article is from June 27, 2012 8:00 pm, so there has been quite a bit more damage and homes lost since then.; 1:41 PM
Kathryn Price NicDhàna said...: Basic Emergency Supply List

by Northern Cheyenne Fire Relief - Lame Deer Boys & Girls Club
on Saturday, June 30, 2012 at 8:18pm

EMERGENCY SUPPLY LIST

Food Supply List:
Food, Water, Canned Goods, Spices, Paper plates and plastic silverware, Sugar, Flour, Baking goods

For children:
Boys and girls clothes, shoes, socks
Hygiene supplies: children’s tooth brushes, toothpaste, hair brushes
Toys, games, coloring books and crayons, stuffed animals, video games

For Women:
Clothes, undergarments, shoes, socks, purses, wallets
Hygiene supplies: feminine products

For Men:
Clothes, undergarments, shoes, socks

Generic hygiene supplies:
Tooth brushes, tooth paste, deodorant, body soap, shampoo and conditioner, laundry soap, lotion, chap stick, hairbrushes, hair ties, hairspray

Medicinal items & Bedding:
Aspirin, antacids
Blankets, pillows, sleeping bags

Pet Supplies
Dog & Cat food, food and water bowls, leashes, kennels, treats

Donations can be dropped off at [or mailed to] the Boys and Girls Club:

Northern Cheyenne Boys and Girls Club
101 Cheyenne Ave
Lame Deer MT, 59043

Allen Fisher will coordinate the storage and transport of items to Ashland and Birney. Contact phone number is 406-477-6654.; 7:00 PM

Gaelic Polytheism, Cultural Preservation, Indigenous Solidarity

Occasional musings from one of the original troublemakers behind the contemporary Gaelic Polytheist (GP) (Gaelic: Ioma-Dhiadhachd Ghàidhealach; Irish: Ildiachas Gaelach) and Celtic Reconstructionist traditions. Allegedly the person to blame for that unwieldy, awkward, misinterpreted and misrepresented, umbrella tradition name (CR), and most definitely to blame for the Nigheanan nan Cailleach agus Ora nam Bandia branches of the community.

Clann Eóghainn na h-Oitrich, NicAoidh, agus Eóganachta. Tha mi a fuireach ann Wabanahkik. Co-còrdadh: Gä•sweñta’.

While my family culture growing up was predominantly diasporan Gael (Irish/Scottish-American), and my low BQ gives me white skin privilege / passing privilege, I also have Indigenous heritage from both Turtle Island (Yę Iswąre tatene utkéware hęwu) and Sápmi, as well as cherished African-American ancestors who survived the Middle Passage and the Underground Railroad. I am one of the people who has researched Cherokee blood myths to find the hidden truth that so many of us share - Black ancestors who made the excruciating choice to assimilate and pass in order to stay alive after escaping slavery.

As an unenrolled relative, reconnecting with the community we're pretty certain my ancestors are from, I'm a long-term member of several Indigenous-led collectives, active in Indian Country in largely a backup/support role since the 1980s, and in more recent years in interfaith and political work as both a collective member, extended family member, and as a representative of both our GP groups and the descendant crew. I don't presume to steer the canoe, even when I'm another grunt helping paddle one that my cousins, aunties, and adopted siblings have built and are helming. But except for my fellow Gaels and other diverse relatives, I jumped out of the ship over a decade ago. I'd much rather dive deep with the prop-fouling otters, be a shieldmaiden in the metaphorical jet ski clan, and continue my work with the side of the family I live with now, than get back into that rotting colonists' ship... unless it's to sabotage and change the course. Which I've been known to do sometimes.

It's one of multiple ways that my life is lived in liminal zones.

And if it's not abundantly clear, I fully support and unreservedly defend Indigenous Sovereignty: the right of Tribal Nations to determine their citizenship criteria, as well as their right to set the definition of who is and is not Indigenous. Descendants - those of us with documented ancestry but whose ancestors chose to separate from the tribe and live as non-Natives - need to abide by the criteria for Indigeneity set by the Nations we descend from. Even if it's complicated and not what you want to hear. And this applies exponentially if the documentation is iffy. To violate that boundary by trying to claim full Native status - by self-Indigenization - is dishonorable to the ancestors, as well as a violation of hospitality. Real descendants seeking to reconnect need to do so with profound respect, and on the terms set by the living relatives and Elders in that specific culture and community. And if the answer is "No," or "Not that way," to accept that.

I serve on the governing councils of CAORANN and Gaol Naofa; however, all opinions expressed on this blog, and posted elsewhere under my own name on social media, are my own.