ᎠᏥᎸᏍᎩᏔᏱ / Florida

ᎠᏥᎸᏍᎩᏔᏱ ᎤᎭᏎ ᎤᎪᏗᏗ ᏘᏲᎭᎵ. ᎨᏒᎠᏎ ᎡᎶᎯ ᏘᏲᎭᎵᏗ ᎥᎿᎢ. ᎤᏍᏗᎨᏍᏙᏗ, ᎤᏯᏅᏗᏔ "ᎨᎪ" ᏲᏁᎦ ᎬᏙᏗ, ᎨᏒᎠᏎ ᏂᎬᎾᏛ. ᎨᏒᎠᏎ ᏰᎵ-ᏂᎨᏒᎾ ᎠᏓᏅᏍᏗ ᎦᎵᏦᏕᏁ ᎪᏩᏘ ᏄᏠᏯᏍᏛᎾ. ᎨᏒᎠᏎ ᎾᏍᏋ ᎡᏆ ᏘᏲᎭᎵ ᎤᏯᏅᏗᏔ "ᎢᏆᎾ", ᎠᏎᏃ ᎠᏯ Ꮭ ᎪᏩᏘᏎ. ᎡᏆᎨᏍᏙᏗ ᎨᏒᎠᏎ ᏧᎳᏍᎩ. ᎾᏍᎩᏛ ᎨᏒᎠᏎ ᎦᏂᏰᎬ, ᎠᏎᏃ ᎨᏒᎠᏎ ᎾᏍᏋ ᎤᎾᏤᎵ ᎣᏪᏅᏒ.

Florida has many lizards. It is the land of lizards. The smallest, called "gecko" by the whites, are everywhere. It is impossible to leave the house without seeing them. There are also big lizards called "iguana," but I have not seen one. The biggest is the alligator. They are dangerous, but it is also their home.

Text and image © 2019 by Donald C. Traxler ꮨᏺꭽꮅ.

I Will Be Indigenous / ᎠᏯ ᎨᏒᎣᏎ ᏴᏫᏯ

I will be indigenous
to the indigenous,
a Jew to the Jews,
a Christian to
the Christians.
What I will not be
is a hater,
or an oppressor.
To me, the most important
thing is respect.
If I must be
only one thing,
I will be human,
to everyone.

Short version:

I will be indigenous
to the indigenous,
a Jew to the Jews,
a Christian
to the Christians,
and human
to everyone.

ᎠᏯ ᎨᏒᎣᏎ ᏴᏫᏯ
ᏴᏫᏯ ᏗᏜ,
ᏧᏏ ᎠᏂᏧᏏ ᏗᏜ,
ᏧᎾᏁᎸᏗ ᎠᏂᏧᎾᏁᎸᏗ ᏗᏜ,
ᎠᎴ ᏴᏫ
ᏂᎦᏛ ᏗᏜ.

Text and image © 2019 by Donald C. Traxler.