By Ricey Wild

Greetings and Blessings to all my Relations from other Nations! M’wah! I pray all is well for yooz. I have a story to share about cheffin’ up my first waaboozwag (rabbits) My Unk shared some waabooz with me after I expressed a desire to eat some. He suggested I use a slow cooker but when I looked at mine it was broken so I ended up seasoning the rabbits with teriyaki and soy sauce and added pickled chiles for some zest.

Then I put the oven on the lowest setting in a pot and hoped for the best. My chippewa cheeks are watering just remembering the delicious aroma. Well, the dish did not turn out as I’d anticipated but I ate some anyway, it was all dried up. Well, it tasted good. I didn’t even plate it, I just stood next to the stove and ate the softer parts.

Hey now! That was the first time I cooked rabbit. Live and learn. Keep in mind these waabooz were wild and I’m feeling the feral rising to the top. My ancestors were very healthy until the pink invasion. I admit I do enjoy ‘bad for you’ fake foods but am trying to eat better. I am diabetic so it’s crucial to do so.

I’m reminded of an old story. The Dakota, Lakota and Nakota and other nations in the western plains apparently would drive Tatanka (Bison) off cliffs and then feast. Being Anishinabe I thought that method was lazy and wasteful. Then I overheard a joke that the Anishinabe used to drive rabbits off cliffs!!! LOL!!! Good one. I gotta give it to them even though we feud! Nay!

I apologize now for writing about politics and the current alternity we as a global society are going through together. Yah, in no way did I sign up for the Nasty Orange One. Stress. Not for my old bones but for our future generations. I feel that some non-brown people are beginning to see and feel it. My granddaughters deserve a liveable planet.

When I was but a wee lass…. my first ambition was to be a princess. Check. Then I wanted to be a career woman doing something important while my high heels clicked with purpose. Sorta. After my Sun was born I had someone else more important than me. I went back to college with intent to become a teacher.  Ah! That’s where I was going with this! I’ll get back to it. So I became very sick and didn’t finish Teacher School at a private Christian college (I know…I know! I don’t know what I was thinking (I wasn’t). I just wanted to teach Indigenous kids and all the others who don’t know our culture with what I know. In no way am I making a statement about my abilities, I just wanted to do my part. Nope.

Thanks to my dear friends who saw something that they liked. I’ve always considered myself a writer and a lot of Indigenous writers and journalists agreed. Ho-Lay! I didn’t mean to pat my own flat butt like this. Ayy!!! Point being, I pray the spirits don’t make me pay for this little honking.

Anyhoo, I like to believe that I have done some teaching with this column and am grateful for yooz response. And no, I’m not seeking validation for being myself.

I entered this plane of existence as me. I’m serious. For whatever reason we all chose to be here at this time, so I’m calling the concierge. So here we all are in this place and time?! We should really do something with that. Maybe make some signs for the pinks. AIM-BLM-PRIDE- and so on. Yooz get it. We non-pinks are at high risk to be deported from our own ancestral lands, like before. Being out in the streets is not a good idea right now. IMHO.

“Back to the story at hand…” (Snoop Dogg yr?) The tree frogs have finally croaked out all their mucus and have begun singing and snagging so little froglets fried lightly in olive oil and garlic can be a horse d’erv. Can you tell I’m hungry? Okay I talked about Waabooz,Tatanka, sweets and I don’t do takeout mostly because I don’t drive anymore for lack of a motor vehicle.

There are times when I crave my Grammas pig-pen (goulash), my own chicken wings, and I better check my hot sauce collection before the shelves go bare. Hopefully um…stuff won’t be so tuff. Y’all recall that disputed virus that killed millions of human beings and other critters worldwide? Yah. That one.

No dandelions as yet in my yard in Rezberry. I’m praying the milkweed and the bees come back.