Updates

So let's see, new things... I've had to put off the book on my tribal history because of some personal issues, but I hope to get back to it very soon. The goal of the project is to do a combination of two main things. First I want to document the tribes history, of course. It is a small tribe and not many people have bothered to write very much about them, so there's a lot of blanks to fill in. Fortunately there is a strong oral tradition, as in most Native American people, so it's just a matter of taking the time to listen to the Elders. The second part is the fun part, for me anyway. I'd like to weave the tribal legends into the book, there are so many and they are so vivid. It will be very interesting to see if I am able to integrate them into the book so that both facts, and the wonderfully detailed and imaginative legends of the tribe's origin can come alive and capture the readers mind and heart.

In the mean time, I have started on yet another novel. It has characters that my best friend and I came up with together when we were 12 and 13 years old. A project that she had faith that I could tackle all those years ago. (Ahhh to be that naive again... NOT! *Laughs hysterically*) I have finally started the book now though, and it's moving along very well. I'm about 100 pages in and the characters are still strong, are in fact, getting stronger. It is another Chick Lit book, but much lighter then my first, and pretty fun. I'm going to try to get in here to post at least once a week, but I have also started college this fall and things get pretty hectic so no guarantees.

A New Writing Project

I am very excited, I was approached by my grandmother about a writing project that I've decided to take on. I'm very excited, but also very nervous. I have said in previous posts that I'm Native American, but I'm probably the whitest Native you'll ever meet. My father is a fairly light-skinned Mexican Native American, and my mother is very Caucasian. Because of this, I'm as white as you can get on the outside. Inside, however, I've always been fascinated with the stories of my Indian ancestors. So I was very honored when my grandmother brought up the idea of me writing the history and tribal stories of our people.

The challenge is that it is a small tribe, and their traditions, like most Native American tribes, are largely oral. I think the best place to start is the small tribal museum on the reservation. They have what few artifacts that remain of a very old people, and a very knowledgeable curator, or so I've been told. Unfortunately I grew up away from the reservation in Tacoma, and so didn't get the chance as a child or young adult to get to know my very large extended family in the tribe.

I have the good fortune to have my father here to help me, though, because he plays a large part in the tribe and knows all the people I'll need to talk to. What I'm not at all sure about is interviewing the tribal Elders. I've decided to take a video camera along to capture the tone in their voices and stories, as well as to capture their expressions and mannerisms as they speak. I've never thought of being a journalist, or interviewer, but I think it will be a wonderful challenge for me to rise to.

At the very least, it will be an interesting journey, and I'll try to blog about it as much as I can. It should make for a unique story, and I'm curious to see how it will end myself. How will the Elders and the people of my tribe respond to the whitest Indian putting our story down on paper?