July 5, 2022

Hello Everyone,

How was your long weekend? Did you trek out for a grand celebration or play it close to home and out of traffic? Independence Day always makes me think of watermelon and the pool, vestiges of childhood celebrations of the holiday. Both of those things are part of my summer tradition and ritual list - first watermelon of the season, first chlorine day. I got the idea to keep an official list from Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury. Do you have any?

The Weekly Three

1. Something about how language positions the self in English vs. Native languages: Alexandera Houchin started to learn her ancestral language Ojibwemowin and was struck by how, along with other Indigenous languages, it "describe[s] and orient[s] the speaker such that they are interacting within all existence, rather than from its center." She is a mountain biking champion and on her rides as she navigated trails, she thought a lot about how different the structure of directions are between Ojibwemowin and English.

In her article In Relation to All Things, she suggests that the egocentricity of the English language primes us for our egocentric view and treatment of the world. Houchin believes that "the secrets to leading mino-bimadiziwin, the Ojibwe concept of 'the good life,' are woven into the way we live in relation to each other."

2. Something about how the attention you pay determines the world you perceive: We find what we look for 3. Something with lively patterns and cheerful colors: A little interiors exploration to close this week's letter out

Thank you for taking the time to read, Amber

(she/her)