Seven Fires prophecy<\/a> that in that time that we are in right now that we have lost our way in a lot of ways, and that we\u2019ll retrace the steps.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nFor Dawson, that means participating in Potawatomi traditions in physical or distinguishable ways as a means of preservation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy focus for this project is that it\u2019s all about the connection to the land. If we don\u2019t have that connection, if we\u2019re exploiting resources, if we\u2019re not learning the language, if we\u2019re not doing the work, then what makes us Native?\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She believes engaging becomes effortless over time as it becomes habitual, which includes gardening and the importance of Indigenous food sovereignty. Dawson has written songs about water, honoring food and the Earth as a mother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m just trying to wake us all up to the fact that we are dependent on this earth, and as humans, we\u2019re even lower than the plants, because the plants don\u2019t need us. We depend on them,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re like their children. We can\u2019t live without them, but they would do fine without us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her creative process also covered an aspect of Tribal history that impacted Potawatomi women that is not covered in many history books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s one song that\u2019s about kind of the loss of identity through names and relationships, and then also the idea that so many people just were taken from their families and given a new name in residential schools,\u201d Dawson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many Potawatomi women\u2019s land ownership in the Great Lakes region transferred to French fur traders when they married and changed their names.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s about the connection to the land and going back to a place where we\u2019re working with it and having respect for it and not just the exploitation, not just logging for fur trading until all the animals are gone,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dawson\u2019s Potawatomi name is Amo <\/em>(Bee). It fits given her desire to develop reciprocal relationships with other Tribal members, learn from nature, and then teach those practices and philosophies through her craft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cI see that functioning in my life in a lot of ways, whether it is that idea of pollination, that I\u2019m connecting things that maybe exist in two different friend circles, but I\u2019m bringing those people together, or ideas or concepts that are in my life that I sort of am able to put together,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First Peoples Fund brought all recipients together in Phoenix, Arizona, at the end of February to allow them to meet and discuss their projects. The other artists inspired Dawson and strengthened her resolve to continue her album.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt let me know that I wasn\u2019t the only one out there kind of doing this weird thing where I\u2019m trying to be really respectful of my heritage and really careful about not exploiting it, but also understanding that the work that I have to offer this world is valuable and accepting that as work that I have to do,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She plans to work with the harvesting seasons and complete her collection sometime this fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy whole mantra for this year is, \u2018Music is medicine,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Find out more about First Peoples Fund and their opportunities by visiting firstpeoplesfund.org<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Musician and Tribal citizen Elexa Dawson won a grant to fund the production and promotion of her first solo album, taking inspiration from her Potawatomi heritage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":20952,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[2897,544,48,328],"class_list":["post-20951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","tag-folk-music","tag-heritage","tag-music","tag-tribal-musician"],"better_featured_image":null,"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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