Frontline Journal Ideas

I have been trying to decide which area to write on since there are many that I want to write of and each one is important to me. So here they are:

Idea 1 America's Snik War

Snik is a word from an Unangas (new word to self-define Aleuts) dialect that means several things at once: Winter, Cold, Old, Year. It is the perfect word for describing the "cold war" that America is in with it's Indigenous population. Like Russia's cold war where there was not an official war going on but actively working against "them" as a people, the same is true for America's Indigenous tribes. When you suffer injustice for such a long time it can make your heart feel as if it is in Winter and can lead to inaction. When you repeat something over and over again it becomes Old and you grow very tired of it. The First Nations tribes feel this way about the Federal Government's treatment of them. A Year can feel like a lifetime when you are living in oppression and it can also be how quickly things can turn around, too.

This idea would coin a new word to describe this like the Russian/American cold war. I believe that things can change for the better and relatively easy too. The idea behind it is like hypothermia where you can die from the cold and it is called "exposure". Bringing attention to this matter and creating a new way to define it and presenting easy things to do that can totally change the feel the injustice will die from the exposure we bring to it on an international scale.

The main thing is this could be seen as too broad a scope for this journal assignment.

Idea 2 Defining Oneself

This idea would be a way to help someone bridge the gaps between things they believe that can be seen to conflict with each other. It came about from my belief that to truly move ahead and heal ourselves we (Alaskan Indigenous tribes) need to let go of all the bad feelings from before. Unity is our strength and always has been from time immemorial and right now we are a bit fractured and divided.

Many major events happened to us in a relatively short time and we went from strong tribes to American third class minorities in a short span of time. Reeling from those events with their accompanying oppression and suppression made it very hard to regroup. Because we are so rich in natural resources we were kept off-balance and unable to unite. We were suddenly separated into "classes" where some were better then others, that old idea that is used to keep a group oppressed.

This idea would be my talking of my view of it and how we can change things for the better.

Idea 3 Never Alone Again

This is another dear to my heart idea where we really need to help stop isolation and it's effects on woman. It also has that divide and conquer theme where we are made to feel all alone and would show how we can break that cycle by a strong will and fierce belief that it is the right thing to do.

Even when you are around other people you can feel isolated. It is a tool used by oppressors and used because it is so effective. It happens only inside yourself where no one can see it or heal it for you. It requires your actions to cure and abusers know to try to stop you from even trying.

This one is one i feel is vital like the other 2 to get talked about.

Idea 4 Patterns and cycles

This one is important because many woman do not see the patterns in their lives so repeat them over and over again. Learning to think about it and how to understand it and recognise these patterns (using my own phrases for it, maybe???) and how just doing that much can go a long way to changing a woman's life. Cycles are another area I want to explore and show what they are like. Things like the cycle of sexual abuse are important to show since studies have shown that those who suffer it become "predisposed" to it, a very scary thought and one that can be controlled once someone realizes that there is that threat.

So many things happen inside a woman, in her own heart, her own soul and her own mind that I want to show that these changes can make a 100% difference to her even though it will take time to change her circumstances.

This one might be too like my previous journals and might be better for the Weaving our own Fate group instead, maybe?

I do have a few more too that I am thinking of but will see if any of these sound like ones to do before typing up those others. So many ideas and so little time! One I really want to write about is the idea of 'divide and conquer' since I think we can learn to recognise when it is happening to us and when we understand the 'why' of it we can control the outcome and that is what we all need to learn to empower ourselves...

I would love your input and thoughts and suggestions!

Maria