National Aboriginal Day in Canada. Honoring the First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples. Lisa Charelyboy, DJ NDN and The Museum of Civilization.

As you can see I launched my blog a few days ago. One of my Canadian friend reposted it an said, that it's release was appropriately timed.

I haven't done a great deal of study into Canada's aboriginal scene, So I am going to keep this one short and just give a couple shout outs to two of my First Nations Inspirations. I want to do more elaborate entries on them later, but for now I just want to give you a snippet on why they are ones to watch and honor.

Ladies First...

First I would like to say I have a big fat Lady Crush On Miss Lisa Charleyboy of the (Tsilhqot'in - Raven Clan). I first saw a link to her on a FB friend's page. I don't remember the exact article that hooked me, But after watching her for over a year, I have nothing but great things to say about her. Not only is she beautiful, kind and charming but she is also majorly on top of her game as a powerhouse in the continent's native media scene having even written, and spoken on numerous media outlets like the Guardian, CBC Arts and This Magazine as well as modeled, acted and been involved in a great deal of notable jobs, organizations and talks beyond her writing.
Whether talking about the numerous issues of today, voicing her opinion on love, politics or promoting amazing native artists, she never fails to enlighten me as to what is currently going on. I love her point of view and her dedication to passionately connecting with her people. Recently she has been named by the Huffington Post as one of three Aboriginal Millennials to watch.
She has had a blog for over six years which led her to launch Urban Native Magazine (http://urbannativemag.com) which covers just about every aspect of news on Native lifestyle from Fashion to Business. In her words "This Native lifestyle magazine is an extension of the blog to showcase success stories and to inspire indigenous youth to dream big".
I could just hug her, (HA HA, and I have!). She has inspired me through her beauty and fierce dedication to look deeper into native culture, study it and also to start writing again, myself.
I met her in person recently during the Gathering of Nations Pow Wow in Albuquerque, NM in April.
I adore her.
She is made up of all of this seriousness but still carries such a light and dreamy childlike spirit of adventure.
She is a huge inspiration and awesome human being.
Find out more about her and what she is up to on her website http://www.lisacharleyboy.com

And now for the Fella I follow...

DJ NDN (Ian Campeau) of TRIBE CALLED RED (Ojibwe from Nipissing First Nations).

If you don't know Tribe Called Red you should. If you aren't persuaded By their fierce techno concoctions of hip hop, reggae dance hall, moombahton and dub step mixed with Native drums and singers, then you should at least be watching them for their political standings and their ability to inspire not only indigenous youth in numerous ways, but also a whole world to dance in their electric pow wow. I don't know much about Dj Shub or Dj Bear Witness, as they don't seem to be as vocal as Ian. But take note, because these guys just won two Juno awards, (which is like the Grammys in the USA), as well as several awards at the Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards.

I was first introduced to the music by a college student who had come to work for me in my accessory business. She suggested them to me after noting my deep love for native culture. She spoke not only of the music but of the movements they were involved in such as www.idlenomore.com. I looked up their website (www.atribecalledred.com) and found their first album free for download! Such generosity!! (Go get it and then just buy the rest of their albums too, totally worth it.) I have danced my ass off in my room working both on Native style hoops and hula hoop, for about a year, to their tracks.

I was in Ottawa in April headlining the first annual Capitol Burlesque Expo, and I told the producer I wanted to know anything First Nations going on in Ottawa. She directed me to the Museum of civilization and said... "Oh I have these friends in the music scene who are making it really huge right now...Tribe Called Red." I just lost it in laughter and excitement! How cool. So she basically introduced DJ NDN and I on FB. Since then I have been following this inspiring gentleman. From the pics of their world tours, to his stand in politics concerning the Washington Redskins name debate, to racial appropriations to the stark and violent truths about the past, to his ardent love of his wife and family... I have to say I just adore this guy and hope that young men today are watching him and taking note. He is an excellent example of dedication on all levels all while making us dance and freeing our minds. 

I Just read this post of his yesterday. It really speaks perfectly of my own philosophy on life:

"Confrontation leads to discussion. 

Discussion leads to understanding.

Understanding leads to resolution."

-DJ NDN

Thank you DJ NDN! It's an honor to follow you and I'm happy to stand with you and dance to you!

As for with both of these remarkable humans, I really hope they will both let me do a more in depth post on each of them, eventually.  



And last but not least!

When I was in Ottawa in April I made it to the Museum of Civilization for an entire day so I could soak up all Canada had to offer on it's indigenous culture in academic form.
Douglass Cardinal (of Métis and Blackfoot lineage) is the design architect of this truly beautiful building with breathtaking curves that look like they were somehow carved out by the divine weathering of nature. (Douglass Cardinal is also the designer of the National Museum of the American Indian Smithsonian Museum In Washinton D.C.... a blog post on NMAI is coming!) After looking into the design I have found the the idea was in fact, to mimic as if glaciers had carved it out of the land. Even the windows and the pools outside of the building symbolize the ice and melting of it. You can see more on the architecture here: http://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/cmc/architecture/indexe.shtml

Upon walking into the Museum you are greeted by a huge hall of totem poles and indigenous dwellings from around Canada. Each section reflects the stories, lifestyles and art of the people of the different regions. Here is an assortment of pics...

I also photographed some of my very favorite pieces of art and regalia...

I also caught some interesting stories...

But what I certainly did not expect after going through a maze of gorgeous culture, was this:

Some cold hard truths that need to be considered... Why aren't these crimes against humanity talked about more? And why aren't there even more reparations?

A NOTICE stating that if you find a Native off the reserve you can go ahead and attack them.

I'm horrified by this!

So can you please dissuade the Indians not to dance in any way you need to?

This is some F*&ked up history. 

Crime report for Little Pine Reserve Indians.... Alleged Sun Dance! WTF?!

What really had me weeping was the stories of the boarding schools. I know this stuff but it never fails to rip my heart out. I imagine being snatched from everything I love as a child, My family, my home, my clothing, regalia, foods, charms and then being taken to some foreign jail where I would be punished severely for just wanting to live the way I know and love and my entire unique look would be transformed to make me look like everyone else. Like some sort of military brainwashing victim, having the soul sucked right out of me. Anything I find magical about life is crushed by these self-righteous foreign tyrants who will perpetuate future generations of people to be suffocated by colonialism and getting sucked into the consumerist madness that will eventually destroy all beautiful resources that we NEED to live. I think about this often but seeing these pics really brings it home. I weep.

I guess all I have to say is Thank you, Canadian People, for being honest about what happened, in your museum. I don't see much of that honesty here in any museums here in the States. The United States could use a hint from this display. It's time to face it. We have a lot to talk about.

If we can talk about the crimes of humanity concerning the Holocaust... If Germany can erect MUSEUMS to Show the truth about the treacherous past concerning the Nazis, and to show the shear weight of that monstrosity against the Jews, so that we can all reflect on what not to do... Then WE SHOULD, TOO. Nineteen Million died in various forms of horrific genocide to establish the United States. If we are such a proud country we might as well do something to genuinely give us pride as humans, as a nation, and as citizens of the world.

I'm going to do my best to love my way through these truths. I've never been inspired to fight to be a truly good human more that I have been since I started these studies. I see the spirit in everyone more than I ever have. I have never been much for children, but these days all I want to do is love them. I have so much compassion for them and often think of what kind of a world we are currently leaving them with all the fracking, pollution/toxic waste, consumerism and various other horrors which are way out of control. I hope your consciousness on these matters is raising, as well. And I hope your head and heart will motivate you to do something about an issue in your life or community, as well.

Farewell for Now, and Happy Belated National Aboriginal Day, Canada!
More information:
https://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1100100013248/1100100013249

Special Thanks to the gorgeous and wonderful Koston Kreme from Ottawa who brought me out for the Capitol Burlesque Expo!
More info on the event here: http://capitalburlesqueexpo.com

The Inupiat Doll that came to me in 1997

Seventeen years ago, I was living on the East side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin on a fairly busy street corner for foot traffic. Winters in Milwaukee are especially cold because of the wind whipping off of the lake just blocks from where I was living. One week I noticed a doll figure in my very small shred of yard, face-down in the snow. I didn't pick it up at first, but waited 3 days to see if perhaps in belonged to someone that had dropped it. On the third day, I decided to pick it up.

I have always had a strange gift for being "charmed" (as my friend Casey once put it). I am a finder of many things. I have eyes that zero in on details several feet or distances away. I'd like to say I just have a natural eye for detail, but after instances like this, I feel that my gift is quite a magical one. Objects, fetishes, charms and the like are all tiny messages to me. Little mirrors to look within and hold a key to my own locked perceptions about life.

When I picked her up I remember getting a flush of heat over my face and butterflies in my stomach. I touched her ivory face, her seal skin coat, her leathered booties and of course smiled at the little smiling baby sitting on her back in a papoose. I thought to myself... "Did you just hike all the way from Alaska and end up face down in my yard? Where have you been? Why are you here?"

Dolls always really meant something magical to me. As I stated in my previous post, I would play for hours with my dolls, as a child, making up elaborate romantic stories and adventures. After living in Milwaukee I briefly lived in New Orleans and even made voodoo dolls for the shops I worked in, in the french quarter.


So I decided to keep this gift that was given to me by the universe, knowing I always wanted her close on my alter. I knew she had secrets for me and one day, she would tell me. I never named her.

Fast forward to the fall of 2013.
I was planning my next work trip. I take an annual trip to Seattle for the worlds only burlesque convention, Burlycon around oct/nov. Since I was already going to be out there, and since I was renting my place out in NYC, I needed somewhere else to go... another place to tour for performing, teaching my classes and selling my accessories. For a long time I was gathering some mad love for the ladies of Anchorage Alaska and dropped the head lady, Lola Pistola a line expressing my interest. Immediately she got back to me excited because her troupe VivaVoom Brr-lesque was screening a movie I was in called the Burlesque Assassins and she thought it would be an excellent idea to have me headline the screenings and come up to teach classes and also sell my flowers. I told her about my Native American studies and told her I had a doll to bring up, to get some info on. The girls all knew how much it meant to me to soak up as much of the Alaskan Native culture as I could and they all came together and started making plans to take me around to get my fix.

I arrived in Anchorage in mid November 2013. Bitter and cold but highly reminiscent of my childhood in Wisconsin. Frankie and Lola picked me up from the airport and set me up in their downstairs guest apt. Within the next couple days... Frankie called up the Alaskan Native Heritage Center and (even though they were closed this time of year) asked them if it was at all possible to come and see the center. They happily obliged and gave us guest passes to run around the joint.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alaska-Native-Heritage-Center/36670628470?rf=246666755376276

I brought my doll. Again, My heart was just popping out of my chest and my excitement like a child, smiling from ear to ear. I was nervous, though. Despite my draw to these aboriginal cultures, I have always been really conscious of perhaps being "too much" or too excited for the people and having them think I'm some crazy white girl.  So we arrived and got our passes from a beautiful, warm lady at the desk... and they went into to the exhibits to turn on the lights for us. Frankie asked me if I wanted to ask the desk lady about the doll, but i just said, "hmm, not yet".

We entered the exhibits and started to walk around through cases of primitive tools, elaborately painted and beaded headdresses and adornments. They were all in different sections for the different Native tribes that are from the Alaskan area. And when we came through some of the cases we came upon two women sitting and making sun catchers and moccasins. I said sheepishly said Hi and asked them if I could ask them a question, that I didn't mean to bother.... I pulled out my doll and asked the older of the two ladies if she could tell me anything about this doll. I told her how I came to have her and how long I had her. She said; "Ahhhh so you brought her back home for a visit, she looks pretty beat up!" And proceeded to tell me my doll definitely came from the north and that she was most likely Inupiat. She told me about the walrus tusk faces, the seal skin coats, the arctic squirrel fur around the head and noted how beat up the poor dear looked. I laughed saying, "Well she had a long trip from Alaska, ending up face down in my yard!" She remarked at the threading and said she was most likely 40 to 50 years old because she was made with floss and not sinew (floss was brought around to the native peoples in the 60s/70s to promote dental hygiene, but they also liked to use it sa thread). Also she noted signs of sewing machine use for the body. And I asked... "But what was she for?" She told me that the dolls were made to teach children the roles of the families and most likely there was a male or father that was once part of this set.

All of a sudden it hit me. All along I had been carrying around a magical symbol of single-motherhood. I'lll tell you now that I have always had some serious issues with this dynamic. My mother was an angry, tired, unloving single mother and my childhood was quite lonely and somewhat hellish because of it. I was suicidal once at 10 years old and again in my early teens because I could not, for the life of me, understand why I had been created. Since those 17 years have gone by... I have had many relationships gone by and was even married once, which failed. It failed because I felt myself becoming my single mother with a child who was actually my husband. (no offense to him, regardless of both of our very real issues surrounding this dynamic, I had this energy to work out and understand. I love him now as one of my very best friends for life. We learned so much about our selves and about love, I have no regrets.) I was angry, I pushed him away... I lacked the patience that  I never got from my mother.  But, now, I couldn't help but wonder if I had been magically enforcing some sort of MY single mother energy on myself? It was a huge wake up call. How can I expect to be in love one day and have a happy family while carrying around a single mother who holds all the burdens of loneliness and exhaustion?

So in my mind, I came to a solution. I am looking for a mate for her. I looked everywhere around the Alaska fur trading posts, the Alaskan Native Medical Center Gift shop, Black Elk Trading... I just couldn't seem to find a mate that matched her. I saw over a hundred dolls that week. They were too flamboyant, too small, or I didn't like the expression on the carved faces... none of them spoke to me as a mate suited for her to complete this family.

It really made me think about my own choosing of a mate. far too often I have been hasty in my choices, too trusting... I've ended up with so many failed attempts at love and realize I haven't put enough magic into the thought and dream of a real stable loving marriage or family model.

I feel now like maybe I might want to make her a mate. I can design him just perfectly for her, I can dress her up with my scraps of fur and magical items I have collected. Or I can just take it easy and see if a man doll magically shows up for her. We can dream that dream together. I am in no rush for love. I know I will know what to do for her when I feel ready to make a family for myself. For now, I look at my single mother doll, the way I look at my own mother... with compassion and empathy and love that conquers all the obstacles of life.

Black Elk Trading was my last stop to look for answers about my doll... the desk clerk called over a sweet little smiling man with few teeth in his mouth... She handed him the doll and asked him if he knew anything... His eyes lighted up as if he was a child again and he said "OHHHHH, My Grandma used to make dolls JUST like this one! She is from Wales!!!!" He was smiling so bright and holding the doll as if it was his new born baby... With pride and joy in his eyes. It makes me tear up just to think I brought her back just to give him that moment of pure childlike reminiscence. He was so sweet, I teared up a little just remembering this moment.


Right after that moment...In the library section at Black Elk, Lola found a book on eskimo dolls... sure enough... there was our girl in the SAME style as my doll... Inupiat from Wales.

Bless this little doll of mine. I am gracious to all of those who hear this story or have helped me with this little part of my journey. The things I learned about myself and about the people of Alaska were truly touching.

I spent other days that week between my shows going to the Museums and various antique stores with the ladies of Vivavoom Brrrrlesque. They were amazing on all levels. Such beautiful enthusiastic spirits, expressing themselves with love, beauty, humor and joy.  They were excited and present to learn from me and be adorned in my flowers. This is the world I love in. I never had much connection with my family (until now), so these ladies, goddesses across the world are the tribe I have helped make my own. If you are ever in anchorage Check them out! https://www.facebook.com/vivavoom?fref=ts

Here I am in the Anchorage paper, announcing the show I was featured in:

Explorations & Mad Love for Native American Culture

My Name Is Amber Ray Cutting.

I was named after the rays of light that were cutting down through the fall leaves on the autumn trees in the rolling glacier carved hills of southeast Wisconsin. My father originally wanted to name me Amber Star, but my grandmother refused, stating that “no granddaughter of hers would be a Burlesque dancer”. Ironically that has become my main profession where I have joyfully danced and sung my way through the years, across the world, entertaining people and inspiring thousands of women across the world to animate themselves with sensuous humor and soul-freeing acts of beauty.  This has made me a peculiar type of feminist. I would like to reprogram the way people think about our magical bodies and free us from the judgments that actually hurt our ability to live freely with love, beauty and even pleasure.  I am often disrobed, sensual and theatrical type of provocateur. I attribute it to being an old soul who was once a temple dancer 10,000 years ago in the mideast. (I don’t actually believe in past lives, But I think, perhaps, my DNA has seen some unspeakable things).

As time has gone on, My namesake, in synchronicity with my fiery honest nature, brings light to many things, some people think would be better kept in the dark. I am not afraid. I am a warrior of love and truth.  Also, concerning my name and purpose, the Gem stone Amber (petrified tree sap), is known for preserving history and DNA, so it just seems right I would reveal the secrets and truths of the past to you.

My fascination and deep love in my heart comes from a deep soul draw to the culture of the aboriginal Races of the americas. I’m sure you want to know why this has become so important to me and why I feel the need to look deeper. This is my way of becoming an activist and a protector of life.

Here’s an explanation:

I am originally from Milwaukee Wisconsin. The furthest back that I can remember Being drawn to the Native American Cultures, was probably kindergarten where we were learning about Thanksgiving and celebrating it. I remember the whole Story about Squanto being a translator from the Wampanoag to the pilgrims and how they came together to have the first Thanksgiving because apparently they “needed” each other. In my recent research the story was that the Wampanoag had suffered some disease and some other tribal conflicts and the Pilgrims coming were like an alliance to the community. The pilgrims obviously were fresh off a strenuous trip across the atlantic and were not too keen on surviving or establishing themselves in the new world they encountered. 

I just remember strongly insisting that *I* was Squanto. I felt like the native people were my own people at a very young age, despite my skin color or where I came from. 

(I’m doing a good deal more of investigating on this subject and gathering more information and books, so please bare with me and feel free to correct me if you find my information to be incorrect or incomplete, or if you have a dispute or more information to share!)

There are so many things that I have completely disagreed with as long as I have had a mind, to do so. I was an only child who grew up moving quite a bit, never having stable relationships that grew over my childhood years. I had a really hard time fitting in and ended up spending a great deal of time alone imagining how I wanted life to be. I played endlessly with my horse models and dolls, making up elaborate stories of romance and adventure. I knew one day I was going to live a life like this. I hated the way my mom worked, yelled at me and was really never around. My dad, too, was absent except for a weekend here and there. I would build teepees in the forrest and field around my home and play like I was living off the land. My mother would attend rendezvous in western wisconsin in reenactments I was never allowed to go to. I would just marvel over her deerskin fringed and beaded dress and anything I could find on television that would tell me more about the native people. I read books like “Indian in the Cupboard” and “Island of the Blue Dolphins”, over and over again. In my teenage years I became rather interested in mystical studies… I read Lynn Andrews books and studied other books about inner manifestation, the Kaballah, and of course any other religion or spirituality that peaked my interest. I kept finding that the only thing that really made sense to me was having a connection with everything we already have on this planet. And that’s when everything truly became a mirror, Now I see more reflections than ever, before and I have worked hard to open my heart and look inside myself to find my connection in this reality with everything else I am perceiving. So much of what I am learning is full of life giving properties. I want to challenge the world to live the way they should with open hearts and wonder, to bring back the enthusiasm that is often bitterly soured by a world with structures we actually don’t agree with but participate in, anyways. We need to reprogram and set some new standards. We ARE evolving and it is time to live in a way that is up to the abilities of our consciousness. We should strive to be healthy on all levels and do our best in everything we do.

A few years back, when I was in Germany on Tour for 3.5 months, I became quite homesick for America. My way of dealing with it was to start following Native dancers and culture on Facebook when I wasn’t performing. A few people accepted me as friends and I just started adding more people and watching the pictures and updates to see what was going on. I made a few friends and even got chased by some of the dancers. 

After seeing a couple of the dancers, I become even more interested. Especially after intense talks about racism, political issues, community issues, abuse issues and a host of other horrors that were not being discussed, enough. I wanted this stuff to become common knowledge. So I very carefully have decided to add my voice to the plights of these people.

Even in our burlesque community, some very heated issues have come up about race and appropriation. At first, I myself did not see the big deal but after about 3 years or really researching privilege, colonialism, and the truth about America’s History, I feel a need to stand with the misunderstood and people who have been endlessly emotionally and culturally beat down. I also feel that as a person of white privileged who has finally come to understand what it means, I should probably help other people of privilege help understand their own privilege, since it is very obvious to me that my friends of color are weary and tired of trying to explain their grievances, or just don’t want to, anymore. They are exhausted. 

There are way more magical stories and reasons for my interest and involvement, but I want to give them all their own Blog Posts.

I have seen visions of Sitting Bull and a council before me. I have had a vintage Inupiat doll show up on my front lawn in the dead of winter. I have been given feathers and stories, over the years, by powerful people in my life. There is so much more.  

This whole Blog is about learning and sharing things and hopefully also about passionately and respectfully talking and relating to create a better, more informed and sensitive world with better, more conscious communities, overall. My aim is also to redirect all people back to the truth, to the teachings, lore and magic of this multifaceted Jewel of humanity known as The First Nations (Canada) and the Native Americans (Of the United states) so we can all crack our hearts and minds open further and understand the rich depth of our history, what makes us who we are, and what decisions we are going to make today, that will make us who we are in the future. I have a LONG list of people I will be featuring who amaze the hell out of me. I’m really looking forward to sharing everything I have been learning. I really hope this will reach outside of Native communities so the understanding is more broad and available to those that might not necessarily do this research or know what is going on. I try to do that on Facebook, daily, but I think this blog will organize and elaborate my thoughts and attention on these matters on a grater scale.

In the Last year I have dove head and heart first into studies surrounding the multifaceted cultures attributed to North American Natives. There are At least 562 federally recognized tribes, though through my meanderings I have found that there are actually over 700 tribes. I have travelled from Cape Cod to Canada to Alaska to New Mexico to DC to study what is going on, and what has happened. I arrange my Burlesque/teaching tours in different areas all over north America so that I can get some first hand experience, meet individuals, hear their stories and hopefully celebrate these Multifaceted Tribes and communities, in person.

Every time I walk up to a Powwow or a museum, My heart fells like it is popping out of my chest and I usually smile pretty hugely through some tears of happiness. I’m so grateful to all my friends and the people in all the communities I have visited accepting me in and sharing such beauty with me. Even though I am not a part of your family, I have never felt more at home. 

Please Join me on this journey of knowledge and life to which I am so passionately grateful to be swept up in. Already I feel these people are my family. and I want to love them and protect them and help them grow, as I would my own family. There is a horrible mess that has been made for the last 300 Years and I am here to help clean that up. I have no problem taking responsibility for what my own ancestors have done, educating myself, and not denying the truths. As American People we really need to tell the truth and start picking up the pieces of a genocide that killed over 19 MILLION people to establish this “Great” country we call the United States of America. 

Horrendous crimes against humanity were committed and still have been, ever since. We just don’t see all the racism and complicated crimes and events that were occurring and are still occurring, unless we educate ourselves. The native american population was about 3 million the last time I checked. That’s a small demographic. 

We are all of the human race. We are all one, We come in a variety of vibrant colors and cultures. Everyone deserves respect and I’m here to gently enforce and support that reality. I’m all for the rainbow tribe helping planet earth heal and become strong. 

I have been very driven to achieve my dreams and live a life full of creation on this journey. The more I learn about myself, the more I learn about everyone and everything else and, in turn, love this “life experience” deeper. I hope my joy becomes contagious to you, and you too will have a wonderful time following my journey. I face my fears with love and fight the things that destroy life, wether it be abuse or just the way people think.

Someone recently said something to the effect that what I am doing with these studies and talks about them is like the subtle beating of a heart or drum that is always there, encouraging truth. I personally believe that the repetition will create life and create breakthroughs, just as drops of water will make holes in stone with it’s endless persistence. 

So please enjoy. Please be active. Let me know what you think and let’s evolve and grow together!