Look Out For Your Fellow Human

Don't put them in the hospital

Welcome to the midweek(ish) version of An Irritable Métis. This is where things are usually a little less … irritable. If you forgot what this all is even about, you may remind yourself here. If you want to help me keep the lights on, well….

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“Dude,” Cheeto said. “I just want it to be over, dude.”

The end of the year is upon us. I’ve never been one to celebrate the New Year much and I don’t see that changing this year. I’ve given more thought that usual this time around though, and what I might do if I were so inclined, having spent more time with Métis elders over this past year than ever before. In Métis culture this was always a time for multi-day celebrations, with fiddling and food and jig dancing and raucous celebratory mayhem. As great as it all sounds I think those days are behind me. I’ll probably be unconscious by 10:00pm, though a heroic effort to stay up past midnight may stir my blood, who knows. Like many things it will sound like a great idea around mid-morning, but if I haven’t said, “Ah, to hell with it….” by 8:00pm it will be a holiday miracle.

There are other ways to bring in the new year. It’s time to swap out the calendars and crack into the new day planner, for example. Time to reflect on the past year and make plans for the one about to begin. Are you a resolution person? I don’t know that I am, though as part of the reflection process I certainly make plans to double-down on the things I didn’t do enough of in the current year, and often those are typical things like exercising more, getting outside more, eating better, reading more, etc. People will argue that resolutions aren’t good for us, but you won’t ever convince me that checking in with ourselves to make sure we are keeping a keen eye on what is important to us isn’t time well spent. I am my worst enemy … but I can be my best champion too, if I let myself.

My friend Tammy has a great post called, “The Magic of One Word.” It’s basically a commitment to a single word/idea/practice for the year in lieu of a resolution (or several) and I like it. I’ve been thinking about what mine might be but it’s hard to narrow it to one. I will in the next few days, though. She explains it way better than me, so consider checking it out; I’m curious what your “one word” might be.

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Things Were Starting to Open Up Again

What do you think the overlap is in the Venn diagram between people who are tearing their hair out and ky-yiing over the CDC’s latest announcement that close contact or losing a limb (or whatever they’re saying) only requires five days off work instead of ten vs. the people who bellowed, “The CDC says we can take ‘em off now!” and were shitfaced in a packed bar or restaurant or sporting event before the mask they ripped off their face even hit the ground. It’s probably a friggin’ single circle. I don’t think we will ever know how much unmasked people who thought vaccination made them immune contributed to the overall body count, but I suspect it is far more significant than we imagine. It is terrifying to think about, and sobering. Which is why I urge you to watch this video, recently shared by the folks just north of me on the CSKT reservation:

I cried watching it. For what has happened, how it didn’t have to, and how it probably will again anyway. Covid numbers are starting to rise again in Montana, which is no surprise. Missoula seems primed for another gigantic outbreak given the appearance that few people seem to GAF anymore, mask-wearing being any indicator. In the grocery store or anywhere else, seeing another person in a mask is akin to when I would see someone else in an Iron Maiden t-shirt or something and we would lock eyes and nod and know, “That’s one of my people.”

I point fingers at the maskless and hate the fact that any given weekend the bars and everything else are packed, with all the assorted rando close-talking with people you have no-idea-where-they’ve-been-but-at-least-they-are-new-and-exciting action has been going on for months, but I’m as guilty in my way as any. As much as I can’t bring myself to say yes to social interactions, I still tuck myself away in the occasional restaurant, have seen a couple movies, etc. When I started teaching up on the reservation a couple months ago, I arrived with my mask on and discovered I was the only one wearing one, so I stopped. What a terrible choice. It’s awful, and when it all explodes again—and it sure seems to be headed our way—that valley is going to be hell all over again, just as described in that video.

“Don't think because you're protected everybody else is protected, look out for your fellow human. Don't put them in the hospital.” – Dr. Michael Pierre, Salish

I’ve got to do better. We all have to do better. To the people who agree with us and to the people who don’t. We all have a common enemy plying us with disinformation: The Man. Same as it ever was. Those of us who are essentially cannon fodder have more in common than we don’t.

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Remember This Thing

My first event of 2022 is going to be an online Little Shell/Métis discussion for Swan Valley Connections. It should be great. Also free! You may register HERE if you are so inclined. SVC are beautiful people and I'm always happy to do work for them. This one will be a slight variation on what I usually do on this theme and I’m looking forward to it.

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Same Week, Another Thing

Here I am raving about masks and being in public and killing each other but there’s this thing coming up in Missoula on Friday, January 7th, from 5pm – 8pm. It’s the third live event I’ve done at the ZACC in the last couple months and I am nervous as ever but I’m doing it … at least as of this writing. Because if Covid blows up in the coming week, and it could, I’m bailing. But if TSDHTF, and you have a mask, it’s for a worthy cause. I’ll be talking a bit about teaching poetry to incarcerated children and reading a few of their poems. It’s important stuff … but not worth dying over.

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This Thing Hopefully Won’t Kill Anyone Either

Good news! Registrations for my Silence: The Daily Practice workshop in Yellowstone National Park, from the Lamar Buffalo Ranch, have reached the minimum so it’s happening (unless, you know … but hopefully by February the latest outbreak will be behind us). Class size is being limited because of Covid concerns, so there are only a couple spaces left.

Here is what the workshop is (allegedly) about:

Silence and observation are key to the creative process, whether that process is found in some discipline of art or in simply maintaining a well-lived life. This workshop will focus on writing, even if you don’t consider yourself a “writer.” It will feature unique exercises that include sitting in observation; walking as a key element in breaking free creative energy; and practicing live storytelling. You will be encouraged to recognize the importance of making time for reflection; to celebrate the absolute importance of being curious and kind; and to recognize the importance of your personal story.

If you’ve got time and some extra money, you can register here. It should be gorgeous there by February.

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And Finally….

My friend Holly Wren Spaulding has a new chapbook of poetry out called Between Us. It is beautiful. You may know Holly as the kind facilitator behind Poetry Forge. I’ve been a guest with her a couple times and the experience has been wonderful. Anyway, I was reading through the book and loved this poem in particular. Then, at the end, I’m reading through the acknowledgements and see a number of poems are dedicated to specific people. And this poem is dedicated to me. It’s not hyperbole to say I got a little verklempt. So often this writing gig can seem like just a bunch of mad and angry ants trying to be the first to the top of some imaginary pillar, clawing and gnashing mandibles into the flesh of everyone around them in an effort to keep them from “getting there” first … and then comes a reminder that it isn’t like that at all. Not if you don’t want it to be, and I sure as hell don’t. So thank you, Holly.

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Friends, this is the final newsletter of 2021. I can’t express the gratitude I have for all of you who have subscribed to An Irritable Métis, paid or not. It is easily the most heart-filling thing I’ve done in my entire writing life and I mean that. As the young girl says at the end of the video I shared above, “"I love my people." You are my people. And I love you all.