Language, history, and culture
Shiyax łkwi! My name is Emily founder of Native Friends. I'm a scholar and speaker.
As a life-long learner of language, history, and culture, I hope to share some of that with you.
News
Topics range from the Yakama War, Native women, MMIW, traditional knowledge, resource management, fishing rights, and food sovereignty.
Return of the Wapato
Featured collection
Language
In order to share our language, we must have ways to showcase it. Imagine more native language conversations that share words between generations.
How to Count to 10 in Ichiskiin
Poems
Poems help center our souls. They help with questions or hopes for our family, communities, and tribes.
They Sang a Warrior Song for Her, is a poem I wrote as a result of Yakama War research. There is an erasure of our Native women in the historical record. The war started in 1855 because of violence against Yakama women and children. Also, Yakama women fought in the war. This poem is about a promise to never forget our history.
For pageants, I read a poem It's Never Too Late: A Life Story. I held two titles: Miss Yakama Nation and Miss National Congress of American Indians (1999-2000).