Honoring My Roots

This page is dedicated to my ancestors, elders, parents, aunties and uncles who have poured into me and paved the way for me to be doing this work in my community. As a South East native, my families history is full to the brim with resilient people who fought hard for the land, some giving their lives to protect it. To give a brief history lesson and expand on why this information is relevant, you need to understand the brutal history that Indigenous people have endured here in South AL. When the Indian Removal Act took place and natives were forced from our homelands onto the Trail of Tears, thousands of Indigenous people were murdered on the long walk to Oklahoma. There were very few native people left down here in South East AL and the hardships faced by the Mvskoke and Choctaw relatives that were able to stay behind left an impact on every generation that has followed. When the United States government seized the land from the Mvskoke people, it was the largest, bloodiest, land seizure in US history. For me to be here today on the traditional territories of my people, practicing traditional, cultural  herbalism is a very humbling experience for me. Knowing how much was lost and how hard my ancestors had to fight and how much they had to endure to survive. Knowing that it was illegal for them to practice our spiritual ceremonies and lifeways, illegal for us to use, gather, and collect our native plant relatives, Indigenous children stolen and shipped off to residential schools, forbidden from speaking our native languages.... the desperation they must have felt breaks my heart. I know it brings healing to them and to the land that I'm still here doing this work, despite every attempt to eradicate Indigenous people and remove our footprint entirely. We are still here. Mvto for reading and supporting my Indigenous owned business.