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Susan Feldman's avatar

I keep beginning a comment and somehow don’t hit “post”… thank you for sharing this powerful piece of your history. Now I know. Learning the language of your people will make your voice more powerful, imbuing it with the beauty and tragedy of those hidden stories. Thank you again for bringing this into the daylight.

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Lucinda Blackwood's avatar

Thank you, Susan for this. Your comments are always just what I need to hear.

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Jeanine Kitchel's avatar

Lucinda, I think oral storytelling, initiated more dramatically maybe 20-30 years ago, was such an incredible and accurate way to recall and record the history of this nation. I remember when it came in and thought, ahh, good. Before that, if not written down (and by whom?) it would never get recorded. It reminds me of that memorable, sad and devastating Australian film - Rabbit Proof Fence. Without that film, would people have known that indigenous children were torn from their mothers' arms to be given to white Aussie families? And any underage girl of color who was pregnant was nurtured before the birth of her child before it was taken from her. I'm getting off the point here, sorry, but oral storytelling, of which you are doing, is an important part of this American life. (to quote Ira Glass). Thank you.

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Lucinda Blackwood's avatar

Yes, Yes and Yes. Rabbit Proof Fence is a film that I can never forget and there are more coming along now the cat is really coming out of the bag just to mix cliches for a sec, it's a Pandora's Box that needs to be open. But to your first point about oral storytelling it is an almost irresistible urge for me and I don't know if that is in my DNA or just me but I am so happy to have this resource now to do it in the way that is most satisfying to me.

Thank you so much for this input. (I think about This American Life a lot)

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Jeanine Kitchel's avatar

I'm so glad you're doing it. It's great. And also entertaining.

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Randy Gibson's avatar

Halito and Yakoke fehna hoke my dear Lucinda. I am in tears. Your kind words and words of reality have touched me and the family in me/us to the heart. I am honored, happy and grateful to be from the same watermelon patch as You. The memories and the memory of our first time on the swing set surrounded by your Daddy’s greenest grass grown has been with us, waiting for us to continue the story that started many generations before us and will continue………………Bringing to light the real life stories that brought us to Here. I am honored, thrilled and grateful to be part of your life, Again.

I am so thankful for you for keeping the family fires burning through your writing and storytelling. I could go on and on and on and I will another time.

So Yakoke fehna hoke and Chi pisa la chike. Chi hullo li,

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Lucinda Blackwood's avatar

Halito, Randy. Our reunion was no accident. Yakoke, yakoke for finding me. Ancestors are looking to us to walk the road again--together.

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