Original Tag by Michelle from Thor Wants Another Letter
Da’anzho (pronounced dah-ahn-zho) or Hello in Apache! For those who are new here, welcome and for those who have been here, it’s good to see you again. As you can tell, this is going to be a post a lot different than I usually do. For anyone who doesn’t know, I’m Indigenous, I’m Apache. I’m as open as I can be about my heritage and I take a lot of pride in it. I’m truly grateful for my friend, Michelle for creating this tag. If you’re not following Michelle and the amazing content she makes, please go check out her content HERE. To be honest, I’m really nervous about this tag, but I hope you learn something about me and maybe that will spark you to do your own research about the Apache. Without any further delay, let’s get this tag rolling!
🌻 Hoka Hey – Introduce yourself, clan/tribe (active or terminated, it all counts) 🌻
Da’anzho (pronounced dah-ahn-zho), my name is Autumn and I’m half Apache. I learned at a very young age about my heritage from my Aunt. Some things you should know is the majority of the members in my father’s family have rejected our heritage and the culture that comes with being Apache. Only three of my Aunts uphold Native American traditions, culture, and heritage. It wasn’t until I got into my teens that I really started to deep dive into my family’s history and heritage. While I know how far back in my family our heritage runs, I haven’t had any success in tracing what tribe our family originated from. I’m still searching to this day.
🌻 Native Things that just make sense – What’s your favorite book with Indigenous characters? 🌻
I’ve mentioned this a few times, but never went into details about it. I don’t have a favorite book with Indigenous characters… yet. I spent the majority of my upbringing reading books in my school libraries because of medical reasons, but those libraries never had any books with good or any Indigenous representation. It wasn’t until I was in 8th grade that I discovered the Twilight Saga, but even then (we know where I stand with that), most books I was encountering with Indigenous representation, it was done very poorly or stereotypical representation.
🌻 Regalia – Most colorful book/bookish aesthetic, and if you have regalia, can we see it? (totally okay if you don’t feel comfortable posting) 🌻
I think anyone who follows my bookstagram knows I had a major glow up with what I wanted for the theme and backgrounds I use now. I realized really quickly that while I liked wooded backgrounds, I really enjoy neutral color backgrounds, but still wanted it to have a texture to it. So that’s why you see more neutral backgrounds and themes with what I use. Plus, it allows the cover of the book to really pop!
I do not own any regalia. I’m not a dancer (there are many different types of dancers such as Crown Dancers, Devil Dancers, etc…) but I wish I was. Anytime I watch any Apache dances, it steals my breathe away every time. This is one of the more recent that I have seen that also provides some information, HERE.
🌻 Auntie & Uncle: Favorite Indigenous movie 🌻
This movie was absolutely everything. It touched parts of my soul in so many ways and I don’t think I ever stopped crying during this entire film. This is a documentary that follows the life of ten-year-old Dujuan, as he learns two different systems of knowledge, what it means to learn history through public schools and to learn your history through the elders of your heritage and culture. There were so many amazing lines throughout this movie, but I think the one that really hit home was a statement Dujuan said…
“I want my future to be on land with strong language and culture.”
If you haven’t seen this documentary yet, I highly recommend it. I don’t usually watch a lot of movies or television, so this is how you know it’s good. You can watch the trailer HERE.
🌻 Frybread or bannock? What’s your favorite trope? 🌻
Um, frybread! Yum!
Oh no… I don’t know if I have a favorite trope. There’s a lot of tropes that I like or enjoy, but I’m not sure I really have a favorite. I guess if I had to pick one, I guess hate to love or enemies to lovers? I honestly don’t know for this one.
🌻 Gramma’s the best-What’s your favorite auto-buy Indigenous author? 🌻
I don’t know if I have one yet. If anything, I think Stephen Graham Jones is probably an auto-buy for me now. After interviewing him, having a great conversation with him, and then reading The Only Good Indians… I just have no choice but to stan!
🌻 All-Nations: What is a book that made you feel the most represented? 🌻
I think I mentioned this earlier, but I have yet to read any book with Apache representation. However, the author Darcie Little Badger is Lipan Apache and she is the first author that I’ve come across who’s Apache. She has a new release coming out August 25th, 2020, Elatsoe. I’m super excited about and I have no doubt that it’s going to make my list of top books for 2020!
🌻 They Say Native Girls Look Mean: Favorite female character/author? 🌻
I’m probably going to say Rebecca Roanhorse. She seems like such a sweet being and all I want to do is read all of her work. Race to the Sun is sitting on my shelf right now taunting me, but I’m trying to save it for November. She also has Black Sun (Between Earth and Sky #1) coming out on October 13th, 2020 and I’m so excited for it! If you’re a fan of fantasy then please add this to your must read list! Plus, the cover is stunning!
🌻 Star Quilt: What’s something you hold dear from your culture (beadwork, handmade things) 🌻
As of right now I only have a few items that mean the world to me. The first item is a necklace with a piece of blue agate that has Kokopelli on it. Kokopelli is a fertility deity, but is also known as a trickster and a spirit of music. You can read more about Kokopelli HERE. I was given this necklace after I had joined my school’s choir. The next piece is more of a choker than a necklace, made from turquoise, and it’s another piece that features Kokopelli. I was given this necklace by my Aunt after I had received my first award from my school as the “song bird” of the school. And the final jewelry piece I own is a necklace of all turtles handcrafted from turquoise. It’s the crown jewel of all my jewelry, the most delicate, and one that holds the largest place in my heart. This piece was given to me by my Aunt and mother when I attended my first PowWow. In many Southwest Tribes, from what I have by told by my Aunt, represents precious water and if you know anything about Southwest Tribes, water is a true gift.
Of course, I have dreamcatchers throughout my home. You can learn more about dreamcatchers HERE and HERE. My very first dreamcatcher was given to me when I turned sixteen. My Aunt had taken a few months to relearn how to weave dreamcatchers and presented me with this red dreamcatcher with a bull skull in the center. The other dreamcatchers I have in my home have all been sent from my best friend. She’s also Apache and spends a lot of time going to PowWows, traveling back and forth from the reservations. Each one means so much to me, she and I have been friends for six or seven years now (she’s my ride or die), but the very first one she sent me was white with white and brown feathers, which now hangs over my bed.
🌻 Don’t Whistle at Night: Scary story as a Native? Also favorite book with horror/thriller? 🌻
I don’t really have any scary stories I feel comfortable with sharing out in the open.
Hmm… I grew up in a house where horror is the definition of Friday movie night. My mother loves horror. I don’t think I have a favorite horror book yet. I mean, yeah there’s Dracula by Bram Stoker, but I’m not a huge horror reader. The only book I can recommend (at least for now) is The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones.
🌻 He even drinks water, INDIGENOUS: List your favorite actor/actress, book, media, whatever you like. 🌻
You want my whole list? HERE WE GO!
Adam Beach, Irene Bedard, David Midthunder, Roseanne Supernault, Floyd “Red Crow” Westerman, Rodney A. Grant, Saginaw Grant, and of course Graham Greene.
🌻 It’s a Good Day to be Indigenous: Tag your Indigenous friends 🌻
🌻 Dani at thunderbirdwomanreads
🌻 Sasha at anishinaabekwereads
🌻 Melitta from the.midnight.librarian
And all my fellow Indigenous readers and reviewers who I didn’t tag! Ya’ll should do this tag! Also, if you’re non-Indigenous and you’ve never heard of any of these content creators, change that right now! These are only some of the amazing creators, with so many more I haven’t listed (because that would be an extremely long list), but they are all wonderful souls and I highly encourage you to spark up a conversation with them, to support them, and to boost their voices. I say this all the time; we are here, we review books, we want our voices to be heard, we want to have conversations with you about books we love, and even though we are small in this community, we are mighty.
Woo! I may have gotten a little emotional with this post and may have ended up with missing my Aunts, like a whole lot. So that concludes the Indigenous Bookworm Tag. Once again, if you’re not following Michelle and her content, go do that right now! She’s such a warm soul and is truly a gift. I’m so thankful to have her in my life and I get to call her my friend. And as I mentioned, make sure you check out the other content creators I listed above. They’re all amazing people and they have been so loving, so welcoming, and they’re all incredible in their own way. I hope you, yes you dear reader, enjoyed this post. I hope it moved you to go do research, to learn about Indigenous people, learn about the history, and I hope it encourages you to lift the voices of Indigenous readers in the book community. Until next time, may you continue to stay safe, stay hydrated, I love you. 💛
Chapter Malliumpkin 
This is an amazing tag, your answers were perfect hun.
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Awe thank you so much! I was so nervous! 🧡
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You did awesome hun.
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