Current Reading

I haven’t bothered to update this page in a while and I think it’s time I do.  🙂

At the present moment I am reading a very interesting book titled Tonto’s Revenge written by Rennard Strickland.  It’s a collection of essays written by an indigenous law professor.  In this anthology he deals with self identity as opposed to media identification, governmental policy and the power we have as a people to recapture our “cultural legacies”. 

I finished Medicine Women, Curanderas and Women Doctors by Perrone, Stockel and Krueger, which was a gift from my Mother.  It was an eye opening book, written mostly from the perspective of the healer being interviewed, with little input from the writer.  The book was written from a woman’s perspective, focusing on the woman’s way when it comes to the healing aspects of shamanism, as interpreted by the healer.  I could be a bit of a disjointed read to those who cannot suspend judgement or who are unfamiliar with Native worldviews, but otherwise,  it is a wonderfully refreshing book.

Other than that, I have been waiting on Anne Bishop’s latest installment in the Black Jewels series; Shalador’s Lady.  Although it is out already, my public library is still pending arrival.  The good news is that I am first on the list :).  The reviews don’t speak highly of this particular book, but I really enjoy this author and look forward to my read.

And as always, I am doing a lot of writing.

I recently received a copy of an essay exploring the Taino Worldview regarding life and death.  The conclusions the author presented were unsatisfactory, so I did some research and wrote a rebuttal to it that I hope to post soon.

I’ve also received emails regarding my most recent post regarding the 2010 Census.  Unfortunately, the most interesting email was difficult to understand, so I wrote back requesting they write me the same email in Spanish.  So far, I havve received no response…

Something in me is changed.  I want to do something… so I write.  There are issues out there that get in the  way of personal growth and learning, both as a Taino and as a Human Being.  I try to shed light on those things to see if they become less intimidating to me and maybe reach out to others who may be ion the same path.  My writing allows me to share truth from my perspective that may help someone else grow.

As for books, though, I am always open to suggestions, if you’d like to make any.  What have you been reading?