Self proclaimed I am: Mea B'fly
Translation: Mea is a given child hood nickname short for MaRia and B'fly for butterfly. Butterfly in honor of my late great grandmother and giver of all that is special and cherished by me- family and self.
I come from a small but hearty community on the western edge of the Navajo Nation and northern edge of the Hopi reservation. My creation and traditional upbringing began on the geographical border of my identity- Dine' and Hopi- ironically but luckily.
At birth I grew apart of my community and followed the roots laid before me. Kindly associating with my fellow neighbors as a Jenkins granddaughter of Louis and Agnes; children of Elmer and Lucy who used to manage the ole Cameron Trading Post before highway 89 linked the reservation to the busy cities of Arizona. I took my place among the women in my family as the eldest daughter of an eldest daughter of an eldest daughter... 4th generation eldest daughter of the Ashiini Clan originating from the Chinle area carrying the maternal name Jenkins, Gorman, and Draper. I assumed my role amoung my Hopi side as well- preparing the dinner table and filling huge stew bowls for the males of my family while I waited to eat last with the woman as an honor. With my whole heart I listed with huge ears to the little tips and sometimes scorns of my elder aunties and grandmas on how to prepare the corn for roasting, align fabric for sewing and the tactful skill of buthcering. My upbringing was a beautiful well written story in memory not pen. Skillfully translated and bestowed upon me by the greatest of all people- my family.
Twenty something years later here I am a proud Native American woman- strong, married, instictivly motherly, humbly spoken, humanly hearted, creatively skilled, and infinately linked to the roots of Mother Earth.
I have come to learn along my path and within this blog I hope to share it with you. Most posts will be humanly uplifting, others the real trials of life but all a piece of my heart.
Here we go- post one, day one ^-^
