#powwow season

[unsp0k3n-desires]

SDSU Powwow 2023 🌞🥁

[ghostnebula]

[altruistic-meme]

hunting for good omens reaction videos on youtube, if you have any that you really like please send them to me 🙏

[cutest-bunny-writings]

What's the school gonna do if I henna my face paint on my face?

[lasisgood]

I still love the powwow scene in echo marvel. It's so good! It's got the feeling of a powwow down. But they never showed any frybread! I was like WHAT you can't have a powwow without FRYBREAD

I can't believe Northern Cree played the opening it was so good!!!

It's not the same as going to a powwow yourself, but it made me happy to see my culture on tv.

There's a powwow this weekend that I'm going to. I'll be able to grab some frybread myself. Hehe

[b0neh34d]

going to my second powwow of the year tm :3

(i only go to hit on girls from other tribes)

[mathosapabeads]

NFS, star quilt back patch with xl ricrac, made by my mom. this is currently on a light weight hoodie but i will likely be moving it to a different jacket. she is starting to play with quilting and sewing onto pre existing garments and we are gauging interest in them to potentially sell for powwow season. if you are interested in her quilting instagram send me a message and i can link you

[mindscapr]

Re-design of my tribes flag, thoughts?

Did this just for fun, and also because I thought our original flag is kind of ugly. I like the seal, but a flag shouldn’t be a seal slapped onto a rectangle, especially with just our name at the top in bold white.

CGP grey taught me better than that.

So here we are.

Explanation for everything:

The large eagle in the middle is there because eagles are very important to my tribe, messengers of prayer. We also own an eagle sanctuary for injured birds and distribute their sacred feathers.

The fire has two meanings, one for our name and role, Fire Keepers/People of the Place of the Fire, and the fire has seven points for the seven fires prophecy. (A very important part of our tribals history migrating across turtle island)

The eagle has a three pointed crest on their chest, one for each tribe in the three fires council that makes up the Nishnabe

The crest is in a circle, not just as a reference to the original seal but also for our dancing circles at powwows.

And finally the boarder is a medicine wheel for the four directions, seasons and sacred medicines.

Thank you for reading!!

[pinkflipphonez]

our favorite golden retriever boy's bday is soon AND powwow season is just around the corner so here's some indigenous headcanons I've got for alfred f. jones!

he is actively attempting to learn every single native language within his region, but fluently speaks osage, dine bizaad, hopi, mvskoke, and algonquian massachusett and ojibwa

he is the embodiment of sunshine. he can make everyone laugh, and that includes babies. that being said, he has been the reason for at least 100+ babies' first laughs and has proudly thrown parties for each of their families as per the navajo tradition

him (and matt) fully volunteer to drum and sing at powwows, especially at small town ones. they will roadtrip across canada and the us during the summer and absolutely bring the party to the 49. they also do it to overindulge in piccadilly and indian tacos

he is not a religious person but he does acquiesce in spiritual traditions he has picked up from native elders. the major one he uses is smudging. alike the kid from 'sixth sense', he sees dead people-- or ghosts to be exact lol. and he hates them! which is why he will often smudge and pray early in the morning, once a week, to cleanse any spirits from his house

smokes are always in his possession. while he does smoke on occasion, he mostly carries them with him for exchanges. for example, if he encounters a cool mineral on the roadside, instead of just taking it, he will leave tobacco behind as a show of appreciation

he feeds the rez dogs exponentially (even when everyone at every rez keeps telling him not to fuckin do that, you shitass)

put him on your rob list because he owns so many beaded jewelry and turquoise, it may just pay off your student loans and then some

his mutton sandwiches and navajo burgers will make you fall in love with him, no joke

[sleepingdeath-light]

mixed race (japanese + native american) fiancé hcs ; 16+

requested by ; anonymous (14/04/23)

fandom(s) ; black butler

fandom masterlist(s) ; hub | main characters | main villains | anime only

character(s) ; alois trancy, our!ciel phantomhive, real!ciel phantomhive, sebastian michaelis

outline ; “hey! i hope youre doing well. if/when youreable to, would you mind writing some headcanons for o!ciel, sebastian, r!ciel, and alois (if thats too many, just the first 2 💜) with a gender neutral fiance who is partially both japanese and native american please? thank you very much in advance.”

warning(s) ; references to period typical racism, references to canon-typical violence, generalisations made as to not link the reader to any specific native tribe, author craps on british food in a few places (author is british, it comes from a place of love)

note ; this took ages to look up and research in order to try and not lock the insert into any specific tribe or tribal family for their native side — given how broad and diverse they are. hopefully this came across and wasn’t too disappointing to the requester or anyone else who might have been looking for a very specific type of representation.

Alois Trancy

this man isn’t the most sensitive or understanding in general — so he wouldn’t necessarily ‘get’ or question your religious practises

like if you’re spiritual and perform smudging in the manor then you’re only really going to irritate his demonic staff and prevent them from entering certain rooms for a while

on the other end of the spectrum, smudging is an excellent way of keeping claude and the triplets out of your rooms if you’re annoyed

this would amuse alois for sure — but his interests would be focused exclusively on the aesthetic and story based aspects of your culture

he loves listening to you as you explain the folklores and mythologies of your two heritages — wide eyed and quiet for once as he takes in everything you have to say

he has a particular preference for creatures and deities that explore the gorier aspects of life, and he’ll ask you to retell them often, but he’ll listen to any story you have to tell

and if you participate in cultural crafts like beadwork or shodo or anything along those lines, then he’ll gladly fund your work and might even pay you to make things for his person, his peers or just to display about the estate

he’ll also ensure that you’re never without clothing from your cultures and would prefer you wear it over things from england — be that a selection of richly dyed kimonos for you to wear during galas, or importing regalia from your tribe for you to wear during traditional dances and such if that’s something you partake in

if your tribe partakes in the tradition of getting facial tattoos, then he’ll be incredibly interested in their history and meaning for you

will celebrate and observe holidays that aren’t on the british calendar with you — whether that’s national foundation day, or something that requires travel abroad like a powwow

and in the same vein, he’s not afraid to send his servants after anyone who disrespects you whilst at his manor

Our!Ciel Phantomhive

ciel has a particular interest in the culinary/confectionary side of your dual cultures and would be very invested in trying and recreating the dishes you grew up eating

that, of course, includes sweet things like candies and desserts

(his favourites are dango and saututhig)

but it also applies to meals — especially those associated with specific holidays

so, for example, he would have sebastian recreate the seasonal flavours of namagashi if you opt to take part in any tea ceremonies

or he might recreate some festival foods like okonomiyaki or yakitori when it’s the right season

or if you’re craving something from a powwow, he’ll ensure you have access to things like corn soup, fry bread and so on

he never wants you to be without the comfort foods you grew up with, nor the things you crave

so he has the staff modify the manor’s menu and meal rotation to incorporate more foods from japan and from your tribe

(which is a relief as british food isn’t the most flavourful in the world)

he also insists on trying to learn whichever language (or languages) you’re comfortable with so he’s able to connect and understand more of his future spouse’s culture and world views

he struggles immensely with japanese, specifically with forming his kanji for some reason, but his pronunciation is pretty spot on

but he manages to pick up the language of your tribe pretty quickly

so he’d probably prefer to speak to you using that tongue if he wished to mention something privately

he’s also keenly aware of the history of conflicts faced by native americans — as well as the bigotry faced by immigrants in the uk

he did his fair share of studying at the beginning of your relationship and, well, he has eyes and the situational awareness to recognise how you were being treated

this makes him incredibly protective of you — he trusts you to take care of yourself (you are engaged to the queen’s watchdog, after all), but that doesn’t mean that he expects you to put up with outright horrific treatment by his peers or his people

in other words: sebastian and the rest of the phantomhive staff get some free target practise courtesy of people that insult the lord of the house’s fiancé

Real!Ciel Phantomhive

this man is the sort to spoil his partner however he can at every opportunity — and you are far from the exception

any food that you’re craving, he’ll have the ingredients imported and will hire a specialty chef (or train one) to make it for you

any clothing you desire, he’ll have hand made and imported

if you miss your family or wish to go home to celebrate a holiday, he’ll arrange a trip to the americas or to japan and send you there with supplies and gifts to spare

he’ll usually try to go with you, but there are times where his schedule just doesn’t allow it so you’ll be travelling alone (with dozens of personal attendants)

he’ll study every language you speak independently, learning them whilst you’re away in order to surprise you when you get home

he’ll decorate the manor with pieces of art that represent both of the cultures you come from — or pieces that were made by yourself/your relatives

if there are any local sports or games that you enjoy, he’ll arrange for them to happen at the estate

he’s an excellent partner in that regard

but he puts his business and reputation above a lot of the things he should be doing for you

like yes he’ll spoil and indulge and learn for you

but if one of his most important investors says something offensive then he won’t do anything to stop it

at most he’ll encourage them to keep that talk to his office, but usually he’ll just laugh along and encourage you to grin and bear it

he wants to defend you, really, but he can’t risk plummeting his business because of it

he doesn’t have the means to get rid of someone without it looking suspect — which would tank his reputation and out both of you at risk

if he can punish someone for being cruel, he will — like a staff member of his or someone on the streets

but most of the time he really can’t — so the most he can do is try to keep you away from it all

as his father taught him, his duties to his country and his business come first — only then can he be a husband and lover

Sebastian Michaelis

he spends most of his time with you switching between japanese and the language of your tribe — mainly because he doesn’t like the idea of anyone (or anything) listening in on your combinations and seeing him in such a vulnerable state

he has an incredibly low tolerance for any mistreatment of you (actual or perceived) and, unless instructed otherwise by his master, will just eliminate them immediately after their transgression

a lot of the time you don’t even realise what happened — only that someone is now missing

but you’re usually able to put the pieces together

if you have an argument, he’s usually able to gather how mad you are based on how many rooms have been cleansed and he’s no longer able to enter

the worst argument you had, to date, ended with you cleansing the entire manor and locking him to the outside and the basement for a whole week

(ciel found it hilarious)

if you’re ever feeling homesick, it’s a cakewalk for sebastian to get you back to your family — you can be there one day and back in england the next

but good luck explaining to either side of your family that you’re courting a demon

if you’re artsy and like creating things to honour your heritage then he’ll indulge you, fetching you the necessary materials and displaying the final result proudly

he has met both sides of your family and has scared the crap out of a few relatives when they accidentally almost cleansed him out of a room

(not a fun conversation to have)

he’s an excellent cook (naturally) and is more than happy to indulge any cravings you have for foods that aren’t a commonly sold thing in england

of course he’ll encourage you to eat full, hearty meals because he wants you to be as taken care of as possible, but he can’t say no to his mate and will usually give in if you’re particularly desperate for sweet things or street foods

he gives you a number of nicknames based on new or traditional pet names from your cultures

for example, some japanese pet names he might use are ‘ダーリン’ (daarin), ‘ハニー’ (hanii) (these are mainly used in notes sent to each other) — or, when speaking, he might something more traditional like calling you your given name or an a version with the appropriate suffix (depending on your preference)

and, of course, any other pet names depends on the tribe you’re from

[pinkpixeltechnologynerd]

On a road currently filled with snow and ice with nothing but my phone, wallet, switch, and a blanket my auntie bought last powwow season wish me luck in not flying in a ditch.

[unsp0k3n-desires]

somebody’s auntie 🤠✨

[robotstrategy]

Rediscover • Part 1 • 3 - Mathieu

Previous • Series Masterlist • Part 1 Masterlist • Next

Chapleau Cree Fox Lake Indian Reserve is about seven hours away from the summer camp in Muskoka, because of the direction Mathieu doesn’t join the others on the bus to the camp. He’s being transported alone in the back of the car of an absolutely chatty Sienna named Timothy. 

Mathieu ignores him; instead he watches the dashboard hula girl violently rock back and forth as Timothy traverses the rocky terrain. Timothy is halfway through talking to nobody when Mathieu asks him about the girl.

“What’s with the little lady?”

Timothy pauses. “Huh?”

Mathieu hangs his arms around the seat in front of him, placing his chin on its shoulder he points with his lips over to the figurine. “The little dancer on the dashboard.”

Timothy nods and smiles. “All the company vehicles have one. It’s to match the theme of the camp. Well, maybe not in July, we like to get a little festive like our friends down under.”

Mathieu nods, he sighs out of boredom before throwing himself back in his seat.

“So what’s going on with your family?” Timothy asks. 

“My Dad went with my sisters to a Powwow since it’s getting close to the end of the season. They usually all go just to cheer on my younger sister.”

“You mean your little sister?”

“No, they’re both older than me.”

“Oh, I’ve never been to a Powwow, are they fun?”

Mathieu blows air out from between his lips before answering. “I’d say so, I don’t dance like my sister does, I just watch.”

“I wonder if there are any vendors there.”

“There is, but don’t expect anything to be cheap. They know what their work is worth.”

Timothy laughs, then happily sighs. “I guess I’d understand their reasoning, personally I wished people would pay more for my work, though I suppose it’s up to the government how much I get paid.”

“Is it like a Federal Union?” Mathieu asks.

“Yeah, I suppose it is, though sometimes it depends on the quality of the product.”

Mathieu furrows his eyebrows, confused about what the quality of a product would have to do with a summer camp, much less how there would be a federal union running at something done providentially.

Midway through the several hours Timothy rolls into an ONroute and gets out of the car. The building is monstrous in size, its roof is high enough to house the semi-trucks that park around it. “I’m gonna get a bathroom break and some food, are you joining me?” Timothy asks him.

Mathieu nods, getting out of the car and taking the handle of the entrance door once Timothy passes into him. 

After going to the bathroom Mathieu gets in line with Timothy to get food. “What do you think you’ll get?” Timothy asks him. 

“I’m not sure yet it’s been a while since I’ve been to a Tim Hortons or anywhere really.”

“I’m guessing your parents would rather make home-cooked meals instead?” Tim laughs.

Mathieu shakes his head. “No, well yes, it’s just that everything around us is super expensive, sometimes even food is priced like it’s a novelty.”

“Ah, well you’ll be happy knowing you won’t break the bank here!”

Mathieu lets out a little ‘tch’ noise, “I hope not!”

Mathieu heads back to the car with jalapeño bread twists and what he’s pretty sure is a Coffee Crisp in slushie form. As they keep driving through forests Mathieu imagines a little stick figure running through the trees to keep up with them. Apparently, that’s a shared experience almost everyone has. It's strange how deep down everyone imagines the same thing despite never passing the idea to each other. 

As he doses off more the car becomes slower, and he’s jolted awake by rumble strips, he sees the car pass between two totem poles, they must be in the camp now. Timothy passes into a round parking lot in front of one of the main buildings.

Mathieu gets out of the car with his carry-ons and is greeted with two large hibiscus bush hedges wrapping around the path to the main building. Timothy nods at him before driving off the car to god-knows-where. Mathieu would be annoyed at his sudden abandonment if it weren't for the fact he was stuck in that car all day. He looks up at the building, it’s made up of an A-line roof with the entire front wall being a giant window. He assumes he’s supposed to head up the stairs into the building. He walks up the creaky steps, struggling to get his suitcase up the horribly built stairs. 

“Can I help you with that?” Mathieu looks over to where the voice comes from, and he’s horrified. There’s a muscular tall being a meter away from him with a mask displaying the word ‘HOSTILE’ where its face should be. 

He struggles to put another stair step in between both of them. “I’m, I’m fine.” He tells it.

“Are you sure?” It asks in a gruff woman’s voice, Mathieu looks down at it, putting another step in between them. He sees all the different body grafts and wonders if its voice is even its own. 

“Yes. I can carry my own things.” He uses a defensive tone with it.

“Is this about the mask? Because…” the figure suddenly slumps over. “Never mind, your opinion wouldn’t change either way.”

Mathieu can’t help but feel a little sympathetic towards the figure, even as he flees up the stairs with his hands full. Finally getting to the doors, he finds that the other counsellors have made a pile of luggage in the entryway, the only thing they probably took inside was their phones. Mathieu does the same and starts walking into the main room to meet the other counsellors.

He walks towards the other camp counsellors, he thinks all will be fine until he gets closer to the group and everyone starts staring at him. Feeling intimidated, he awkwardly laughs, letting out a little “hi” as he makes his way around them to the back of the room. He sits in the corner, shrouded by the counter screwed to the wall. Mathieu is ashamed that he’s like this, his older sisters would’ve stood high and mighty even if everyone was looking at them, he on the other hand can’t stand all the gazes. 

“You good?” 

Mathieu raises his head to look across the room, he’s met with a white mask with a light blue square on it looking back at him. The word over the square reads ‘MODIFIED’, kinda like how that other figure had the word ‘HOSTILE’ on their mask.

“I’m fine,” He responds. “You?”

The figure taps its mask. “Fine too, but this thing is a pain in the ass.”

“Why do you have to wear it?”

“I don’t know, I guess it’s some stupid government mumbo jumbo.” The figure groans as it gets up to come sit beside him. “I’m guessing you don’t really want to be seen either?”

Mathieu shakes his head slowly, letting out a soft “no.”

“Yeah, they kept asking me questions, so I just put myself in this corner. Everyone here seems to think I’ll be happy to answer all their questions because I’m Modified because I’m the best version of what comes back around. Well, screw it! I want to be left alone!”

“Yahē!” Mathieu exclaims. “I agree.”

The figure lifts a hand towards him, there’s some wrist wrap on it. “Come join the club… uh?”

Mathieu shakes his hand. “Mathieu. What’s with the wrist wrap?”

“Roland. I just twisted it, it’ll be fine.” He waves it off, his head suddenly jolts towards an umber girl coming towards them.

She looks at Mathieu. “Sorry, I just wanted to say that I liked your braids.”

He smiles and nods. “Thanks, my mom told me they’d last longer out here, I’ll still probably take them out at least two times.”

The girl nods, “Personally I can keep my dreads in for longer, though I don’t think the smell of a campfire would mix too well with them.” 

Mathieu laughs while Roland turns to the girl. “I don’t think we’ll be doing any campfires anyways, all of our food is supposed to come from a cafeteria… So have you come to join the ‘We don’t want to be bothered.’ Club?”

The girl shrugs, “Maybe, that boy over there kept trying to touch my hair.” She gestures to a menacing-looking teen with spiked hair. 

“Yeah, that guy screams ‘asshole’. He's started to look at me funny ever since I introduced myself to him.” 

The girl nods. “Judging by his head scars, he’s most likely got an unwind part in his brain, maybe he feels guilty.” 

Roland wraps his arms around himself. “No, it wasn’t like that, he kept trying to ask where I was unwound and where my body was stored, I didn’t answer him, not like I’d even know the answer to the second question.”

“Weird,” The girl holds her hand. “You guys can call me Gigi by the way.” 

“Mathieu.” He shakes her hand. 

“Roland.” He states, he doesn’t go in to shake her hand, rather, he stays wrapped up in himself. Mathieu wonders if what that boy said to him really cut into his psyche. 

“If you don’t mind me asking Roland,” Gigi asks him, trying to stare him in the eyes as much as she can through the mask. “How are you kept when you’re unwound?”

Roland looks down, it’s hard to read whether he’s thinking or been made uncomfortable by the question. “I don’t remember, I think a nurse told me it’s like a freezer aisle, and that every door has a different kid on display.” He tells them.

“How long were you like that?” Mathieu asks. 

“Two years I think, they never tell ya this, but there’s already too many kids going around to be used. Even then, the section I was put in made undesirable… but, whatever keeps me whole I guess.”

“What section were you put in?” Gigi prods.

“The exotic section.” He states plainly.

Mathieu cringes, he looks at Gigi. “Is there really an exotic section?”

Gigi shakes her head. “I've never seen one, then again, I’ve only ever been in one of those shops once in my life.”

“Why’d they put you in that section?” Mathieu asks. “No offence, but I don’t really see anything… about you… that would be…”

“My guess was that he had a horrible personality, he almost killed a kid when he was alive.”

“He?” Gigi questions. 

Roland nods. “I’m not supposed to consider him myself anymore, since I’m modified, I’m more like a bug-fixed clone of the original,” He pauses. “I don’t like thinking about it too much. Other than that, I can only assume they picked up on him and I being a second-generation immigrant.”

“Oh, where do your parents come from?” Gigi asks. 

“My mom is still from the U.S., but my dad comes from Spain.”

“Ah, right, you’re one of the people coming into Canada for this camp.”

“Uh-huh, how many of us are there? I already travelled with my friend to get here.”

“Well, I think there’s one more person from the U.S., then there’s two from France.”

“France? Wow, I would not have come here if I was all the way from France.” There was a tone of disbelief on Roland’s tongue, Mathieu almost certainly knew his eyes had gone wide open as well. 

[shadeslayer]

powwow season mood

[vampirephlebotomy]

I do not have my name. I was not given it at my birth, I was not given it at eighteen like I always dreamed to do. I do not know my language, more than I love yous and hellos and how to tell you I am a Beaver, and thank yous and that my friend is a Turtle. I can rattle off an introduction that never feels quite right without my name, one that feels empty and leaves me stinging with a hurt I can never describe. And I can tell you the word for strawberries and on a good day I might remember the seasons. I have the moons written down in a notebook, so I can look and remember the right name when I see it in the sky.

But my friend calls me his Waawaate. His northern lights. I told him my story of the only time I ever saw them, faint and shimmering in the sky over my old home. And ever since then it's stuck. I call him Waawaatesi in return (fire fly) and Ode'imin (strawberry). I grew up on stories of ancestors and Thunderbirds, on promises of powwows and handed hot, fresh frybread covered in cinnamon and sugar while my dad did his best to stop me from eating it too quickly. I burned my mouth too many times to count.

My dad never taught me them specifically, but he raised me by the seven grandfather teachings whether he meant to or not. He's not fluent in our language, but he always knew how to pronounce the words I needed help with just right. He always made offerings of tobacco from his fat cigars to the lakes whenever we visited them, he prayed and joked with the water like they were old friends. But when I got older, and I tried to tell the same stories to my little sister, terrified from the thunder and sitting in my lap, he always looked upset. And every year, without fail, we never made it to our annual powwow. I talked to him about our names, of getting them together. Of having dinner together afterwards. But he never answered, just shook his head or hummed. He looked annoyed when I proudly showed him the beadwork I bought, from that auntie at the fair with the kind eyes and her stoic son who thanked me. I wonder what changed. I wonder why he is no longer proud.

I learned what two-spirit was a couple years ago. I brandish the word indigiqueer proudly like it's something I'll die without. I use it loudly and I see the shock it brings to my friends faces. I want them to be shocked. I want to take up so much space that they have to take a step back. They give me bundles of sage they know now they can't use, and ask me for blessings and readings. I burn them tobacco and cedar, I wave away their worries and offer them food.

I do ankle lifts in my kitchen while I make myself breakfast and dinner. I learned from my friend's auntie that that's how dancers keep their ankles strong for dancing. I do it until I'm sore dreaming of the day I'll be able to buy my own moccasins. I've never had the money to do it yet. I think fondly of being able to do my own beadwork, with shining greens and purples and blues reminiscent of my nickname. I want to dance fancy shawl and grass and jingle until I'm so tired I pass out. I want to dance so hard my feet leave marks in the dirt. I want my family to know I'm still here. I'm still here and I'm alive and I'm proud. Despite everything, I'm still okay, and that I'm proud that I'm indigenous.

— "I am unnamed" is a poem (of sorts) I wrote on cultural disconnect and Indigenous feels late one night

[thelensofyashunews]

TIA WOOD RELEASES GORGEOUS DEBUT SINGLE “DIRT ROADS” WITH STUNNING ACCOMPANYING VIDEO

Plains Cree and Coast Salish singer-songwriter Tia Wood releases her highly anticipated debut record “Dirt Roads” on Sony Music Entertainment Canada.

Tia was born and raised in Saddle Lake Cree Nation, a community of about 6000 people in Treaty 6 territory, a roughly two-hour drive east of the Alberta capital of Edmonton, and her family carries a rich musical and cultural heritage. Her father, Earl Wood, co-founded and was a member of the legendary JUNO Award-winning and Grammy-nominated powwow drum group Northern Cree; her mother, Cynthia Jim, was in an all-women drum group; and her sister, Fawn Wood, is also a JUNO Award-winning singer. A seasoned entertainer in her own right, Tia has amassed an audience of over three million followers across Instagram and TikTok, creating and sharing Indigenized sounds and content that is by turns hilarious and poignant. 

In 2020, Tia followed her wanderlust and set out for Los Angeles, turning a two-week stay into a semi-permanent move. The result is “Dirt Roads,” a song both about the thrill of “sunny days and happy faces in the land where dreams are made,” and also about feeling displaced so far from home. “Should I take out my braids or leave them in? They look at me like I’m a Martian,” Wood sings stirringly, invoking imagery and emotions relatable for anyone who’s left home for a new beginning in the city, especially Indigenous youth, as Tia grappled with the loss of access to her culture and traditions while in LA. 

But it’s the song’s refrain that echoes a comforting familiarity: “Dirt roads lead me back home.” The song is at once a love letter to Saddle Lake and her people, and a heartfelt reminder for so many others who feel the pull of family and home while following dreams in the big city. 

“It’s about leaving home and kind of stepping out into a new world,” says Tia. “Because when I used to live on the rez, I feel like the reason why I left is because I wanted to go see the world and figure out who I was. So that’s kind of the theme of it all. It’s just kind of being a young adult and going through young adult things.” The track, co-written and produced by Cameron (Cambo) Bartolini (Doja Cat, Walker Hayes), features Tia’s soulful voice and lush production and sets the stage for the stirring music video, also out today.

In the video, Tia returns to Saddle Lake, and is surrounded by family and loved ones, firmly rooted in the culture and community on the rez. Directed by Yana Malik, viewers are immersed in Tia’s home, and those “Dirt Roads” she longed for when she was far away. Beautiful, soaring shots of Indian Horse Relay racing; her mother braiding her hair; driving with her sister and friend; eating and living and loving together. The video is intimate and grand and up to the task of matching Tia’s songwriting and vocals – which also pull off the difficult trick of feeling both larger-than-life and quietly revealing. 

There is so much more to come from Tia Wood. We can’t wait to share it.