Insert moccasin in mouth then put out (ideas)

My mom is a natural born talker, part of the Celtic heritage. It is not all mindless chatter. My dad is very stoic and sparse with words like the profile picture I have of the 'Cigar store' Indian statute that one finds here on main street hawking T-shirts to tourists! (Did you hear the one about the Native who welcomed again and again the invaders and all he had to show for it was a T-shirt? Give that guy a Fair Trade 101 workshop training!) You will be glad to know I never shop in that store, just on principle.
 So, we brainstorm after mom talks about the news or events around the world, I listen to her 'diatribe' and sometimes take action. Since I am 3000 miles from my home state of Alaska and the Native community of Ruby and Interior Alaska that I know just until age 12, I have to be creative with staying in touch with my roots and also being helpful long distance. There are many online resources for the armchair activist, even on Native issues. All should educate self and follow your interests as to when to insert your foot in mouth or pen to paper or fingers to keyboard! You have the right to do this. To be respectful when you are in the council and weighing in. All ages can give input. We are not powerless.
I am now writing letters with mom being the editor and inspirer (a word?) of ideas. I recently wrote the Ruby Tribal Council staff with some items we found online and ideas. I belong to the Ruby Tribe. It could have been a tribe with a Athabascan language word as there was a name for the place where this mining supply town was located. Instead 'Ruby' was chosen even though we have no rubies in Ruby, except for the potential of our youth continuing our traditions. The miners came and saw garnets and were blinded with gold seeking fever so they thought garnets were valuable rubies. Silly men. I haven't seen garnets either.
You too, can write a letter to your Tribe, corporation or community (adult) leaders. I wrote about grant resources we found for AK, told them about DoSomething.org website of youth driven actions, my concern about that 37% of all high school dropouts in Alaska are Natives and that is too much. I wrote about President Obama's new free e-book App being developed by the New York Public Library so low income books could be read by kids across America with no libraries, bookstores or funds to own many books. I mentioned KHAN Academy as a free educational source for summer classes that are self-paced. So stay informed by reading and learning about issues.
And I followed up this letter with a packet of info from the Arctic Winter Games so Ruby's kids could train for and earn a spot on the Alaska Team at the biannual Games for circumpolar youth. We want to see Interior youth, Native youth on those Athabascan made wood snowshoes! I suggested to my bother that he help get this project off the ground as he is a IronDogger racer as well as a Spring Carnival Snowshoe Racer. My dad could even make the custom sized snowshoes as modern snowshoes can not be used nor non-Native style snowshoe moccasins or commercial bindings!!

My big brother Vernon in a Ruby snowshoe race.

Give your input and feel EMPOWERED. Your fresh look on solutions ARE valued. You and I are the future. I told the Tribal Council about www.CNAY.com and Generation Indigenous movement and  how it is a new tool here to stay to help Native youth. I hope the adults spread the word.