:) Hi.
Thanks for stopping by. Perhaps you'll gander and head out. Perhaps you'll find something I say interesting and stick around. Either way, I'm glad you've validated the existence of this page.
The purpose of this blog is to fill the kept silence which enables addiction and abuse. The following posts will highlight my families attempt to cope with the struggle to overcome decades of alcoholism. Coming from an American Indian background, I hope to offer insight into the insanity and at the very least, help one other human being coping with similar circumstances.
Just so you can get a slight idea of who I am, the following is just some basic information about my life. I'm from Billings, MT. Google it and you'll find we're pretty well off save for some pollution. It's a small city/town of maybe 150,000 people. Montana is a bit progressive politically, and is home to some 7 federally recognized American Indian tribes. The diversity is gradually picking up, but nothing on the par of our countries major metropolises.
When I was 7 years old, we moved here from California during my parents divorce. I can't say I'll ever call another state home. I have nothing against other states, mind you I've moved over fifty times around the country, but my people have been here for hundreds of thousands of years. I'm afraid the iron in my blood, partly born of the rocks on this continent, keeps me magnetized to the ground. This is my north. My mother country.
Currently, I'm working for a local telecommunications company and living a simple life with my partner of 9 years in a mobile home park with our dogs, cat, guinea pigs and fish. We own our mobile home to which you'll see me jokingly refer to as our "tin can". We have a slew of combined interests and hobbies. Both of us are artists, writers, readers and movie enthusiasts. I'm more into classics while she's staunchly sci-fi fantasy. I suppose some would label us liberals within certain respects but we're completely non-partisan.
I'm a bi-sexual female Crow-Indian-raised and enrolled in the Southern Cheyenne Arapaho tribes of Oklahoma. I have had both a privileged and poverty stricken childhood. Religiously, I practice my tribes ceremonies and identify as a Sundancer. I have a whole 12 credit hours from Chadron State College majoring in Psychology. Nikki, my partner, is a German lesbian from Nebraska, raised non-denominational Christian from an upper middle class background. She graduated in 2010 with a B.A. in Commercial Graphic Design.
That should give one a pretty good idea of a couple of the characters on this journey. Of course, there are far more that come into play. They'll be introduced accordingly. Love us or hate us, we're just human beings trying to make sense of it all.
All that I ask of my audience is to keep it as respectful as possible. My greatest fear in doing this is if one were to lose sight of the purpose of this blog. I'm not here to incite controversy or mediate between differences in opinion. This is simply an examination of a family where, despite the obstacles, hope and the will to survive is still very much alive. Through this examination perhaps more people will understand the plight of what it is to be an American Indian while bearing witness as my family battles one of the most crippling drugs we as a people have ever encountered.
Thank you again for stopping in.
Safe journeys, Charlie
