Jul 18, 2023Liked by Amelia Mavis Christnot, The Big Picture, George Takei
What a straightforward self-analysis/critique. I wonder if I could be that honest, if asked. It's good to get to know you Amelia. I try to be open and kind to others, and my wife has Seneca indigenous blood. We choose to live in Miami, Florida because of the multi-ethnic culture here. I think I want to try your pumpkin-bison disk. It sounds terrific. I love the Big Picture idea. Thanks for being there.
Philámayaye wopíla (thank you very much in Lakȟótiyapi) for your kind words.
If anyone wants to add an authentic dish to their Thanksgiving table, wild rice stuffed pumpkins are a good option. They can be easily made vegan by eliminating the meat.
Here's my recipe based on the Hidatsa version and my Oglala Lakȟóta traditions (I also make a sweet version based on my Kanien'kehá traditions):
2 teaspoon corn oil or vegetable oil or rendered fat (eliminate for vegan version)
1 pound ground bison, venison, wild boar, elk or turkey (eliminate for vegan version)
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup chopped or whole wild mushrooms, reconstituted with warm water if dried
1 teaspoon crushed dried sage
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1) In a saucepan, heat the water to boiling over high heat. Stir in wild rice, dried berries and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Return to boiling; cover; reduce heat to low and cook 40-45 minutes or until rice is tender and all the water is absorbed.
2) Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cut the top off the pumpkin and remove the seeds and fiber from the pumpkin. Pierce throughout interior with a fork, without going through the rind. Place 1/2 inch of water in a shallow roasting pan and place the pumpkin(s) in the pan.
3) In a large skillet, heat the oil/fat. Add the meat and sauté until brown (for a vegan version, skip this step)
4) Set aside 1 tablespoon of the green onions and stir the remaining onions, the cooked rice mixture, mushrooms, sage, remaining salt and allspice into the meat mixture. Spoon the mixture into the pumpkin and cover the top with the pumpkin top then cover with aluminum foil.
5) Bake the stuffed pumpkin for 45-60 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender when pierced with a fork. Add more water to the pan as needed to keep the pumpkin from sticking.
6) Remove the foil and place the pumpkin on a serving dish with pumpkin to on.
7) To serve, remove pumpkin top, sprinkle with remaining green onions and cut the pumpkin in wedges until it falls open like a flower OR if small pumpkins used, serve each guest a whole or half pumpkin.
Common North American precolonial herbs/spices you can add to taste:
Sounds wonderful Amelia, and thanks - with one humble suggestion (and we're not vegan): Reconstitute your dried mushrooms with white wine. Water is for fish to swim in! We have a relatively new store here called "Wild Fork" where frozen bison, wild boar, and venison are readily available. In the fall . . . you are on, my new friend. I'm printing this out and saving it "til the frost is on the pumkin." Mike
Thank you so much for sharing your story. You are an inspiration. My sister was nerurodivergent (she passed away two years ago at age 65), and I taught many neurodivergent and Indigenous children in my 34 year career as a teacher. You are doing such great work bringing attention and justice to those who are often ignored, abused, and forgotten about. Keep up the good work.
Ms Christnot, my daughter-in-law has a recent masters degree in psych and is very interested in helping neurodivergent folks in all kinds of ways. She feels this in herself as well as other family members, so I have begun to be much more interested too. I have long been interested in native peoples and in how wonderful their cultural heritage is, and how abismally they have always been treated.
I read your treatises on spectral disorder, trying to better understand my granddaughter but to no avail. I enjoyed your perspective but am no better prepared to grasp what she is enduring. Spectral disorder seems to be too encompassing. Better than ‘autism’ but not much.
I'm autistic too and I'm so grateful to you for sharing your story, Amelia. I have already been a follower (unpaid) of your Substack and didn't realize you worked with George and Jay. Delightful to learn more about you, thanks again for all that you're doing.
thank you, this article has painted a picture of a person that is unique and very well-rounded. Your experiences in life have inspired me. And have confirmed that humanity is made up of people with astonishing lives. And the most astonishing are every day people. When I walk around, I feel every individual is a world unto themselves.
Further, your article on autism is massively helpful for me. It provides a divergent world that is united. Yes there are different types of autism. That was very important for me.
I’ve written a lot more than I intended. Bottom line thank you again again.
Thank you for your story and thank you for the work you do.
She does do great work, I agree.
Philámayaye (thank you in Lakȟótiyapi) for supporting my work.
"in solidarity with the SAG-AFTRA strike, this answer is redacted until the strike's end." A perfect answer to the question!
As a member of the union, I concur!
How can the average person outside the industry help the strikers? (Former IAMAW steward, retired)
Adam Conover addressed this on TikTok.
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8RfQSG5/
Philámayaye (thank you in Lakȟótiyapi) for your kind words.
What a straightforward self-analysis/critique. I wonder if I could be that honest, if asked. It's good to get to know you Amelia. I try to be open and kind to others, and my wife has Seneca indigenous blood. We choose to live in Miami, Florida because of the multi-ethnic culture here. I think I want to try your pumpkin-bison disk. It sounds terrific. I love the Big Picture idea. Thanks for being there.
I will pass on the pumpkin-bison, but otherwise in total agreement.
I second that!
Philámayaye wopíla (thank you very much in Lakȟótiyapi) for your kind words.
If anyone wants to add an authentic dish to their Thanksgiving table, wild rice stuffed pumpkins are a good option. They can be easily made vegan by eliminating the meat.
Here's my recipe based on the Hidatsa version and my Oglala Lakȟóta traditions (I also make a sweet version based on my Kanien'kehá traditions):
1-1/2 - 2 cups water
1/2 cup wild rice
1/4 cup dried cranberries or blueberries
1 teaspoon sea salt/smoked salt
1 - 4-5 pound sugar pumpkin OR 4 - 1-2 pound sugar pumpkins
2 teaspoon corn oil or vegetable oil or rendered fat (eliminate for vegan version)
1 pound ground bison, venison, wild boar, elk or turkey (eliminate for vegan version)
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup chopped or whole wild mushrooms, reconstituted with warm water if dried
1 teaspoon crushed dried sage
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1) In a saucepan, heat the water to boiling over high heat. Stir in wild rice, dried berries and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Return to boiling; cover; reduce heat to low and cook 40-45 minutes or until rice is tender and all the water is absorbed.
2) Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cut the top off the pumpkin and remove the seeds and fiber from the pumpkin. Pierce throughout interior with a fork, without going through the rind. Place 1/2 inch of water in a shallow roasting pan and place the pumpkin(s) in the pan.
3) In a large skillet, heat the oil/fat. Add the meat and sauté until brown (for a vegan version, skip this step)
4) Set aside 1 tablespoon of the green onions and stir the remaining onions, the cooked rice mixture, mushrooms, sage, remaining salt and allspice into the meat mixture. Spoon the mixture into the pumpkin and cover the top with the pumpkin top then cover with aluminum foil.
5) Bake the stuffed pumpkin for 45-60 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender when pierced with a fork. Add more water to the pan as needed to keep the pumpkin from sticking.
6) Remove the foil and place the pumpkin on a serving dish with pumpkin to on.
7) To serve, remove pumpkin top, sprinkle with remaining green onions and cut the pumpkin in wedges until it falls open like a flower OR if small pumpkins used, serve each guest a whole or half pumpkin.
Common North American precolonial herbs/spices you can add to taste:
Chile Powders
Juniper Berries
Mint
Allspice
Sage
Sea Salt/Smoked Salts
Sumac
Sounds wonderful Amelia, and thanks - with one humble suggestion (and we're not vegan): Reconstitute your dried mushrooms with white wine. Water is for fish to swim in! We have a relatively new store here called "Wild Fork" where frozen bison, wild boar, and venison are readily available. In the fall . . . you are on, my new friend. I'm printing this out and saving it "til the frost is on the pumkin." Mike
I always learn from your writing! Keep it up! You are an amazing addition to Team Takei!
I learn from her as well, even at my age!
Philámayaye (thank you in Lakȟótiyapi) for supporting my work.
Thank you Amelia for your story! It's a great story and your writing is really good! And thanks George for all you do for all of us!
Philámayaye (thank you in Lakȟótiyapi) for your kind words about my work.
Thanks for your directness. So revealing and interesting.
Philámayaye (thank you in Lakȟótiyapi) for supporting my writing.
I think she needs a Ferkin, too. 😉
Thank you? I'm not familiar with the term Ferkin.
It's an alien in the Marvel Universe that looks like an ordinary orange tomcat. It's really a huge, viscous, inter-dimensional monster. 😉
Goose! Yes, I very much want a Goose. 😺
Amelia,
Thank you so much for sharing your story. You are an inspiration. My sister was nerurodivergent (she passed away two years ago at age 65), and I taught many neurodivergent and Indigenous children in my 34 year career as a teacher. You are doing such great work bringing attention and justice to those who are often ignored, abused, and forgotten about. Keep up the good work.
Philámayaye wopila (thank you very much in Lakȟótiyapi) for supporting my work.
Beautiful! Such complexity, candor and depth throughout. Grateful!
Philámayaye (thank you in Lakȟótiyapi) for your kind words.
Thank you for sharing! I learned a bit and loved your answers to the Movie and TV Show questions.
Philámayaye (thank you in Lakȟótiyapi) for supporting my writing.
Thank you for your story
Philámayaye wopíla (thank you very much in Lakȟótiyapi) and Niawen'kó:wa (the same in Kanien'kéha) everyone!
I appreciate your kind words about my writing.
If you're interested in learning more about my background and how it shaped my perceptions, you can read more here:
https://auntiemavis.substack.com/p/my-early-lesson-in-racism-and-hypocrisy
Ms Christnot, my daughter-in-law has a recent masters degree in psych and is very interested in helping neurodivergent folks in all kinds of ways. She feels this in herself as well as other family members, so I have begun to be much more interested too. I have long been interested in native peoples and in how wonderful their cultural heritage is, and how abismally they have always been treated.
I read your treatises on spectral disorder, trying to better understand my granddaughter but to no avail. I enjoyed your perspective but am no better prepared to grasp what she is enduring. Spectral disorder seems to be too encompassing. Better than ‘autism’ but not much.
I'm autistic too and I'm so grateful to you for sharing your story, Amelia. I have already been a follower (unpaid) of your Substack and didn't realize you worked with George and Jay. Delightful to learn more about you, thanks again for all that you're doing.
thank you, this article has painted a picture of a person that is unique and very well-rounded. Your experiences in life have inspired me. And have confirmed that humanity is made up of people with astonishing lives. And the most astonishing are every day people. When I walk around, I feel every individual is a world unto themselves.
Further, your article on autism is massively helpful for me. It provides a divergent world that is united. Yes there are different types of autism. That was very important for me.
I’ve written a lot more than I intended. Bottom line thank you again again.