Beauty of our Tribal land

One of the bright things about growing up on the reservation was our morning walks thru the field on a chilly morning past my Muah's (grandmother on my mother's side) house to the bus stop.  My brother's & I would walk up, bundled in our coats, mine was usually a hand-me-down from my older brother.  If I was lucky, sometimes that season it came from my cousins, thankfully they were girls.

There were also times when we missed the bus & had to walk or ride our bikes to school through the "Trail".  I heard from some local Paiute Youth recently, they were telling me their stories of the "Trail" and the concerns they have about it.  Back in my day, we just had to worry about cows in our way.  Haha!  This trail went from the end of our reservation to the back end of the school grounds where you popped out on to the playground.

Back then, I don't think I realized how beautiful our land was.  We have this amazing view of Mt. Tom and the Sierra Nevada mountain range.  These are magnificent Mountains & since living in the city, I realized how I took them for granted.  We went camping in Maryland a couple years back and a friend of ours, who grew up in Chicago, was so excited.  She was looking forward to being in the mountains, hiking & being in nature.  I thought how cute she sounded &  laughed with her, then said, "These aren't mountains, they are hills. I grew up near real mountains. "    

Even when I stay with my folks, I just need to step out the front door to see the beauty of our land.  The sunrising, the chill in the air & someone is awake building a fire to warm the house.  When I took this picture, I walked across the street to see the horse and he looked at me thinking to himself, "Why is she still in her PJ bottom's?"  In my defense, it was early & I wanted to get out and catch the sunrise.  I put my boots, coat & hat on but yes, my nieces & the kids from their bus stop saw me.

We get caught up in all the little things of our lives that sometime we forget to remember to look around and appreciate the beauty of our land.  Our lands are breath taking, let them inspire you to be positive. Enjoy!