@roxannameta and I were Elsa and Anna for a charity event last night. “Believe with Santa” was the event and they had REAL REINDEER. Did you know Reindeer like graham crackers? They were going nuts for them!
It’s always so wonderful to visit with kids. I miss being a Princess!
Photo #2: Ula and Tim Tyler. This Eastern Shoshone couple have been married for 54 years and experienced reservation life before there was electricity or running water.
Photo #4: Ishkoten Dougi. Ishkoten is an artist from the Isleta Pueblo Indian Reservation in New Mexico. He is portrayed in his studio, surrounded by his artwork that represents some of the atrocities inflicted on Native Americans.
Photo #5: Evereta and her Mustang. When Evereta Thinn, 30, entered college as the only Native American in her English 101 class, it was at that moment she realized that she needed to speak up and not be that stereotypical “shy” Indian who keeps to herself. She works as an administrator at the school district on the Navajo Nation and aspires to start a language and cultural immersion school for the Diné (Navajo) people.
Photo #8: Fast Eddie (left), a pow wow dancer, is pictured with social media celebrity, Two Braids.
Photo #10: Jarrod after the rodeo. Jarrod Ferris, Eastern Shoshone and Arapaho from the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming, has been bull riding since age 6. He hopes to one day win the title as world champion so that he can buy his mom a new house.
*Photo #13: Crisosto Apache, from the Mescalero Apache tribe of New Mexico, is an activist for LGBT rights in the Native community. He explains that there is no word for “gay” in any Native American language, but is referred to as being “two spirited.”
Photo #14: Maka in his classroom. After traveling the world and teaching English in Japan, Maka Clifford, from Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, realized his calling was going back to the Reservation to teach his own people and inspire young kids to explore life off the reservation.
After the mass shooting in my hometown of Thousand Oaks a week ago, social media plunged into rehashing the usual conversations. Now, the discussion felt heightened and surreal. I watched friends and strangers as they talked about toxic masculinity, mental health, and guns. Always guns.
At the end of the day, I took a self-care break to decide what to post on Instagram. I never posted, partly because my hometown was also on fire by then. But also because I had scrolled past a photo of myself aiming two handguns at the camera as Domino, and I needed to think about that.
It’s true that we can’t point to comics or video games and say “this is the reason for the violence.” And it’s true that social media campaigns can’t take the place of more direct forms of activism. But it’s also true that I have become increasingly uncomfortable with the idea of brandishing firearms, no matter how fake, as character accessories when I cosplay.
So here’s one small thing I’m going to do. I pledge, from now on, never to include guns or firearms of any sort in my cosplays. I will keep my holsters empty for characters like Black Widow; I will also not post any more pictures or sell any more prints of me holding firearms for any costume.
My small part in glorifying guns ends here. I won’t contribute to American gun culture by making them look glamorous, frivolous, or casual.
Please join me in this “challenge,” if you feel called to do so. But please do more, too. Take any action, large or small, that YOU can think of to help break the cycle. It won’t break on its own.
