Barefoot, I feel Mother Earth below me. I wander through the mountain tops with blades of grass tickling my feet. My thoughts are on where I came from and who I am. There are so many unanswered questions, but I will ask until every one of them have been answered. Cherokee mother, mixed Blackfoot father, 34.2 % European (Irish, Scottish, and German). What a mix. What am I to do with that? How do I decide who and what to be? Trying to learn all I can, I feed questions to the internet search engine and get answers. So much information turns my head all around.
Blood results do not define me. I am learning all I can and will become what I know, owning bits and pieces of my past and weaving them into my future. I hope not to lose who I am for what I hope to become.
Momma, thank you for protecting me in a way you were not. I felt no harsh words from man’s ignorance. I did not bear witness to any of the atrocities of our people. I was not tasked with the chores and hard labor many of our predecessors had to bear. I am grateful for my life as I live it today as a free citizen with the freedom of choice and the right to vote. Without your many sacrifices, I would not have this good fortune at my feet.
One day, I know I shall return to the earth and feed the plants that will feed my children, their children, and their children to come. Mother Earth, thank you for the home that protects me, my family, and their children.
Barefoot, I feel Mother Earth. I wander through the mountain tops with blades of grass tickling my feet.
Steps from my past lead me into my present and guide me into the future.©
By Felina Silver
Copyright September 13, 2024
This poem was written especially for Brookline’s Indigenous Peoples Celebration Day event. I am honoring my mother, Faye Silver Mucha, may she rest in peace soaring high above us singing with the angels.
The Writings of Felina Silver 
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