About Voices from the Margins

February 12, 2014. This blog is a place for important creative and critical works that question the status quo. Academic journals and media tend to serve as gatekeepers, enforcing standards that limit works to those that reflect “the ways things have always been done,” thereby screening out creative works (prose, poetry, art and pieces that interweave different media). The intention for creating this blog is to encourage dialogue about possibilities and support for alternate ways of communicating that celebrate the inclusiveness of diversity.

July 5, 2023. Originally, this blog was a way for me to engage with a diverse community and learn how to communicate in ways that were not limited by many years of writing for academic or professional settings. I remain grateful to all of the friends and teachers I have met here throughout the years who have helped me begin to learn how to write. They inspired me to finally complete a manuscript about a research study I conducted that changed my life, We Remember: Stories about Ojibwe Child Welfare.

Agnes drawing

The manuscript follows the journey of my younger self as I gathered stories and experiences that helped me discover the power and resiliency of Ojibwe cultural beliefs and lifeways, a legacy left by the traditional leader, an ogima, who passed on decades before my visit. His efforts as a leader were motivated by his concern for the wellbeing of children. His example raises a crucial question. It made me wonder how many of those who consider themselves leaders of nations and organizations ask themselves about the legacy they are leaving for all of a community’s children in the future. After retracing the steps of my journey, I realized there is much we can all learn from the ogima’s example.

                       

95 thoughts on “About Voices from the Margins”

  1. Dear Carol,

    I’m posting here (delete this post if it’s not the place, please!) the link to a project I started thinking of you! :) I mention it on “Herstory”.

    http://www.talkingpeople.net/learnspanish/

    I’m not sure it will help you or anyone to learn Spanish, because I’m doing just what I feel like and using rudimentary tools, like vocaroo and no editing of the audios!, because I’m so full of work all the time and I need to do it all very fast. But when I do it, it’s kind of taking a break from obligations! It’s fun!

    Feel free to give me any feedback that can help me improve, if you find the time to use it, of course! Don’t feel obliged! I’m entertained! :D

    A sister hug from Spain!

    1. Dear Michelle, It’s always a pleasure to hear from you, no matter where you choose to post! I was just thinking of you this morning, wondering how you were doing, and feeling a little guilty for not listening to the audios you have already sent. But I did realize it is something I want to do :-) and I will make time. (I follow several bloggers in Spain, so I do have a reason to spend time learning.)

      I will give you feedback soon on the audio resources. (Did I ever tell you I tried to learn Spanish by myself when I first started reading? Obviously, it didn’t work.)

      I also need to tell you that your posts to your students make me laugh — you’re so much better at holding them accountable that am I — and in a gentle, funny way! And a big hug to you, dear sister!

  2. :D :D :D (Blushed face!) :D I’m so glad to know! Thanks! <3
    I do have a very strong character, and certain topics make me rant and rave!!! But it's true — how could you get it so well! — I never want to hurt, just explain, and humor is such a resource! :D

    1. Thank you, Sharon. I appreciate your kind words and look forward to learning more about the groundbreaking journey you and Robin describe on your blog.

  5. Thank you for following my blog! happy that you like it:) what an interesting blog you have! for sure will be back here :)

    1. Thank you, Laurie. We appreciate your thoughtful comments and your visit and look forward to following your lovely work.

  8. Hello, Carol,
    First of all, thank you for following my blog, writewireless. I finally stumbled on your blog after many months, and I want you to know that I feel honored that you have chosen to follow mine! I loved your essay “Worlds Apart” on cultural competence and native peoples, and I went on to read a few other posts.You are an amazing teacher in every sense of the word, and your very articulate writing is infused with soul and deep wisdom. Know that the work you are doing through your blog is not, as the blog title might indicate, “marginal” at all–it affects people’s consciousness in a very profound way. Please keep it up!

    1. Thank you, Anne. I appreciate your kind words a great deal. I enjoy the variety of topics you cover on your blog, including the fascinating historical essay on the mission at St. Luis Obispo. I look forward to your future posts and lovely photos :-)

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  10. May be that our very future on the earth depends on diversity + communication + empathy. Thanks for following WordVerseUniverse; I look forward to reading your blog.

    1. Thank you for sharing important insights about the importance of embracing diversity, Christine. I look forward to learning more from you and your lovely blog.

  12. Hello Carol,

    Thank you so much for following my blog. I appreciate the very important message that yours represents as well and I look forward to learning more through your writings.

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  16. I am always fascinated with culture and relationship of people with each other and with their environment, that’s why I am also a keen student of social psychology that’s why I like reading your posts here (and thank you for reading mine as well). I like coming in and out here to read on and always I get new information that I really enjoyed knowing.

    I nominated you for the One Lovely Blog Award http://mydecadelongtravels.wordpress.com/2014/10/12/first-nomination-one-lovely-blog-award/ and I hope you will accept and pass along to others in your network.

    Keep on writing. Cheers.

    D

    1. My blog partner, Cheryl ,and I are honored by your nomination, D, and we’re grateful that you are part of our blogging community. Thank you for being so kind and thoughtful :-)

  17. Hello, Carol! I’ve nominated your blog for the ‘Real Neat Blog Award.’ You can learn more about it here: http://wp.me/p3XGQ4-160

    Feel free to participate, or not. If you have the time, pass the award on by nominating other worthy blogs.

    Meanwhile: ‘Congratulations! You’ve got a Real Neat Blog!’

    JoAnn

    1. JoAnn, Thank you so much for the honor. Coming from someone who continues to blog about timely and important issues, your nomination is especially meaningful. I appreciate your support and kindness :-)

  26. Hi Carol. Thanks so much for featuring my post “A Few Seconds” in your Interesting Posts sidebar. I also have some recent posts up on the Supreme Court’s decision for Marriage Equality and the mass shooting in Charleston, S.C. that you might be interested in. I am so glad you are blogging; there are not a lot of blogs out there featuring creative social protest and thoughtful ways that we might be able to improve others’ lives.

    1. Thank you for your lovely comments, Hannah. Your post about the Charleston shooting is important and thought-provoking – thank you for letting me know about it. I look forward to reading more of you work.

    1. Thank you for commenting, Amitav. I’m grateful I found your blog and your thoughtful posts. I look forward to reading more in the future.

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  31. What a wonderful place you have here, warm, inviting. You speak a message of truth. Looking forward to following and connecting. Jessie

  33. I am eager to read and learn from others to stretch my mind. An introvert that loves to read white spaces and think about it. Will be hanging out here for awhile if you don’t mind. Thank you for the nuggets.

  36. Thank you for taking the time to visit http://www.rivenrod.com. Much appreciated.

    I am fascinated by the marvels our tiny planets offers, as well as the glorious and outrageous antics its inhabitants get up to, so you can be sure I’ll catch up with what you’re doing as often as I can.

    I look forward to our next encounter.

    RR

    Psssst. My latest novel, Swell, click here for reviews http://wp.me/PXk9K-259

  38. Carol, I have nominated you for the ‘Three Quotes for Three Days’ challenge.
    The rules of the challenge are:
    1. Three quotes for three days.
    2. Three nominees each day (no repetition).
    3. Thank the person who nominated you.
    4. Inform the nominees.
    And it doesn’t have to be three successive days.
    Rosaliene

    1. Thank you for this honor, Rosaliene. It may take a day or two for me to figure out how to follow your fascinating post about Guyanese poet Martin Carter. :-)

    1. Thank you for the visit, Frank, and for your lovely comments. I’m grateful I found your site. You are a gifted storyteller who can weave a powerful poignant memoir from a simple prompt – “it throbbed and vibrated!”

  40. Hi Carol,

    Thank you for liking one of my posts. It has been a while since I last commented on your blog. If you have been wondering about or noticing the scant presence of SoundEagle, then please kindly be informed that I have been away from the blogosphere for a long time until quite recently, as a result of having to deal with the daily demands of filial piety and caring duties, as explicated in the post lovingly crafted and published as a special eulogy entitled “Khai & Khim: For Always and Beyond Goodbye”, published at https://soundeagle.wordpress.com/2019/08/31/khai-khim-for-always-and-beyond-goodbye/

    I look forward to your comment and feedback at the said eulogy. Please take your time to read it as it is very involved and multidisciplinary. Moreover, this multimedia eulogy is very extensive and will require some time to load. It is best viewed on the large screen of a desktop or laptop. By the way, there are several of my musical compositions and arrangements that you can savour in the eulogy there.

    May you find this autumn very much to your liking and highly conducive to your writing, thinking and questioning as well as your “alternate ways of communicating that celebrate the inclusiveness of diversity”!

  41. Just an FYI: I’ve had to “like” your posts in bunches due to an inability to do it with my iPad. I can access all sites but can’t like or comment on most. Strange.

    Have a beautiful day.

  42. Inclusiveness and diversity: two concepts that are so positive and hopeful.

  43. What a wonderful idea to have this space for creative endeavors rather then in academia where “this is the way things have always been done” reigns. Kudos!

      1. Carol, once again I love your comment and learning. I too have learned from the writing/blogging process and enjoy exchanging with people from around the world as I did in the classroom. Learning about other countries, cultures, languages and peoples has made me a more tolerant individual in the process. Blogging allows me to share a wealth of storytelling to others. Thank you once again for your comments. Happy blogging to you! “”__””

        2. Carol, I am glad you enjoyed the comments. It is gratifying to communicate with others around the world on the blog. We are all connected! “”__””

  44. merhaba.
    çok teşekkürler takip için. sizi inceleyeceğim. güzel bir görüş. değerli.
    kutluyorum. başarılar diliyorum. sizinleyiz…

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