Native American Teas We believe in our mission, vision, values and goals, and know our cause is worthy. However, our cause might not be your cup of tea, so we thought we'd share some of our other favorite causes from various social media sites with you. Since we're social media proponents, this list is bound to be updated from time to time. Please check back often!

In Tennessee (From Facebook or direct links):

1. Traditional Native Survival and Cultural Center - Gather and grow.
2. TN Commission of Indian Affairs - State law created TCIA yet prohibits it from receiving any state appropriations. Support, contribute, advocate with TCIA.
3. TN Chapter, Trail of Tears Association - researching the "real" history of the Trail of Tears. Support through membership.
4. Native American Indian Association (Nashville) - Goal: The Circle of Life Indian Cultural Center. Cost: $1.1 million. Join, contribute, support!!
5. Appalachian Community Fund - Goal: Change not charity. Kind of says it all, don't you think? Support this very worthy foundation!

Outside Tennessee (From Facebook or direct links):

1. First Nations Development Institute
2. Oweesta
3. Boarding School Healing Project
4. First Nations & Aboriginal Rights
5. Hopa Mountain
6. Traditional Native American Farmers Association
7. Rachel's Challenge

Coming Soon - Causes we like on Change.Org, Firstgiving.org, SocialActions.com, Myspace.com, and more.

The first step of changing the future for American Indians/Alaska Natives living in Tennessee starts with you. It's that moment when you accept that your preconceived notions about indigenous (tribal) people and cultures learned from school, society, and the media just might not be as accurate as you once thought. If, at that precise moment, you are more willing to let go of what you believe you know than you are eager to learn, you have an opportunity. If, at that precise moment, you make a conscious decision to stop categorizing people by race, beliefs, cultural traditions, and stereotypes, and to open your mind to reality, you have an opportunity.

Our goal, our very mission, is to help you take every possible advantage of that opportunity by providing you with online and offline resources, events, and activities that replace misinformation with truth, stereotypes with actuality, and misunderstanding with fact.

What Makes WKI Different ...

Perspective. There are numerous organizations that provide cross-cultural resources where non-Native (or dominant culture) people can find information about indigenous cultures. There are quite a few intra-cultural organizations that work to provide resources for Native people who do not have ready access to traditional communities or teachers. There are relatively few that work to meet both needs and look for ways to help indigenous cultures toward their struggles for soveriegnty, self-determination, and empowerment.

Perspective ...

Everything WKI does is always from an indigenous perspective. WKI doesn't present information about indigenous cultures. It presents information directly from indigenous people - people whose cultural and tribal affiliations have been verified, and whose knowledge of cultural traditions and lifeways has been affirmed. We do it so that you can rest assured you're finally receiving culturally and historically accurate education about indigenous people. We do it so indigenous people can rest assured the information being presented is from their eyes, from their hearts, from their perspective, with their permission, with their participation, and within their control .

If we are creating an online resource, there are qualified indigenous people working behind (and often at) the scenes to ensure the accuracy of the resource. If we are creating an offline resource, there are - again - qualified indigenous people heavily involved in the creation, editing, review, and approval of the finished product. If we are creating an activity or event, qualified indigenous people are involved in the planning, development, and implementation, and are always in control of and actively participating in the presentation.

Don't Take Our Word For It ...

That's the most common mistake that members of one culture can make about another culture: The assumption that information presented as "scholarly" is fact based on the presenter's educational credentials, celebrity, or - sometimes - an extensive bibliography.

History is written in the eyes of the conqueror, and both historical and recent contemporary "evaluations" of cultural traditions were and are almost always conducted by evaluators who are not members of the relevant culture.

At WKI, we don't base our determination of "qualified" on educational credentials, celebrity, or bibliographies. We base it on verification of tribal affilation, demonstration of not only knowledge of but practicing traditional lifeways, and acceptance of those traits by the relevant community.

But don't take our word for it. Check out our resources or participate in one of our events or activities. Meet our board and our presenters. Just be prepared to reach the point of opportunity!

One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learned something interesting about how he grew it. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbors.

"How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbors when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?" the reporter asked.

I'm not prone to read the "pass it on to at least 10 of your friends" forwards. There was something that told me to read the following, though. Maybe it was a personal fondness for daffodils - those frivolous little harbingers of spring. Whatever it was, the minute I finished reading it I knew it was one of those stories I wasn't likely to forget - one of those stories that will impact the way I view things for the rest of my life.