Laurie Sarkadi

I loved being part of a very low-key live music event this summer in Yellowknife on what would have been #FolkontheRocks 40th anniversary weekend in July. I played an acoustic set from my new EP Middle World on a houseboat dock while the audience social distanced in boats. Here's a little sample of what came a bit later as the performances, folk, comedy, and eventually rock, progressed onto different docks. Thanks to all the hosts and organizers.

Look! You can buy my book on sale and support the incredible Caitlin Press at the same time! #summerreading

I'll be moderating this free Northwords panel discussion on addressing social issues through literature. Check out the incredible panel of authors! Jesse Thistle, David Alexander Robertson, Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair and Tunchai Redvers. Please sign up and join us online.

Much has been said and written about the role of white people during this global wave of civil rights protests. How can white privilege be used to amplify the voices and efforts of people for whom systemic racism is a daily and often brutal reality? In Canada, allyship needs to start with an understanding that this continent was governed with balance and equity by matriarchal Indigenous societies before colonizers arrived. Women literally ruled. "Where are your women?" Cherok...ee Chief Attakullakulla, surrounded by powerful women, said upon meeting a colonial United States delegation (for more on this see the paper Introduction to "Indigenous Women: The State of Our Nations" by Indigenous scholars Bonita Lawrence and Kim Anderson). The colonizers refused to recognize Indigenous female authority and systematically (and violently) eroded it, a pillar in their strategic push towards total colonial-male domination. So...today white people need to listen to and respect the depths of wisdom Indigenous societies, and Indigenous women in particular, have to offer as a "way out" of this current morass. Listen, amplify and support their voices. That wisdom is what has brought us, and future generations, the most amazing gift...Thaidene Nëné National Park Reserve. Clean water, wildlife, fish, food security. The utsël K'é Dene should not have had to jump through so many hoops to gain official reassurance that Thaidene Nëné, the Land of their Ancestors, will not be sullied. Its stewardship has always been their responsibility. Multi-layered bureaucracies are not of their making. To help navigate the complicated process of gaining national park status with co-management, they were aided by some dedicated, mainly non-Indigenous groups and individuals. That's what allies do. That's using white privilege to help reconcile the wrongs of the past. I wrote this story for Canadian Geographic understanding it was a great privilege, one that came with responsibilities towards Grandmothers of the ancient past and future. I hope you read it and give thanks to the people who made this possible and share this message widely. Photography by Patrick Kane.

My album "Middle World" is live! Available wherever you stream or download. Thanks to producer, guitarist-extraordinaire (dobro, banjo), mixer Marc Ganetakos, bass player Ian de Souza, drummer Richard Allen Brown , keys Mark Lalama, vocal accompaniment Sophie Leger , recording engineer Aaron McCourt, connector Mark Hajek. Special thanks to Francois Rossouw and all the patient souls who taught me so much through the live gigs with "Wake Up Hazel," especially Kevin Dunbar, Jeff Norris, Greg Nasogaluak, Graeme J Chan, Clayton P. Pielak, Al Udell, Gary Tees, Anne-Marie Guedon, Sam Merritt and Wade Carpenter. Peace.

My EP will be available soon! Check out details here and at my new website https://lauriesarkadi.com/

Thanks Caitlin Press for creating an eBook of #VoiceintheWild A prof told me last week that reading my book has been a tremendous help. "Lessons from the natural world, and our implication in the natural world, seems to me a central consideration right now." Absolutely! You can order digital or print copies through https://caitlin-press.com/new-ebooks-now-available/ #ReadIndie #Nature

Have you seen any animals, birds, insects lately? How are they doing? My most inspiring encounter has been an eagle flying over me last week. It went to a nest that's been abandoned well over a decade, on a tree where I spread some of my mom's ashes. Last summer I added some of my step-father's ashes to the same spot. When I followed the eagle towards the tree I noticed there was a female in the nest, so I stopped and gave them their peace. But I can't stop thinking about the...m. Or my mom and her parter of 38 years. This morning I checked back and the female is still in the nest! I was so excited. I stayed far away and silently told her I would never do any harm. The gigantic nest has long been an attraction for me. Built to last. It feels like home. It's good to be back after seven months doing graduate studies at University of Guelph. Mid-March, just when the pandemic had people toilet-paper crazed, I decided to leave heavily-populated southern Ontario and drive the 5,000-kilometre-trek home by myself. I was terrified but had steely resolve. Restaurants had just closed so there were no rest-stops. Luckily hotels were still open with limited services. The next day my phone kept dinging, people contacting to tell me the NWT had closed its borders and I'd need a quarantine plan to get back in. It felt like Canada was disintegrating around me. I felt guilty about my freedom on the road, speeding because it was Saskatchewan under blue skies and police had more important things to do than clock the five other cars and handful of trucks on the highway. My polar bear plate was an anomaly in a barren, post-apocalyptic landscape. I got lost once, and I saw a baby moose as a result so it was worth it. I hit wicked, fatality-inducing weather in Alberta that I still can't talk about. After seven days on the road, I cried at the NWT border and again when my family surprised me with a socially-distanced circle greeting at the Yellowknife River. I saw a lynx, and miraculously, two woodland caribou on that long stretch of highway from Behchok, which felt like such a gift. In between naps at home I finished my coursework online and now I'm trying to be okay with how lazy and unmotivated I feel; and how grateful I am to all those who don't have such a luxury because they're working hard to keep us safe, warm and fed. That's what the mamma eagle and her mate are doing now. Back to basics folks. Look out for one another with eagle eyes and open hearts. Learn from the animals, from the wild, that's where this started.

I'll release my EP at Folk on the Rocks' 40th anniversary!!! And hopefully meet RIIT and Haviah. Thanks #FOTR2020 Bring on summer.

A goofy selfie from December of me and Larry (occasionally referred to as Lawrence Hill ; ) who is supervising my MA English creative writing thesis at U of Guelph. My proposal got approved today! Onward.

All Lit Up has a spotlight on NWT this month...which you all know is not in the Yukon right?

Beagles and Books! Great combo.