“She flipped through a book her mother was reading about native people in a distant country, how everyday they would take pieces of white silk and draw on them in wax, then dip the silks in dye, then draw on them more in wax and dye them some more, then boil the wax out in hot water, and then finally, throw the now beautiful cloths on a fire and burn them to ash. It seemed particularly pointless to Coraline, but she hoped that the people enjoyed it.”

― Neil Gaiman, Coraline

Make up your own ceremony. To be respectful to Native peoples, please make up your own society and do not use an existing one. Write about what they do, why they do it, and how it’s done. Do they sing to get God’s attention? Or burn something to send to their ancestors? Are they warding off an evil spirit? Or is it simply a holiday celebration? To get inspiration, and to make a moment to learn, research a Native tribe (remember to cross reference as well because there’s a lot of inaccurate or white-washed information out there.) Remember that Native people existed all over the world and differ greatly from one another. Does your society exist on Earth in 2020? Are they a space nation? A future nation? Have fun and be imaginative!

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Hello my little friendly geckos, thanks for the read! Just a reminder that you can see get a free copy of my poetry collection, The Moth that Haunts the Laundry Room, on Prolific Works. If you want to support my creative endeavors, you can also purchase the book on Barnes and Noble or Amazon. Don’t forget to check me out on Instagram (thegarrulousgecko) and twitter (@theheckingeck) for herpetofauna photos, poems, and more! If you write something based on one of my prompts and want to share it with me, you can use the Share and Recommend tab at the top of the page, I’ll even post it on the website! Happy writing.