Takaji My Relatives

It was my honor to officiate this year's SPRING EQUINOX ceremony at the Caney Indigenous Spiritual Circle's Verona Pennsylvania Teaching Lodge near Pittsburgh on Saturday March 22 2014.

We gathered, as we have for 34 years, to celebrate the fertility of our sacred Earth and Water Mother Ata Bey and the rebirth of her divine son Yoka…

Takaji My Relatives

It was an honor for me to represent the Caney Indigenous Spiritual Circle and Native American traditional respect for the world's water at this year's World Water Day.

We gathered on the bank of the Monongahela River in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of the South…

Takaji Tiaos

Como lo demuestra las escrituras de los cronistas espa~oles, nuestros antepasados tainos se cubrieron las cabezas con atuendos que en ciertas ocaciones se asemejaban a gorras. Tambien es parte de la cronica de los conquistadores el echo que al ofrecerles gorras de manufactura europea los tainos las acceptaron con…

Nuestra hermana Bibi Margarita Nogueras visito nuestra ciudad de Pittsburgh este fin de semana y trajo con ella la sabiduria y tradicion de nuestros antepasados tainos. Ella es la patrocinadora de la Jornada Indigena Taina que se…

It was such a wonderful honor for me to have participated in this year's signature Peaceburgh New Year's eve event, AGE OF MAGIC. I was particularly humbled to have been asked by the organizer, Cassandra Mousey to lead the midnight count-down ceremony to the four sacred directions and to the Earth Mother and Father Sky.…

Takaji My Relatives

It was a wonderful honor for me to officiate this year's Winter Solstice Ceremony in Miami, Florida on Dec 21st 2013 at Women's Park where we have celebrated it for the past seven years.

We were joined by a number of our wonderful Florida friends who came in from all over the state.

From the gulf coast in the west…

llustrations:

Chapter 1

Chapter 2…

Takaji My Relatives

It was a wonderful honor for us here at the Verona Pennsylvania Teaching Lodge of the CANEY INDIGENOUS SPIRITUAL CIRCLE to host our Taino tiaos (relatives) here in the Pittsburgh area for the first time at Full Moon Ceremony on Sunday November17, 2013.

The ceremony was attended by a number of our dear friends from the Peaceburgh…

Takaji My Relatives

A wonderful group of friends, both Natives and non-Natives gathered this evening at 5:00 PM, at the Verona Pennsylvania Teaching Lodge of the CANEY INDIGENOUS SPIRITUAL CIRCLE , our family home, to observe our Taino…

Takaji My Relatives

Today is Wednesday Oct 30 2013, the day before Halloween. The U.S. holiday that draws children and adults alike out into the streets and parties dressed in garish and sometimes comical disguises.

Many of my friends, especially female friends have opted to dress as "witches". Interestingly, the majority of the witch costumes that I have encountered this year have tended to be a great deal more sympathetic of the witch identity than I have seen in the past.…

Takaji My Relatives

This publication contains history about Indigenous activism which was fundamental to the formation of the man that I am today and I was so glad to find it on the internet. Most importantly it makes lots of mentions of the Native American activist newspaper of the 1970's “INDIGENA” for which I drew many illustrations while I was still a young student in college at COLUMBUS COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN. In particular it was very…

Takaji My Relatives

I was honored this past Sunday September 22 to participate in the annual celebration of the Taino Indigenous Equinox Ceremony held by the Taino community YUKAYEKE GUAINIA at Broook Community Park in the South Bronx of New York City.…

Takaji My Relatives

I was honored this last weekend August 31st to Sept 3rd  2013 by being invited to return for a second time to offer Taino ceremony, and workshops on aspects of Taino spirituality at this year's celebration of the…

Nuestra creencia espiritual…

Takaji My Relatives

It was such a blessing this past weekend August 10 and 11  2013, to participate in the ninth annual celebration of the JORNADA TAINA sponsored by CATTA COOP artisan collective in Jayuya Puerto Rico.

I arrived in Boriken early on Saturday morning on a flight into Aguadilla along with our Taino sister Tai Pelli who travelled…

Takaji My Relatives

For some time now there has been a small but obnoxiously vocal element in the Taino Resurgence movement that has taken exception to the use of the word "Taino" based on the fact that there is a town in the country of Italy that bears a name with the exact same spelling and probably the exact same pronunciation.…

Takaji My Relatives

On the weekend of July 19, 20 and 21 of the year  2013 a group of our Taino people along with friends and relatives from other nations, gathered along a beautiful creek in the Pocono mountains of north-eastern Pennsylvania in order to observe three straight days of non-stop full day and full night fasting, praying, drumming and dancing in behalf of…

Takaji My Relatives

It was my honor to officiate the June FULL MOON CEREMONY on the 23rd of the month 2013 at the Verona/PennHills, Pennsylvania Teaching Lodge of the CANEY INDIGENOUS SPIRITUAL CIRCLE.

We gathered on the day after our Youngstown, Ohio Summer Solstice ceremony and therefore some of the participants of this gathering were the same as the ones who had joined us at the earlier event, especially several members of the family of our Ohio…

It is with great Joy that I am able to report that on Saturday June 22 2013 we gathered to celebrate the ceremony of SUMMER SOLSTICE  on the grounds of the Youngstown Ohio Teaching Lodge of the CANEY INDIGENOUS SPIRITUAL CIRCLE, a sacred place guided by Dr Rosa Ana'O Quinones, Caney Circle behike and UCTP representative for the Ohio region.…

I was greatly honored by our Taino brother Rodney Guatushina Rivera, member of Yukayeke  Guainia and  the UNITED CONFEDERATION OF TAINO PEOPLE to be allowed to officiate the Crossing…