Welcome to the I Am Why blog!
Here I Am Why’s consultants, staff and partners write about what’s happening at I Am Why, our values and our take on the issues that matter to us most.
America in Color: How Self-Advocacy is Navigated in Our Communites
In September 2023, I Am Why’s Self-Advocacy pod held a listening session to hear from consultants from all across the nation about our hot topic for the month: “What does self-advocacy look like for a Black or Brown person in the U.S.?” Our Self-Advocacy pod believes...
A Birthing Story
How does Reproductive Justice affect your life? Being born female means being the first-born daughter, granddaughter, niece, and great-granddaughter of my family. This has always meant I should achieve the most because it was expected that I would grow up while...
Do You Hear Me?
In the year of 2022, I became more awake to a world that felt like it hated women. Feeling more unsafe everyday. I remember reading so many posts and articles about women’s reproductive rights— CHOICE—being stripped from them. I was angry. I was furious...
A Lesson from Dark History
A controversial issue in my hometown of Espanola, New Mexico, has been the dark side of New Mexican history, specifically the Spanish conquest of the Indigenous communities that were long established. The man who led it was a Spanish conquistador named Juan De Onate....
Who tf is you
Who tf is you Excuse my French but who tf is you Why you think you can take life you didn’t provide Who said that’s what you should do Y’all way of thinking to me is crazy I am black Let’s sit for a minute and discuss the thinning Of ya brain which clearly is...
Indigenizing I Am Why Spaces
What does my current work as an I Am Why consultant look like? I participate in the Motherhood Support Group and am a member of the Speak On Us and Self Advocacy Learning Pods while co-leading the Embracing Creative Freedom Pod. In these spaces, I’ve developed my...
I’m An Indigenous Child: Clarissa Koop
Meet Apsaalooke Back in June, the Supreme Court issued its ruling in Haalandd V. Brackeen affirming the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). ICWA is a federal law passed in 1978 that governs the removal and out-of-home placement of Indigenous children and youth....
Motherhood Zine: How we developed the line art for our cover
Long before the pandemic, before Zoom was part of the vocabulary of so many, I Am Why existed in virtual space. Our work is rooted in in-person workshops where we partner with organizations focused on young people with lived experiences pushing for systemic change. In...
Motherhood Support Group Releases a Zine
Sengitsamu, Hey love, Bendicion, Aho, Was good, Bonjou, Hello, For over two years, I Am Why has hosted a nurturing space that has uplifted and validated the voices of mothers. The purpose of the Motherhood Support Group is to build a community of mamas to share...
Population
Change They said that this day was to uplift our culture but somewhere in there, there is rage Like a slap on the risk, or a pat on the head, modernizing the modern days of slaves Change Happened when the slavery was abolished for “blacks” in 1865...
Mamas Retreat into the Desert!
The Motherhood Support Group, composed of young mamas from all over turtle island, has been gathering for the past few years to offer support, upliftment, and love to each other. Sharing stories, sharing tears, sharing laughter, all through virtual shared space. This...
The State of Blackness and Our Relation to Change
For many people, February 2023 was a time to learn about Black history by uplifting important figures of the past and present-day times. At I Am Why our Justice Initiatives team decided to give reverence to Black culture by taking time to acknowledge the past while...
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