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I’m so happy to say that Gidjie and the Wolves is currently featured on Cynthia Leitich Smith’s Cynsations Blog’s Native Voices: Tashia Hart on Gidjie and the Wolves. Gichii miigwech, Kim, for the interview! Kim Rogers is a writer & poet from the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes.

https://archive.org/details/78934TheModernChippewaIndian

Here’s a few more illustrations from “Gidjie and the Wolves” (Intermediaries, book 1).

‪‘Gidjie’ is short for gijigijigaaneshiinh, ‘chickadee’ in Anishinaabemowin. Here she is, working some dough. What kind of dough, you ask? If you guessed that it-she-is a living doughball named Bluebelle, who comes from a piece of frybread dough made in the 1800’s, but is now responsible for inducing dreams in those who wander from their path…you’d be correct.

“Makwa enters the medicine kitchen.”

The book is being released at the end of the month–woohoo! Preorders are still open https://tashiahart.com/bookstore/gidjie-and-the-wolves/

Well, the cat’s out of the bag. In my interview with Lisa Johnson, host of KUMD’s MN Reads this morning, I couldn’t help but tell her about a new development: Jonathan Thunder (aka my hubby) will inking my drawings for “Gidjie and the Wolves”!

Here’s a link to the MN Reads interview from this morning:

https://www.kumd.org/tohttps://www.kumd.org/post/mn-reads-gidjie-and-wolves-tashia-hartpic/mn-reads

And be sure to follow Jonathan’s work:

http://www.thunderfineart.com

Dear Friends,

I’ve gotten requests to see some of the illustrations that I’m working on for “Gidjie and the Wolves” (Intermediaries, book 1), and thought I would take a moment to share a quick pencil sketch version of the illustration that accompanies the prologue. The final image will be digital, as I’m working in Procreate to finish the illustrations after doing all of the pencil sketches.

Also! Tune into 103.3 KUMD MN Reads tomorrow at 8:10 am to hear myself and host of MN Reads, Lisa Johnson, talk about the creation, inspiration and execution of “Gidjie and the Wolves.” 

Serves 3-4

2 cups cooked manoomin 
1 lb ground bison
1 red pepper
1 half head broccoli 
1/2 small onion diced
1 cup sliced mushrooms 
4 eggs (optional)

Cook bison + onion w/a little oil until bison is halfway done in a large frying pan.
Add veggies + mushrooms, cover pan and let cook 4-5 minutes, stirring every couple minutes.
Stir in eggs (optional) and seasonings of choice.
When veggies start to soften, add rice, stir, turn down heat and cover for 2 minutes.
Put on bib.
Chow down on the couch so you can fall asleep just happy and full afterwards.

I was recently asked by Andi Murphy, creator of Toasted Sister Podcast (https://toastedsisterpodcast.com)–a podcast with the tag-line–‘Radio about Native American food’–if I wanted to contribute a to her new endeavor, a first of its kind zine about Food in Indigenous Futurisms.

HECK YES I told her!

I asked for help calling in a story from the ether that would be meaningful and the response was… write about ‘dump bears.’

Now, I’m not the kind of person who disobeys these responses when they come, so I did as I was told. The short story, “Rez Dog Power!” was the result.

You can order the zine here : https://toastedsisterpodcast.com/support/

This is my first digital cartoon!

I made it after an invasion in the kitchen by SYSCO at the 2019 Oneida Food Sovereignty Summit, followed by a swift kicking of SYSCO’s ass by the local Oneida community. 

It’s a little goofy-looking and basic, but it’s relevant to the struggle happening with the Indigenous Foods Movement so I decided to share it. I had fun making it and look forward to making more : )