Category Archives: Native

A Native perspective: TurtleIsland.social vs. Bluesky Part 2

A screenshot of TurtleIsland.social Media Mode courtesy of @dillyd@turtleIsland.social

Continued from:
A Native perspective: TurtleIsland.social vs. Bluesky Part 1

Boring but super important technical details

TurtleIsland.social runs on plain vanilla Mastodon, the most stable and widely supported kind. We also use professionally managed hosting. Together, these mean developer level support. TurtleIsland.social may be a small community but we are part of a large block of Mastodon instances that receive very adequate attention. Software updates including important security patches are applied within a few hours of release and seamlessly (no downtime). Our uptime is as good as it gets. Configuration files, media and database storage are backed up daily to a remote secure object storage (again no downtime). Content is enterprise-level safe.

Not all Mastodon instances can make the technical superiority claims that we make. And Bluesky, with its multi-million dollar setup and information technology team, has nothing on us. TurtleIsland.social is equal to or (most likely) better than any enterprise level social media. As a retired IT professional, it is very important to me that TurtleIsland.social runs grief-free and without technical excitement. I like to sleep during sleep hours…

Similar but different

Both TurtleIsland.social and Bluesky are Twitter-type clones. The basic look and operation are very similar.

TurtleIsland.social posts allow up to 500 characters and unlimited live editing though. Bluesky posts allow up to 300 characters and no live editing. In actual use, these two facets make for an improved experience on TurtleIsland.social. 500 characters makes a huge difference in the amount of multi-post messages as well as the content quality of your posts. Editing fixes a lot of typos and stops a lot of reposting for typos or updates.

Better, more accurate posts equals more engagement and less misunderstanding.

On the other hand, an organization that needs to post content on both platforms will find it easy to cut and paste content from Bluesky to TurtleIsland.social. The reverse however, may not fit into Bluesky without breaking your post into two posts.

Media mode is great for artists

The media tab on Bluesky filters out posts with no media, that’s it. On TurtleIsland.social, the media tab also filters out posts with no media, but additionally goes into an Instagram-like grid mode (see header image above), which is very cool. I even have a 2nd TurtleIsland.social account geared just for media mode to replace Instagram.

Happy days… this is a real strong point for artists, photographers or anyone that wants a portfolio of their work. My hope is that Mastodon continues to improve media mode, which is already great.

As a side note, the Fediverse Instagram clone which shall remain nameless, pretty much sucks, especially from an independent server perspective, so I was very glad to discover this.

Direct Messages

In my opinion Mastodon Private Mentions (Chat) kind of suck. On Bluesky, Chat is a separate function, pretty easy and clear. On Mastodon, Private Mentions are part of the regular post function with a private flag that is easy to forget and accidentally produce a public post (eek!). Personally, I would suggest Signal over either private message function anyways, but for small communications on Mastodon, just be careful. It usually takes one kablooey to learn your lesson, ha!

Federation differences

As I mentioned in Part 1, TurtleIsland.social is part of a federation of ‘over 8000 Mastodon instances. Billionaire corporate independence is a reality today’. There is a rich variety of privately owned Mastodon instances of all types of communities that TurtleIsland.social is federated with today. Not only is Mastodon federation mature and problem free, but the cost of entry is relatively low and within reach of small groups, thus enabling unique communities like TurtleIsland.social to exist and thrive.

Technically, Bluesky is federated (to a proprietary standard), but the feature is unimplemented. The design is such that cost of entry is high, requiring expensive servers, centralized connection/resources, and major technical expertise.

Bluesky is centralized and susceptible to billionaire takeover

Regardless of the Bluesky ‘billionaire-proof’ lie, it is very susceptible to being forced by the fascist Trump administration to be MAGA friendly. Bluesky is also a prime candidate for a billionaire buyout. In fact, the more successful Bluesky is, the more likely it is that it will be bought out and/or forced to be MAGA friendly.

I hate to say it but it is sad to see people joyfully breaking free from Elon Musk and his X disaster, or Meta and their nonsense, to only be setting themselves up as prime targets for another digital refugee situation.

Again, fortunately, TurtleIsland.social servers are in France. Mastodon servers are privately owned, there are far too many of them to centrally control. Even if the Mastodon flagship sold its soul (which is very unlikely) the Fediverse network itself is an embraced standard (unlike the proprietary Bluesky standard) and the open source servers (with low cost of entry) would continue on. And of course, Mastodon has account portability, so you can move your account to any one of the more than 8000+ instances.

Thanks!
-Yehuda

This link will become live when Part 3 (The best parts, culture and security!) is released shortly:
A Native perspective: TurtleIsland.social vs. Bluesky Part 3

Please check back. Mvto!

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A Native perspective: TurtleIsland.social vs. Bluesky Part 1

Both have pros and cons, let’s start with background

For background, most people reading this understand that X (formerly Twitter) and Meta (Instagram and Facebook) are owned by slimeball MAGA billionaires and are very disrespectful to BIPOC and left of center people. I’m not going to expound on that.

That said, for many it is difficult to disengage from X and Meta for a variety of reasons. Primarily BIPOC communities, institutions and brands. Institutions ranging from government to brands to entertainment stars, etc. are deeply embedded in commercial social media.

For me, Facebook is hard to ditch. As an off the rez urban Native, it is a primary information connection to my Native Nation and its resources, and other important Indian country tribal information. Many Native people, especially creatives are deeply connected to Instagram. X as disgusting as it is, is still the go to place for at this moment news and official government information etc.

BIPOC communities can be significant on all those platforms. Many Native people and organizations have thousands and thousands of followers. In most cases, those followers are not just numbers but real important community members. There are many personal and business relationships that you just don’t throw away without pain, or even total destruction.

TurtleIsland.social is born

In my mind, October 27, 2022 was the seminal moment, when Elon Musk bought Twitter. Within a week or so, in November of 2022, my favorite relative Tzipporah and I joined a Mastodon instance. Within a month, we decided to operate our own instance and on December 5, 2022, what was to become TurtleIsland.social was alive. A short stint as Mvskoke.social was too narrowly focused we decided. We switched to Woodpecker.social which was great, but even though woodpeckers were important medicine birds to us, it didn’t ring out as a Native Indigenous instance to others, so on July 19, 2023 the final configuration of TurtleIsland.social opened. This has been super, and won’t change.

On September 10, 2023, TurtleIsland.social moved to managed hosting, a huge step forward in reliability, performance and expandability. This also freed up a lot of my time allowing me to concentrate more on building community instead of system administration. The upshot was now we had the best possible Mastodon instance. We were ready for high demand or celebrity users. The sky was the limit for Native owned and operated social media.

The most important facts here: TurtleIsland.social is a Native owned and operated Mastodon instance. Beyond that, there are already over 8000 Mastodon instances. Billionaire corporate independence is a reality today.

Bluesky is born

There has been a lot written about this that I won’t duplicate, but Bluesky opened registrations to the general public on February 6, 2024, a year after its release as an invite-required beta. I think everyone knows that Bluesky came from the belly of Twitter, and is a traditional billionaire owned tech company. All the typical billionaire social media risks apply to Bluesky. In standard corporate baloney fashion, Bluesky touts itself as “billionaire-proof”, but real hurdles to this imaginary freedom exist. Especially for BIPOC people, the cost for entry is too high. It is not realistic to fork off from Bluesky. But for now, Bluesky is left of center leaning and friendly to BIPOC people.

The most important facts here: Bluesky is a centralized platform, meaning it is owned and operated by a single billionaire drenched entity. The imagined “billionaire-proof” freedom Bluesky touts is a pipe dream.

TurtleIsland.social and Bluesky provide new ways forward

At this point in time, I consider both TurtleIsland.social and Bluesky to be essential for Native/Indigenous social media experiences. Ordinarily I try to think forward 7 generations, but I don’t think any specific social media will last that long. However I do think it is worthwhile to consider what will happen over the next 10 or 20 years. Seriously, today there is a lot of pressure on social media and all forms of news and information to succumb not only to billionaire whims, but to a quickly degrading fascist US government as well.

Fortunately, TurtleIsland.social servers are in France.

Thanks!
-Yehuda

Continued:
A Native perspective: TurtleIsland.social vs. Bluesky Part 2

Follow on Mastodon – TurtleIsland.social/@Yehuda
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Dominant Culture Fragility

Reservation Dogs Deer Lady doing what needs to be done

Native people are angry and with damn good reasons

Native people have been practically exterminated in North America. The killing and oppression have not stopped. It may be under-reported in mainstream (white culture) media, but Native people see non-stop deaths. Our women and children are raped, dismembered and more. Our coffins are garbage bags. Our graves are garbage dumps. All this is a continuum that stretches from invasion to today.

But yeah, let’s talk about your white fragility. Or its evil sibling, fragility of the assimilated. Or dominant religion fragility. Or liberal politics fragility. Or numerous other facets of the dominant white-drenched culture of North America. Geez, give me a break…

All social media is filled with racism and bigotry

It’s not just Nazis and conservatives either. There is plenty of racism and bigotry in the liberal quarters. Even in the far left or the authoritarian left. It’s been pretty amusing and so rich watching the dominant culture of all stripes squirm and shudder, finally feeling a fraction of what BIPOC and other marginalized people have always known and felt from day one, as the fascist Trump administration puts them too in its sights.

And by the way – no, TurtleIsland.social doesn’t hate white or non-Native people. We celebrate diverse cultures. We don’t try to homogenize them. TurtleIsland.social has some amazing allies who join Native people in equality and don’t need to dominate and oppress. Of course Native culture is a bit more expressive, more sexually liberated, more foul mouthed, less colonizer religious, and understandably more pissed off than the dominant culture. Any true ally gets it, and gets it without fragility tizzies.

The case for Native ownership and moderation

All the above demands Native social media ownership and moderation as the only solution. There is no non-Native social media that can respect us. Or protect us and our Native values. Even our very lives. Not on Mastodon (Fediverse), not on Bluesky, and certainly not on Xitter or Meta social media. Native people need to control our own digital land and destiny.

TurtleIsland.social doesn’t get a lot of moderation reports, but when we do most of them are anti-Native and follow a similar path. No broken rules referenced, just ‘Other’. No description of the complaint, just check-marking Native posts or replies. Most likely because if you put a description to the racism, bigotry or fragility, it would sound incredibly stupid and wrong as it actually is. The moderation reports are just yet another racism, bigotry or fragility weapon. There are no valid justifications. Just dominant culture shitasses being shitasses.

The dominant culture needs to stop being so sensitive. They need to open their eyes and flush their own toilet. Stop killing and oppressing Native people. And yes, even on social media.

Native people are done with keeping our mouths shut and our culture hidden or legislated away.

#LandBack #DigitalLandBack #MMIWG2S

Thanks!
-Yehuda

Follow on Mastodon – TurtleIsland.social/@Yehuda
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Indigenous Critical Reflections

Indigenous Critical Reflections On Traditional Ecological Knowledge – Edited by Lara A. Jacobs

I read a lot, pretty much day and night, but mostly social media and short to medium length news or information articles. I don’t read many full length books these days. I just don’t have the brain bandwidth considering how much else I read. So, when I do buy and read a book, you can believe it is special.

Indigenous Critical Reflections On Traditional Ecological Knowledge, is one such book. This book is definitely my top 2025 choice.

Lara A. Jacobs is a citizen of Muscogee (Creek) Nation with Choctaw heritage. She is a complex systems scientist who focuses her research on Indigenous value systems, TEK, the ecological and pathogenic impacts of outdoor recreation activities on Tribal treaty lands, co-equity-based management and #LANDBACK paradigms.

Contributors:
Melinda M. Adams
Joe Anderson
Coral Avery
Andrew Kalani Carlson
Kathryn Champagne
Brandie Makeba Cross
Joanna M. DeMeyer
Jonathan James Fisk
Pat Gonzales-Rogers
Celina Gray
Rhode Grayson
Zena Greenawald
Jennifer Grenz
Joy Harjo
Mandi Harris
Jessica Hernandez
Victor Hernandez

David Iniguez
Michelle M. Jacob
Lara A. Jacobs
Lydia L. Jennings
Eileen Jimenez
Stephanie Kelley
David G. Lewis
Tomás A. Madrigal
Tara McAllister
Lauren Wendelle Yowelunh
McLester-Davis
Angeles Mendoza
Kat Milligan-McClellan
Todd A. Mitchell swalítub
Don Motanic
‘Alohi Nakachi
Kaikea Nakachi
Kobe Natachu

Ululani Kekahiliokalani
Brigitte Russo Oana
Jennifer R. O’Neal
Lily Painter
Britt Postoak
Leasi Vanessa Lee Raymond
Anamag Margaret H. C. Rudolf
Oral Saulters
Sam Schimmel
Paulette Steeves
Joni Tobacco
Angelo Villagomez
Vivi Vold
Margaret Palaghicon Von Rotz
Luhui Whitebear
Joseph Gazing Wolf
Monique Wynecoop
Cherry YEW Yamane

Order here, and use promo code S25 for 20% off and free domestic US shipping:
Indigenous Critical Reflections On Traditional Ecological Knowledge

Settler Colonialism Introduction

Lara is also the author of Settler Colonialism Introduction which she graciously allowed us to copy to this site and is a huge hit on TurtleIsland.social. The Settler Colonialism Introduction post at TurtleIsland.social has moved a couple times, so the boost/favorite totals are incomplete, but there have been hundreds and hundreds of boosts (reposts) and favorites (likes). Many people have found Lara’s slides on this important subject to be tremendously helpful and educational.

Anyhoo, I totally recommend you grab a copy of Indigenous Critical Reflections On Traditional Ecological Knowledge. You will be glad you did.

Thanks!
-Yehuda

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Turtle Island Native Indigenous Mastodon instance

The TurtleIsland.social Mastodon instance is Native owned and operated for Native/Indigenous people and true Allies only

  • TurtleIsland.social is a (Twitter-like) Mastodon instance originally established Dec 2022. User registrations are available through the ‘Create Account’ portal at https://TurtleIsland.social/about.

TurtleIsland.* sites are ad-free, corporate-free, bigotry-free, and culture respectful environments for Native/Indigenous people and their allies to be in community and safe spaces. Join today!

#LandBack #DigitalLandBack

Thanks!
-Yehuda

Follow on Mastodon – TurtleIsland.social/@Yehuda
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Mvskoke History & Resources

Native sources

Native sources of Mvskoke history will have the most accuracy.

Muscogee Nation

Download PDF:
Mvskoke History: A Short Course for Muscogee Nation Employees

Non-Native sources

I wouldn’t be sharing these selections if they weren’t decent sources of easily digestible Mvskoke history or important reference materials. Keep in mind however, that information from non-Native sources may have non-Native perspectives or bias, even if slight or subtle.

For example, generally when colonizer history says hundreds of years, Mvskoke history says thousands of years. This is something to remember, even the best non-Native historical documentation has built-in bias and inaccuracy doing its best to erase or minimize Natives.

Smithsonian Institution

This is a great slideshow (including videos) of Mvskoke history.

Before the Trail of Tears removal 23 pages.
https://americanindian.si.edu/nk360/removal-muscogee/before.html

During the Trail of Tears removal 15 pages.
https://americanindian.si.edu/nk360/removal-muscogee/during.html

After the Trail of Tears removal 17 pages.
https://americanindian.si.edu/nk360/removal-muscogee/after.html

Videos

Yehuda’s Mvskoke Video Playlist

Thanks!
-Yehuda

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Mvskoke Nation Indigenous Books

TurtleIsland.blog and TurtleIsland.social do not sell anything, receive or charge fees. We do this strictly to help grow the Indigenous Fediverse community and encourage people to join us on Turtle Island Internet properties.

TurtleIsland.blog and TurtleIsland.social Internet properties are volunteer led and donation financed.

Many Indigenous creatives or stores are often multi-disciplinary and sell multiple types of creative items. The best thing you can do is check out their links and take a look at everything they offer.

Authors

Michelle Joy Gallagher Soffe

Michelle Joy Gallagher Soffe is an author of poetry and prose from Sacramento, California. She is mother to 3 children and 2 fantastic dogs. Testing the limits and playing with the elasticity and beauty of the english language is one of her passions. With an affinity for astronomy and physics, she often makes correlations between the corporeal and the cosmos.
Mastodon: @Hvresse@turtleisland.social
Store: https://www.NihtgengaPress.com
Blog: https://MichelleJoyGallagher.com

Thanks!
-Yehuda

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Decolonization is not a metaphor

This article is a MUST READ

Decolonization is not a metaphor
By Eve Tuck & K. Wayne Yang

“Our goal in this article is to remind readers what is unsettling about decolonization. Decolonization brings about the repatriation of Indigenous land and life; it is not a metaphor for other things we want to do to improve our societies and schools.”

Thanks!
-Yehuda

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Settler Colonialism Introduction

Reversing Manifest Destiny by Native artist Charles Hilliard

Lara A. Jacobs, also a Mvskoke citizen and an incredibly gifted Native scientist, was kind enough to allow me to republish her incredible introduction to settler colonialism. At the end of this page there is more information.

An educational for settlers on #IndigenousPeoplesDay

What is settler colonialism? What is colonization? What happened when settlers arrived? What did they bring with them?

An Indigenous version of US History

America’s “Greatest Ideas” the National Park Service— In reality they were created as a tool of dispossession.

Parks as tools of dispossession continued; other land dispossessions; UNDRIP

Genocide and tools of assimilation

Dispossessions of bodies by universities and museums

#LandBack

Lara A. Jacobs is a Citizen of Muscogee (Creek) Nation and in the final year of her Forest Ecosystems and Society Ph.D. program at Oregon State University. Her research focuses on the pathogenic and ecological impacts of outdoor recreation activities and how such impacts may pose issues for Tribal Peoples and outdoor recreationists. Lara blends Indigenous Sciences (e.g., Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Indigenous Value systems) with western scientific methods (e.g., visitor monitoring and mapping, geographic information systems, cellular and molecular biology, etc.) as a means to resolve socio-ecological issues. Lara has worked with large groups of Indigenous scholars to publish manuscripts about how land management entities can work through co-equity-based managerial frameworks to support Tribal sovereignty and Indigenous Peoples’ rights, and has also published manuscripts that focus on COVID-19 in parks and protected areas and the need to center Indigenous Peoples’ and Tribal Nations in climate change discourse and research. Lara is currently editing a book called Indigenous Voices: Critical Reflections on Traditional Ecological Knowledge that should be published in 2024. Lara holds a B.S. in Women Studies from Oregon State University, an M.A. in Environmental Studies from Prescott College with a concentration in Conservation Science, Environmental Education, and Sustainability, and a Certificate from the University of Toronto in GIS, Mapping, and Spatial Analysis Specialization.

Lara’s publications

If you learned anything from this thread and want to pass some funds Lara’s way for this free labor, here’s her details:

Lara Jacobs
@ecohugger.bsky.social

Cite Lara’s tweets and/or her many manuscripts and the countless work that Indigenous scholars have produced if you plan to use this info.

Follow on Mastodon – TurtleIsland.social/@Yehuda
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Indigenous Fediverse Instances

There are estimated to be over 12,000 Mastodon instances (servers) in the Fediverse, but there is only one North American Native/Indigenous instance with the high reliability record of TurtleIsland.social.

TurtleIsland.social

Native owned and operated for Native/Indigenous people in North America. TurtleIsland.social is ad-free, corporate-free, bigotry-free, and culture respectful.
https://turtleisland.social/about

TurtleIsland.social is highly recommended as the best, most reliable choice you can make in choosing a Fediverse instance. It is professionally hosted and has developer level support. It is a 5 nines site, in other words fully operational 99.999% of the time — an average of less than 6 minutes downtime per year. It is fully capable of celebrity or high demand users. It doesn’t get better than this.

Thanks!
-Yehuda

Follow on Mastodon – TurtleIsland.social/@Yehuda
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