Native American Heritage Month // Honoring the Mirabal Sisters

In July of 2018, I had the honor of traveling to Taos, New Mexico as a participant in a workshop titled MOVEMENT, MYTH AND THE MYSTERIES OF WATER, facilitated by Anne Davin, PhD and Robert Mirabal, Pueblo musician and Native American flute player and maker. Taos Pueblo is considered one of the longest continually lived in communities in the United States, going back over 1,000 years. Just stepping foot on this sacred ground and being present with the stories and wisdom alive there felt like a miracle to me.

One of my favorite quotes from Robert that weekend as he addressed systemic issues of injustice was "Be better, not bitter." And from Anne: "court the sacred back to the places where there has been pain."

Meeting Kona and Aspen Mirabal, two of Robert's daughters, that weekend was another miracle for sure. I was mesmerized by their presence in a million ways as they demonstrated reverence and communion with the elements of nature through tradition, educating us with every breath. They moved softly, sang radiantly; transmitting beauty in every moment.

One year later, in 2019, my sister Mia and I traveled back to the inter-dimensional land of Taos to photograph Kona for the new POUND website. UFO clouds and open gated vortices appeared in the mountains where we played and prayed magic into the camera together. We followed the orbs that called to us. We flowed with the weather changes and opened ourselves up to where the land wanted us to stand. There really are no words for what we experienced together. 

This month we are beyond thrilled to support both Kona and Aspen Mirabal with their sparkling visions and courageous missions. In their own ways, these women are empowering their community and the world at large to weave ancient practices with modern holistic modes of healing. 

Hear their words.

"My name is Kona Mirabal, I am from a beautiful grand place here in Taos Pueblo, New Mexico. I am currently studying herbalism and tradition medicine. My goals are to educate, inspire, and have the opportunity to experience holistic healing approaches for indiginous people of my community and the world.

It is imperative that people understand the importance of the local herbs and plants they have access to in their backyard. Furthermore, allow for my community to have a feel of how natural wild-crafted herbs can be equally as healing and more effective than the medications they are relying heavily on.

I grew up with the principle of always inspiring and giving. During these times it is up to the younger generation to rise and have their voices be heard, for the inspirational changes in their world that they want to see and be a part of."

--- Kona Mirabal

Kona Mirabal/// Collage and Photography by Mia Kannapell

 
Photoshoot in a Vortex near Taos, New Mexico
Taos Pueblo

 

"Where does the Dream of ourselves arise? It is that which, like all mysteries, belongs to Nature, to the Infinite. This is why, so often, we "find" it in natural places: it comes to us as insight under the stars and on the mountains. We are a part of the great arising Dream of Nature." 

---Elen Tompkins from The Silver Wheel: The Lost Teachings of the Deerskin Book
Aspen Mirabal///Collage by Mia Kannapell
"My name is Aspen Mirabal. I am a proud sister, daughter, and indigenous birth worker in Northern New Mexico. I am passionately dedicated to my culture as a tribal member of Taos Pueblo.

I have dedicated more than half my life navigating through the dark, discovering ancestral wisdom in the nooks and crannies, dusty research papers of female ethnographers from the Progressive Era, and travels to rural communities of the Americas to gain a perspective that will serve my community members during their reproductive years.

As the only certified and trained Full Spectrum Doula, Midwife Assistant, and Lactation Educator in Taos Pueblo, I have found a place in my community as a Family Support Specialist with a Tribal Home Visiting program serving Taos County, and behind the scenes on a state level advocating for the betterment of treatment for BIPOC (birthing) families, birth workers-- such as midwives, doulas, and lactations specialists. To be at the forefront with families bringing new life into our community, I feel my presence is becoming known!

My goal in life is to be a midwife for my people of Taos Pueblo, I foresee this being a possibility in the coming years. I will be 24 years old on the 9th of November, my birth story will be shared by my mother and father, both their perspectives are valid and important; a simple ritual that heals and connects me to the etheric realm of cosmic birth magic and the supernatural."

--- Aspen Mirabal
Kona on the Mountain

 

SO excited to be able to say that 15% of all online POUND sales the entire month of November will be offered with love to these radical women as they continue answering the call of their souls and singing it outwards.  Thank YOU for helping us expand our language of listening. You are all crystalline. We were designed for this time. Letting other human words rest and float on our wings. 


Keep soaring,
with love,
the POUND girls