Mitakuye Oyasin is a Lakota phrase used in refrains and prayers, meaning "we are all related"...
Pronounced "Metockwe ozsin"
For years, I practiced Lakota Sioux traditions with an organization in New Jersey. The group now resides in upstate New York. I am grateful for the time spent honoring the Lakota.
My husband had been gifted several Lakota artifacts, from his grandmother. The pieces were given to Mike's grandfather, William, by a Lakota, after William saved his life in the 1800's.
KC Willis is a fabric artist, that now dedicates her time to the Lakota living on the
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
In a $14 priority mail flat rate box, you can send a bit of "warmth and caring" to the Lakota people. I had read that a grandmother of 11, needed socks for her grandchildren. We had fun today gathering socks and toiletries to send to Judy Left Hand. At the store, the check-out lady was watching Mike toss items into the cart, and she said we appeared to be having fun gathering stocking stuffers.
Yes, we are all related.
A ho mitakuye oyasin.
As a Thrift Store Junkie, I seem to, weekly take bags of items, to my favorite thrift store which I proudly deposit in the back of the store, only to circle to the front of the store, and load up with someone else's "stuff". I know I am not alone! The other day I found a pretty verdigris brass container filled with dried fruits and berries for $5. I deconstructed the arrangement, which was built to last, and added wire to small pears, apples, artichokes, and berries with twigs. Then I wired them to the tree. And the tree will live in that spot through the winter. I found the owl in the back of a truck, with an assortment of chainsaw art, parked next to me, at a store. I waited for the owner of the truck to return and the female chainsaw artist, was on her way to a craft show. She was delighted that the owl had a new home. The owl was a Christmas gift for my husband. We have barn owls and we never tire of hearing them at night. The little lantern is an inexpensive piece filled with a flameless candle. The inside of the lantern base is filled with walnuts. When we toured the Christmas markets in Germany and Austria, there was nothing more inviting than to see lanterns with flickering candles, that graced the stoops and porches in the villages. 
