Miranda: I grew up in Green Bay, right near the edge of town. It used to be lots of cornfields and forests, but now it’s mostly subdivisions. I was a very early reader; I started reading before kindergarten. I didn’t grow up in a house with a lot of books, but we did have one of those complete …
I was born in Taiwan, and my dad was a very poor preacher. When I was just a little tot, I remember my dad took my brother and me to the zoo in Taiwan. This was a huge treat for us. We saw something there that day we had never seen before—an American with blonde …
“It all began with my father smiling and saying, ‘Hello’.” Read More »
My name is Dylan Jennings, or Bizhikiins—Young Buffalo, as we translate from Ojibwemowin, our language. Photos by Megan Monday “My parents were really young when they had me, just out of high school. They met down by Waaswaaganing, or the Lac du Flambeau Reservation, near Minocqua. They stuck together to raise me and to take …
“I dedicate my life to educating others about Native people.” Read More »
I was born in Madison in 1970. My mom is Jewish and from Long Island. My dad is Catholic, Mexican, and from Chicago. They met in the VISTA program (Volunteers in Service to America) and settled in Madison. Photos by Gary Porter “In the ‘70s and ‘80s, Madison felt magical to me. At age ten …
From ‘Girl Reporter’ to Wisconsin’s First Female Sports Anchor Read More »
People assume just because I live here on the reservation that I’ve been here all my life. But I have to tell them no, I was born in Chicago, and I’m a product of the Indian Relocation Act. Photos by Megan Monday “The Indian Relocation Act was an initiative that displaced Native Americans from the …
“I am descended from people who embraced the breath of life.” Read More »
I was born in 1950 in Rice Lake, Wisconsin. I lived literally between two lakes, a woods, and a swamp. We were on the edge of the city limits, and quite a few of our near neighbors were on small farms. Photos by Megan Monday “In my family, we have some Welsh and some Scottish …
I was born and raised here in Wisconsin, a Dodge County native—actually Beaver Dam. My parents had three girls: me, my sister, Nicolle, who’s nine years older than me, and my sister Natalie, who’s five years older than me. Photos by Kara Counard Content warning: This story contains references to substance abuse and suicidal thoughts. …
“I was going to do whatever it took to stay sober.” Read More »
Dr. Bola: “My husband, Philips, got a job in the Paper Valley and we moved here 20 years ago. Photos by Megan Monday I’m a professor of multicultural education now, but at that time I was just finishing up my PhD from Penn State. Appleton appealed to me because I am a small-town person. I’m …
“It’s important for all of us to work towards acceptance.” Read More »
I grew up in a place called Veefkind. It used to be a little bitty rural community with a store, post office, a couple of sawmills, tavern, church, and, of course, the cemetery. It was named after my great-great grandfather, Henry Born Veefkind, who actually built our farm. The home farm went through six generations …
My mom and dad met in Washington, DC when they were both working for the FBI. My mother quit when she had my oldest brother and then my dad went to work for the CIA. His job took us to South Miami, but I didn’t like it there. The heat and climate were a bit …
My mom and dad are both from Somalia, and they came to the United States with their families when they were really young. They were fleeing the civil war in Somalia. Photos by Kara Counard “For the first 14 years of my life, I lived in Minnesota. In Minneapolis there’s a huge Somali population, but …
“When I came back to America, I became more confident in who I was.” Read More »
I’ve lived in Baraboo for almost 30 years. I’m originally from lower Michigan, but I came to Wisconsin in 1991 for a job at the International Crane Foundation. I had originally applied to work restoring prairie in the Field Ecology Department, which I was not very qualified for. I got rejected from that. Photo by …
“I think a bookstore is by default a community space.” Read More »
