michigan hero essay contest 2022

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Michigan's 8th Graders to Spotlight Michigan Heroes in Essay Contest

Michigan Business Beat September 4, 2019 8:00 AM

FARM BUREAU INSURANCE INVITES MICHIGAN 8 th GRADE STUDENTS TO WRITE  ABOUT THEIR PERSONAL MICHIGAN HEROES Lisa Fedewa, America & Me Essay Contest Coordinator, and Advertising & Engagement Specialist for Farm Bureau Insurance, Lansing, MI, drops by the MBN studio to discuss the opening of the 51st year of an essay contest.

Eighth grade students across the state are encouraged to write about their personal Michigan hero.

In the interview Jeffrey finds out about Lisa and her connection to the contest. She goes on to explain more about the contest. From there they review the eligibility requirements and deadlines which need to be met. Is Michigan Heroes, this year’s theme, or has this been the focus topic in the past? Along with anything else the business community should know about this effort.

Listen to Lisa and Jeffrey talk more about the essay contest below! 

Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan is once again sponsoring its annual America & Me Essay Contest —celebrating its 51st year. For over 50 years, several thousand eighth graders from hundreds of Michigan schools have entered the patriotic writing contest , which encourages Michigan young people to write about their Michigan heroes, especially those individuals who have made a difference in their lives.

This year's contest, held September 3 through Nov. 15th, will again ask students to write on the topic " My Personal Michigan Hero. ”

ELIGIBILITY : Sign-up kits will be sent to schools throughout Michigan in late August. The contest is open to any eighth grade student in Michigan enrolled in a public or private school, and offers a variety of awards on the local and statewide levels.

AWARDS : The first place entry from each school will be entered into the statewide competition from which the top ten essays in the state will be chosen. Each top ten statewide winner will receive a $1,000 cash award, another $1,000 for the school they attend, and another $500 for their school if the school is sponsored by a Farm Bureau Insurance agent.

A special day will be planned to celebrate the top ten winners in May 2020. Each of the top ten winners are allowed to bring two adults and a teacher to the awards celebration.

As sponsor of the contest, Farm Bureau Insurance has earned 11 national awards from the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge.

To learn more about the 51st contest year, view video highlights from last year’s awards day or to read highlights from last year's entries, visit FarmBureauInsurance.com/AmericaAndMe or contact Lisa Fedewa at 517-679-5411 or at [email protected].

About Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan was founded in 1949 by Michigan farmers who wanted an insurance company that worked as hard as they did. Those values still guide the company today and are a big reason why they are known as Michigan’s Insurance Company, dedicated to protecting the farms, families, and businesses of this great state. Farm Bureau Insurance agents across Michigan provide a full range of insurance services—life, home, auto, farm, business, retirement, Lake Estate®, and more—protecting over 500,000 Michigan policyholders.

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Local student named essay contest winner

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Three students from Sacred Heart Academy in Mt. Pleasant have been named local winners in the 53rd annual America & Me Essay contest, sponsored by Farm Bureau Insurance.

Three students from Sacred Heart Academy in Mt. Pleasant have been named local winners in the 53rd annual America & Me Essay contest, sponsored by Farm Bureau Insurance.

Started in 1968 and open to all Michigan eighth grade students, the America & Me Essay Contest encourages Michigan youngsters to explore the greatness of America and its people. As sponsor of the contest, Farm Bureau Insurance has earned 11 national awards from the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge.

Ella Reid earned the first place award, Audri Howell earned the second place award, and Isabel Rookard earned the third place award.

Thousands of eighth grade students from around 200 Michigan schools participated in the 2021-2022 America & Me Essay Contest, which was conducted with the help of Farm Bureau Insurance agents across the state. The topic of the 2021-2022 contest was ‘My Personal Michigan Hero.’

As the school’s first place winner, Reid’s name will be engraved on a plaque for permanent display in the school. Also, Reid’s essay now advances to the state level competition from which the top ten essays in Michigan will be selected.

The top ten statewide winners will be announced in April and will each receive a plaque, a medallion, and a cash award of $1,000. Farm Bureau Insurance will also be presenting each top ten statewide school with a $1,000 check, along with an additional $500 if the school was sponsored by a Farm Bureau Insurance agent.

The traditional annual America & Me Essay Contest Awards Day is scheduled for Tuesday, May 31 in Lansing. The top 10 students and their teachers from across the state will be invited to participate in the day-long group recognitions.

A team of finalist judges, including a top Michigan government official as well as the sponsoring teachers of last year’s top two statewide winners, will determine the ranking of the top ten statewide winners this year.

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Winner of essay contest writes about father as hero

Published 8:00 pm Monday, February 28, 2022

By Ryan Yuenger

DOWAGIAC — More than 50 local eighth-graders submitted essays for a nationwide competition, and the two selected winners were both from girls who wrote about their father as a hero. 

Dowagiac Middle School eighth-grade students participated in the 53rd annual America & Me Essay Contest, writing essays about their personal Michigan heroes – showing how friends, family and community members have made a positive, lasting difference in their lives. 

Haley Henry was selected as the top essay of the group, and will advance to the statewide competition for a chance at winning $1,000. Her essay was about her dad Bryan Henry, who is principal at Justus Gage Elementary as well as a baseball and softball coach. 

“My dad is a very hard-working man and yet he always makes time for me and my family,” said Haley Henry, in her essay. “ I don’t know how he does it. He always makes an effort to make it to me and my sisters’ sports or conferences.”

Mya Vazquez earned second place among Dowagiac students. Both students earned certificates for their achievement. Henry’s name will also be engraved on a plaque for permanent display in the school.

About 130 essays were written by the students, with 50 choosing to enter theirs into the contest. Essays were written in November, and were then read and selected by English teacher Denise Stockwell, as well as other DMS staff.

“It is always great to see our Dowagiac Middle School students find success,” Stockwell said. “We see it on the field, the court, and on the stage.  I truly love to see when they find powerful ways to stand out with their academics as well.  This particular essay is a look into the life and inspiration our students see around them.  Our DMS students do look at the role models around them and it is wonderful when students can be recognized for expressing themselves in meaningful ways.” 

Started in 1968 and open to all Michigan eighth grade students, the America & Me Essay Contest encourages Michigan youngsters to explore the greatness of America and its people. Farm Bureau Insurance sponsored the competition, and local agent Jeff Neumann submitted the essays for judging by the statewide panel. A team of finalist judges, including a top Michigan government official as well as the sponsoring teachers of last year’s top two statewide winners, will determine the winners.

The statewide winners, who will be announced in April, will each receive a plaque, a medallion and a cash award of $1,000. Farm Bureau Insurance will also be presenting each top ten statewide school with a $1,000 check, along with an additional $500 if the school was sponsored by a Farm Bureau Insurance agent.  

The traditional annual America & Me Essay Contest Awards Day is scheduled for Tuesday, May 31, 2022, in Lansing. The top 10 students and their teachers from across the state will be invited to participate in the day-long group recognitions.

Several thousand eighth-grade students from nearly 200 Michigan schools participated in the contest.

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April 16, 2024

Winners of 53rd Annual America & Me Essay Contest Honored

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Three eighth graders win in America & Me Essay Contest

Three Monroe Middle School eighth grade students received awards from Starr Insurance Agency and Monroe agent Kelsey Starr for the 54th annual America & Me Essay Contest, sponsored by Farm Bureau Insurance.

Xadrian D.J. Chase received a first-place award Friday. Xadrian's name also was engraved on a plaque to be displayed at the school. Carleigh Martin received a second-place award, and Jayce Hay received a third-place award.

Xadrian’s essay now advances to the state-level competition, where 10 essays will be selected as winners. The 10 winning essays will be announced in April and will receive a plaque, medallion and cash award of $1,000. Farm Bureau Insurance also will give winners $500 because a Farm Bureau insurance agent sponsored the school. Top students also will be attending a program in Lansing.

Several thousands eight-grade students from nearly 200 Michigan schools took part in this year’s essay contest. This year’s topic was “My Personal Michigan Hero.” The contest began in 1968 and is open to all Michigan eighth-grade students.

Xadrian D.J. Chase’s first-place essay

My Personal Michigan Hero

Who is your personal hero?

Maybe it is your dad, your grandma or maybe even your teacher. Well, my hero is my mom. She’s the best mom I could wish for. Sure, she's not perfect, but who is? I know I’m not, that's for sure.

But my mom is pretty close to perfect. She does so much for us. She almost always puts us first, and always puts my head on straight when I'm being a jerk. Because she loves me and wants me to be the best I can be.

My mom makes her own work schedule since she does Instacart. So, she mostly works while we are at school. Some days she works a little more into the afternoon when the day hasn’t been as busy. I miss her a lot those days, but I understand she needs the money. She always goes above and beyond to please her customers. She is a very hard worker.

My mom is not perfect, and that's what makes her human. We all make mistakes and have our perfect imperfections. My mom isn’t always the best at being on time and all together. But she always does her best, especially when it comes to her kids.

My mom is a good person. She helps people in the store find things they need. There was even this one time where she helped a disabled woman with her grocery shopping because she could tell she was having a hard time getting some things off the shelves. (She asked her if she wanted help). She is a great role model for me. When we got in the car, she told me not all people want help and are independent, and to always ask if they need help instead of assuming.

I definitely am a lot like her. We love music and have a very wide variety. We both love a variety of music. We love animals (especially cats) and are cat people. We are definitely into weird and dark kinds of things. And we love watching all sorts of shows together. We watch things like “Stranger Things” and “Adventure Time.” We also watch a ton of movies, specifically scary/creepy movies. Some of the movies we watch are like “The Conjuring” movies. Me and her love fall and Halloween; it’s our favorite time of year. She always went all out with our costumes. And she used to wear the coolest outfits. We trick-or-treat every year, we carve and/or paint pumpkins too. And she always helps us carve and/or paint pumpkins.

We share so many interests and hobbies. I know my mom loves me very much. And I love my mom very much. She is the best mom I could ever have. Even if she isn’t perfect, which she isn’t. That's what makes her human. And that’s why she’s my Personal Michigan Hero!

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My michigan hero; america and me essay contest winner.

By David Fleet on February 28, 2018 No Comment

My Michigan Hero by Amelia Sweet

I was introduced to my hero about 13 years ago. I have to say, that was probably one of the best moments of my life. My hero doesn’t wear a uniform or a cape, but she goes by the name Mom.

My mom wakes up everyday with pain radiating all over her body. She once told me that it is like the aftermath of a big and painful shot, but all over. My mom has Fibromyalgia and Chronic Lyme disease. The Fibromyalgia causes intense pain everyday and the Lyme disease makes it worse, it also makes her super tired. Lyme disease is transmitted by a tick that is infected with the Lyme bacteria. When the diseased tick bites it can sometimes destroy the immune system which in turn makes you prone to diseases like Fibromyalgia. If someone has Lyme when pregnant the child is automatically born with Lyme, so that means that I also have Lyme disease in my system. I too have to be careful to keep my immune system strong. Unfortunately, the insurance companies don’t recognize these diseases and therefore don’t cover the cost of treating them. Every eight weeks my mother gets and LDI shot (lyme disease injection) to boost her immune system. Without the LDIs she would be miserable. The abundance of vitamins given to her through IVs and LDI shots help her to feel somewhat better so she can go to work and carry out the necessary day-to-day activities.

My mom works at Hurley Hospital as an Art Therapist. That means that she works with people who have mental illness, substance abuse, people who were mentally or physically abused and people with depression. She helps them express themselves through art. At her job she works with multiple patients with different illnesses like schizophrenia. Some of the patients she works with have anger issues or may have thoughts or made attempts to hurt themselves or others.

Years ago, my mom studied for four years at Sienna Heights University in Michigan and an additional two years at Marywood University in Scranton, Pennsylvania. There she got her Masters Degree in Art Therapy. My mom loves her profession very much. While my mom was in Pennsylvania, she was working at a bookstore to help pay for her education, and it was at that bookstore she met my father. Now, my mother takes care of my grandmother who we all live with. My grandma has a severe spinal injury and needs help to do things. My mom’s hobbies and loves are making art and music, and being with animals. Family is super important to her and I know that she would do anything for them.

I can only imagine how much she is going through. With having to work with gloomy people, having Fibromyalgia, then being extremely tired on top of it all. My mom provided so much for my family and for others. I feel like she is struggling to keep her head above water sometimes and that makes me angry because she does not deserve it. She is my hero because she never gives up or gives in. She is the glue that holds my family together. She is an inspiration to so many people including myself, and I’m more than proud to call her mom.

My Michigan Hero; America and Me essay contest winner added by David Fleet on February 28, 2018 View all posts by David Fleet →

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Michigan Heroes Campaign Launched to Recognize Those Helping Others

The Michigan Community Service Commission, the state's lead agency on volunteerism, launched the Michigan Heroes Campaign virtual recognition website to celebrate individuals and organizations that have made a difference during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond in Michigan.

"Michigan residents gave their time and talent to help the state succeed in many different ways during the pandemic," said Governor Gretchen Whitmer. "To celebrate these heroes, I encourage Michiganders to go online and nominate individuals and the many organizations that helped mobilize to serve others during the COVID-19 pandemic."

Submissions to the Michigan Community Service Commission virtual recognition website will highlight Michigan residents that have made Michigan stronger and more resilient. Anyone can nominate a hero by visiting miheroesproject.org .

The early focus of the Michigan Heroes campaign will be to highlight the response and recovery of the COVID-19 pandemic. Anyone can be nominated for helping others. Nominees will be put through a brief screening to make sure they meet certain criteria, then their story will be featured on the website.

One of the heroes already nominated is Pat Munshaw of East Lansing, a retired 81-year-old registered nurse (RN) who stepped forward to volunteer to help deliver COVID-19 vaccine shots. Munshaw volunteers several times a week through both the Ingham County Health Department and Sparrow Hospital and has administered more than 500 COVID-19 vaccine injections.

"It was a simple decision to volunteer because I have the time, I have the skill set, and they needed help," Munshaw said. "I like the socialization and mental stimulation you get while volunteering. Volunteering is really fun and fulfilling to me."

The Michigan Heroes Campaign will recognize the service to others that occurs every day throughout the State of Michigan. Michiganders are encouraged to begin their hero journey at Michigan Nonprofit Guide, miserves.org , to connect with a nonprofit organization to volunteer or donate to the cause they are passionate about.

"As we continue the road to recovery, we want to unite our state and recognize heroic efforts that have transformed lives," said Michigan Community Service Commission Executive Director Ginna Holmes. "During challenging times, Michiganders have lifted each other up. Their collective heroism should inspire us all to make a difference."

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Friend of Youth

2022-23 Essay Contest Winner

by Sherry Regiani | Jun 13, 2023 | Essay

1st place, and a $2,500 scholarship: Brooke Lewis, age 16 from Zealand High School Holland Optimist Club

“Who is an Everyday Hero that Brings Out the Optimism in You?”

Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “Good leaders inspire people to have confidence in their leader. Great leaders inspire people to have confidence in themselves.” Linda Stone is a great leader. She was my physical therapist for five years, but she was a vast deal more than that. She changed the course of my life. She forever altered the way I perceived myself and my conduct toward other people. This is the story of how I became an optimist.

It all starts with a little girl with chocolate brown eyes and sparkly hearing aids, a silly smile, and a goofy wave. Bruises chronically colored the fabric of her skin. She fell numerous times daily, just walking around – so much that her kindergarten teacher said, “I’m afraid to hug her; she might fall.”

That was me. I was born with Enlarged Vestibular Aqueduct Syndrome – a rare genetic condition that hinders my ability to balance and gives me bilateral hearing loss. Incredibly timid and gentle, I was far behind other kids physically. All the things that someone else could do in a flash – jumping rope, roller skating, running – would be like climbing Mt. Kanchenjunga for me. I was vexed!

So my school day included physical therapy with Miss Linda. During our PT, Miss Linda would try to get me to stand on one foot or jump rope. I would grouse and say, “No, can’t do that” or “No thank you.” But unlike many of my teachers, Miss Linda never took no for an answer. I genuinely didn’t believe I could do it. .. until 4th grade when she made me prove it to myself.

Miss Linda challenged me to do something I found impossible: she challenged a girl who couldn’t walk without falling to ski.

When she first suggested it, my mom and I looked at her like she was having a cerebral hemorrhage: had she been here for the last few years? She had been teaching me how to put my hands out when I fell! Miss Linda persisted. She said to my mom, “Challenge Ski Association teaches kids with disabilities how to ski. If she knows that she can do this, she will know she can do anything.” My mom was convinced; I was not. Miss Linda told me the story of Amy Purdy, a Paralympic snowboarder. “If Amy Purdy can win an Olympic medal skiing with no legs, you can ski with a balance disorder.” Miss Linda believed in me before I believed in myself. Because of Miss Linda’s prodding, I decided to do the most unfathomable thing I could imagine. I lifted up my colossal, snow-encrusted skis and marched up that bunny slope. I face-planted as many times as humanly possible, yet I picked myself up. With smattering static sounds against my hearing aids, I put my feet french fry straight and coasted downhill, wind kissing my cheeks. Miss Linda is an everyday hero because in challenging me to do the impossible, she challenged me to become an optimist. I started to stare my trials in the face with an irretractable optimism. I began to believe that I could do anything. My physicians told me playing soccer past 5th grade was unrealistic and could result in deafness. I figured out how to play without heading the ball. I play elite club soccer. When dyslexia dismembered my reading, I practiced reading to anyone who would listen including my pets. I currently read at least three books a week.

I have applied what Miss Linda proved to me to my life. She knew I would. It will never be “I cannot.” It will be: “why not?!” Miss Linda’s lesson inspires my education as well. With dyslexia my coursework takes me longer. This year I took 5 AP classes. I’m an optimist; I’m not going to let my disabilities inform my abilities. I will learn as much as I want to. I will say yes to every volunteer opportunity that interests me, will try my hardest in every sport, and will live my life. Because why climb the highest mountain? “Not because it is easy but because it is hard.”(Kennedy, John). A great leader, an everyday hero, once inspired me to say “Why not?”. This story is for all the wide-eyed little kids wondering if it’s possible. “Live beyond limits.” (Purdy, Amy). The world gives you limits, you show it what you’re going to do with them.

Works Cited Kennedy, John F. “We chose to go to the Moon.” 12 Sep. 1962. Rice University Commencement, Houston Texas.

Purdy, Amy. “Living beyond limits.” November, 2011 TEDxOrangeCoast, Costa Mesa, California. www.ted.com. https ://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2QZM7 azGoA

Roosevelt, Eleanor. “A good leader inspires people to have confidence in the leader; a great leader inspires people to have confidence in themselves.” United Nations Foundation, New York, New York. https:/ /unfoundation.org/blog/post/10-inspiring-eleanor-roosevelt-quotes/

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Northwest Indigenous author’s new essay collection highlights her Coast Salish identity

The front cover of author Sasha taqʷšəblu LaPointe's book, Thunder Song. It’s a collection of essays examining the intersection of her Indigenous ancestry, Coast Salish history, queerdom and punk.

CounterPoint Press Publishing

Northwest author Sasha taqʷšəblu LaPointe’s newest book is called Thunder Song. It’s a collection of essays examining the intersection of her Indigenous ancestry, Coast Salish history, queerdom and punk.

OPB’s Paul Marshall spoke to LaPointe about the book. The following is a transcript of the conversation.

Paul Marshall: Your great-grandmother’s presence is evident throughout the book. She’s such a powerful figure while writing this book. Did you learn anything new about her?

Sasha LaPointe: She was such a huge part of my life. She helped in raising us and educating us on our Coast Salish culture. I constantly feel like I’m learning new things about her.

A friend of the family, who was one of her former language students, wrote a really beautiful book about her life called “ Where The Language Lives .” I was reading that shortly after the publication of “ Red Paint ” (LaPointe’s 2022 autobiography), and there were really interesting things about her younger life. I had no idea that she knew how to read tea leaves.

Throughout this book, I knew about the symphony “ The Healing Heart of the First People of This Land ” and how adamant she was in getting that completed. I already knew the basics of that, but digging into that story and talking to my mom a lot about it and just seeing how dedicated she was, reading the details and of course the documentary “ The Healing Heart of Lushootseed ,” I got to know more intimately what that meant to her. Her ambition, care and compassion. I learned more of the extent and the intensity of her commitment.

Marshall: In the book, your uncle asked the question, what kind of Indian are you? Has any part of your answer changed since writing this book?

LaPointe: No. In fact, that first Salmon Ceremony, it’s one of my favorite essays. It was one of my favorites to write.

There’s so much joy as a Native person and empowerment, this sense of pride in my identity and that took a long time to arrive at. It wasn’t until adulthood. It’s a hard thing to be proud of who you are and also in the face of settler colonial trauma. Being a survivor, sometimes it’s hard to really embrace that part of your identity.

Marshall: You start to find your footing in the punk space. But you know that you had to be punk first, then Native person second and you’ve touched on it. How did you reconcile your identity in the space?

LaPointe: It took a long time, to be honest. There are a lot of incredible things that I experienced, and the punk community was such an important part of my life. I think for any folks who are feeling misfit or a sense of displacement, we seek friends and family, we seek community, and the punk scene provided that for a while. I both love and have a massive critique of it. I think both can exist, but it was really hard.

As I continue to grow as a human and want to have these conversations about Indigenous issues. I over time started discovering that it wasn’t the right space or community to have these conversations.

I started to feel more lonely. I can’t talk to a white anarchist about settler colonial trauma to the extent that they’re really going to get where I’m coming from and see me as a person. I started having these ideas and really wanting to process them and work them out as an artist, a person, a weirdo in the punk scene and realizing there wasn’t a lot of opportunity for connection and to do that.

Going to the Institute of American Indian Arts really opened up my world. I can be in a room with other indigenous artists, writers, poets, painters, filmmakers and I feel less alone. I’m in a space where we can have these conversations back and forth.

I think that making those connections and meeting my Native art community made me realize just how othered and different I felt in some of those spaces.

Marshall: You’re a woman who comes from salmon people and there was even a point where you denied your salmon privilege. What helped to repair that relationship over time?

LaPointe: I really couldn’t shake that memory of my uncle. When he passed I felt an immense amount of grief — our family felt that loss.

I remember sitting in the driveway on that wintry, icy, snowy night and him dropping that massive king salmon in my arms and when I said, “Uncle I’m a vegetarian,” the look on his face. It’s one of those memories that is so concrete and stays with me. What kind of Indian are you? I couldn’t shake it.

That speaks to younger teenage Sasha and wanting to fit into these punk spaces in this community where everyone was vegan and everyone was an animal rights activist. But in doing that, I was denying this very, very deep part of myself.

It’s not simply about food. Food is nurturing, but salmon is a sacred resource. So much of our culture is built around the salmon returning. It’s just such a huge part of my Coast Salish identity that I can’t believe I spent years denying that simply to try to fit in.

When I thought about my uncle asking me that question, I’m like, “Wait a minute. As a Coast Salish woman, I’m not the problem. The overfished oceans are not because of Coast Salish people.” That was a long journey, a long learning lesson, to arrive at this place. “Why are you denying this sacred resource that’s part of your culture?” I will never deny myself salmon again. It is a gift that we have salmon returning that haven’t left us.

Marshall: You wrote “The first time I ever heard the term two-spirit. I felt a sense of relief wash over me.” Why? And where did that shame you felt growing up queer come from?

LaPointe: I want to start by saying two-spirit can mean different things. I know it’s been kind of adopted as this kind of pan-Indian identity, but it means different things depending on the tribe or the community.

The way that it was explained to me, I was young, my mom had just come back from a two-spirit gathering in Montana and she was telling me about it and sharing photos and all of a sudden I felt this massive relief. For me, growing up with a sense of pressure to have to decide: Are you queer? Are you straight? What are your relationships like? There was this shame built up around that.

When my mom approached me with two-spirit, explaining that a two-spirit person can have both a masculine and feminine spirit, all of a sudden, I felt this kind of relief wash over me where I felt understood.

Having partners throughout my life ask: “Are you gay? Are you straight? Are you bisexual?” None of these labels seem to fit. Falling in love with people based on their gender identity has never occurred to me. I felt really conflicted. Certain partners would be angry or confused by my identity as a queer woman and if I didn’t fit into the way that they wanted to see me, or their idea, it was a disappointment or this point of frustration or conflict.

For a long time that really just built up a lot of shame in me. It’s not an easy thing to want to fit into someone’s idea of who they want you to be. The idea of embracing myself instead of these two halves of me. It’s this kind of journey of loving yourself and accepting yourself and really celebrating yourself. As a queer Coast Salish woman, there is nothing wrong with me and I am allowed to embrace all of that and be proud of that.

Blaine Slingerland

Marshall: The relationship between you and your parents, it’s complicated as you describe it, they’re your heroes and you draw strength from them. But then you also see that there are ways where they’re dealing with their own issues. What helped you to understand that duality more over time?

LaPointe: There’s a point in most people’s lives where you realize that your parents are human. For me, it was this moment of incredible compassion and care for them. I think I spent a lot of my teen years being really angry and that wasn’t necessarily fair to them. When you stop and sort of reach this point of adulthood where you see your parents, not as either superheroes or supervillains in your life, you see them as just people who are also struggling. They were young Indigenous parents trying to make it with five kids living in a trailer. I was really angry and had a lot of unresolved anger and frustration towards them. Looking back now having this realization of how hard they were trying to make it work.

Even without having five kids and trying to make it work, it is a difficult thing to navigate this world as Indigenous people. They already had a lot on their plate and realizing that they did the best that they could.

Marshall: There was something in the earlier part of the book, you wrote all these white people on Pinterest are baking loaves of sourdough and I am trying to time travel. On one front it was funny but also a little tricky because that’s your history.

LaPointe: It’s interesting whenever I read that part of the essay the audience laughs. It is kind of sassy but also a very serious thing. That was deeply emotional and sad and lonely feeling. As a descendant of survivors of smallpox, The pandemic hit a little different for me. There was a sense of anxiety and sort of this generational trauma. This fear coded deep in my DNA to feel unsafe. The idea of losing our elders to this illness was terrifying to me.

I’m not gonna lie, the pandemic was hard for all of us. We have this kind of collective trauma in lockdown. It was a really strange and alienating thing for me to see people saying ‘I’m watching Great British Baking and baking tons of cakes. I’m looking around the reservation from my roof, terrified that the elder next door is going to pass. What does that mean for me as a Coast Salish person?

It is strange when people laugh, I’m also not mad at them for laughing, because it is a little snarky, but also it hits on such a deeper fear and a deeper sense of loss and fear of erasure. There is this split. It’s snarky but this is a little serious for me. You’re the only person who’s asked me about it in this way and I deeply appreciate it.

Marshall: You wrote that songs have the power to heal and can be medicine. The book title is Thunder Song. What does the title mean to you?

LaPointe: It comes from the title essay ‘Thunder Song’ which is sort of an homage to my great-grandmother. It’s a kind of a love letter to all that she did in her life and all that she was. Choosing to title the collection after that was important to me because in recognizing that 20 years ago, she had this vision.

She felt called to do this work to commission a symphony because she believed very deeply in our Coast Salish culture and our ways: the fact that our songs are medicine and she wanted to share that. It’s as true as it was 20 years ago as it is today, if not more.

I imagine if my great-grandmother was with us today, looking around the state of the world she would be deeply disturbed and concerned. Her whole goal with that symphony was to remind people to be kind to one another to take care of one another which is a very basic part of our Coast Salish ways of being.

She just wanted to share that. The issues in my book aren’t site-specific. They’re not simply Coast Salish problems. These are problems all over the world. Titling it “Thunder Song” was a way to honor her and to also say the world still needs this medicine.

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10 Senate Races to Watch in 2024

With Democrats holding a one-seat majority and defending seats from Maryland to Arizona, control of the Senate could easily flip to the G.O.P.

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By Jonathan Weisman

The fight for Senate control is playing out almost entirely in Democratically held seats this year as President Biden’s party defends a slim 51-49 seat majority.

The retirement of Senator Joe Manchin III, a Democrat, in deep-red West Virginia has all but ceded one seat to the Republicans, who are targeting a number of vulnerable Democratic incumbents in red or swing states. And if former President Donald J. Trump wins the White House, one seat is all the G.O.P. needs to flip the chamber. Should the Senate come down to a 50-50 split, the vice president plays tiebreaker.

For Democrats to hold the Senate, the party would most likely need all their incumbents to win; for their candidates to prevail in open seats in Arizona, Michigan and Maryland; and for Mr. Biden to be re-elected so Vice President Kamala Harris would play the tiebreaker in an evenly split chamber. The party is targeting two Republican-held seats, but those are considered more difficult terrain.

Here are the Senate races to watch in 2024.

Montana: Farmer vs. former Navy SEAL

Senator Jon Tester, the flat-topped farmer from Big Sandy, Mont., has defied the odds before in his increasingly Republican state, but his Senate victories in 2006, 2012 and 2018 all came in strong Democratic years nationally. His fight for a fourth term will be considerably tougher with Mr. Biden at the top of the ticket in a state that Mr. Trump won by 16 percentage points in 2020. And Mr. Tester will most likely be battling the Republican Party’s selected candidate, Tim Sheehy, a decorated former Navy SEAL and businessman with the wealth to self-finance his campaign, as well as Mr. Trump’s backing.

Mr. Tester has the power of incumbency, and the authenticity of a third-generation Montanan. In 2012, President Barack Obama received 41.7 percent of the vote. Mr. Tester earned 48.6 percent. He may need even more ticket-splitters — people who will vote for Mr. Trump for president and him for Senate — this November.

Cook Political Report rating: A toss-up

Ohio: Sherrod Brown faces the fight of his political life

Besides Mr. Tester, Senator Sherrod Brown is the only other Democrat defending a seat in a solidly Republican state. He too has had the advantage of winning in strong Democratic years — 2006, 2012 and 2018 — and like Mr. Tester, he has established an image as a stalwart supporter of the working-class voters who will decide the election. As a powerful member of the Senate — he is the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee — Mr. Brown has amassed a considerable war chest for his re-election campaign.

Unlike Mr. Tester, he will be running against a Republican who was not the Ohio G.O.P. establishment’s choice. Bernie Moreno, instead, was the candidate of Mr. Trump. The Republican’s sizable fortune will seed fund-raising and undergird his campaign against the incumbent, but Democrats boosted Mr. Moreno’s candidacy during the primary because they believe his business background will make him vulnerable to attack.

Arizona: Kari Lake, a prominent election denier, tries again

The retirement of Senator Kyrsten Sinema, the Democrat-turned-independent iconoclast, has set up a stark Senate race between Representative Ruben Gallego, a progressive, and Kari Lake, a former television news anchor and a favorite of Mr. Trump’s Make America Great Again movement who lost her race for governor in 2022. The primary in Arizona is July 30, but Mr. Gallego and Ms. Lake have established themselves as the odds-on favorites to represent their parties in the open Senate contest.

President Biden narrowly won Arizona in 2020, and unlike Ohio and Montana, the state promises to be a presidential battleground, potentially warping the Senate race. Ms. Lake made a name for herself by falsely claiming that Democrats stole the Arizona election for Mr. Biden in 2020, then falsely claiming that her Democratic opponent in the governor’s race, Katie Hobbs, stole her election. Mr. Gallego is less well-known outside of his Phoenix House district, but as a Latino with a Harvard pedigree and combat experience in Iraq with the Marine Corps, he has a compelling biography.

Michigan: Trump looms large

The full range of Republican Party factions will fight it out for the right to contend for the Senate seat of Senator Debbie Stabenow, a Democrat who is retiring. There’s Peter Meijer, who voted to impeach Mr. Trump just after being sworn into the House, then lost in the 2022 Republican primary to a Trump-backed challenger. Mr. Meijer has now said he will vote for Mr. Trump in November. There’s Justin Amash, the libertarian-minded former congressman who denounced Mr. Trump, faced a fierce backlash that chased him from his party, tried to run for his House seat as an independent, lost and is now running for the Senate again as an anti-Trump Republican. Then there’s Mike Rogers, the mainstream Republican who said the party needed to move on from Mr. Trump, then wooed and won Mr. Trump’s endorsement for Senate and embraced him.

Mr. Rogers has to be considered the favorite in the Aug. 6 primary, but past and present views of the former president will loom over this race all summer. The primary winner will almost certainly face Representative Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat who has used her national security credentials to win over swing voters in Central Michigan since 2018. Her trick will be to keep those centrist voters and energize more liberal voters in and around Detroit. And looming above it all is the presidential contest.

Cook Political Report rating: Leaning toward Democrats

Nevada: Low-key incumbent vs. political newcomer

In recent years, Nevada Democrats have profited off Republican voters’ penchant for nominating candidates from the G.O.P.’s extremes, but this year, party leaders are rallying around Sam Brown, a political neophyte with an extraordinary story. The West Point graduate nearly died in Kandahar, Afghanistan, when a roadside bomb burned him badly and left him permanently scarred. His thin political résumé could be a plus, since it will make him difficult to label.

Senator Jacky Rosen, the incumbent Democrat, isn’t flashy, but the power of incumbency matters, unless Mr. Biden’s support in the state craters.

Wisconsin: A wealthy Republican candidate faces questions over his ties to the state

Senator Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat, has been a low-key fixture in Wisconsin politics since her election to the State Assembly in 1992. With her comes little drama, but Wisconsin, a state that just re-elected its famously quiet governor, Tony Evers, in 2022, seems to like Democrats who speak softly.

Republicans have recruited Eric Hovde, a banker and businessman who, if nothing else, can finance his own campaign. But his connections to Southern California in a state full of Badger pride have helped keep this race leaning toward the incumbent.

Pennsylvania: David McCormick tries again

The Keystone State may be a key battleground in the presidential election this year, but Senator Bob Casey, the Democratic incumbent, is an institution. His expected Republican opponent is David McCormick, the former chief executive of Bridgewater Associates, one of the largest hedge funds in the world. Mr. McCormick lost the Republican Senate primary in 2022 to Mehmet Oz, and the lines of attack honed two years ago on his wealth and his mansion in Connecticut are sure to be recycled.

Maryland: Larry Hogan makes things interesting

Reliably blue Maryland should not be in play, but Larry Hogan, the moderate former Republican governor, has decided to run for the Senate seat of Ben Cardin, the retiring Democrat, making the race one to watch.

Democrats had figured they could count on the three-term Representative David Trone , the wealthy founder of Total Wine & More, a large retailer of wine and spirits. Then Mr. Trone used a racial slur at a House hearing, for which he has apologized and said was inadvertent. But several Black Democrats endorsed Angela Alsobrooks, the Prince George’s County executive, ahead of the May 14 primary, as did Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the powerful House Oversight Committee.

Cook Political Report rating: Likely Democratic

Texas and Florida: Democrats try to flip seats in reliably red states

Democrats have only two races to play offense in: Senator Ted Cruz’s campaign in Texas and Senator Rick Scott’s in Florida. Both men have never been personally popular in their states, but those states have been reliably Republican of late. Democrats like their candidates, Representative Colin Allred in Texas and former Representative Debbie Mucarsel-Powell in Florida, but it would most likely take severe erosion of Mr. Trump’s support to put those Senate seats in play.

Cook Political Report ratings: Likely Republican

Bonus races to watch: Long shots

Utah is nobody’s idea of a swing state, and the retirement of Senator Mitt Romney at the end of his term has drawn in nearly a dozen Republicans ahead of the June 25 primary, including Representative John Curtis; Brent Orrin Hatch, the son of Senator Orrin G. Hatch ; and Brad Wilson, the former speaker of the State House. But one Democrat made waves with a unique announcement video : Caroline Gleich, a professional ski mountaineer.

Nebraska is almost as red as Utah, with an incumbent Republican, Deb Fischer, running for re-election. Her main opponent is not a Democrat but an independent, Dan Osborn, who led a strike at the Kellogg’s plant in Omaha in 2021 and is testing whether his pro-labor, working-class message can resonate at a time when the union movement is resurgent.

Cook Political Report ratings: Solidly Republican

Jonathan Weisman is a politics writer, covering campaigns with an emphasis on economic and labor policy. He is based in Chicago. More about Jonathan Weisman

Our Coverage of the 2024 Election

Presidential Race

The start of Donald Trump’s criminal trial in Manhattan  drew intense security, smothering media coverage and loud demonstrations to a dingy courthouse that will be the unlikely center of American politics for the next six weeks.

President Biden will kick off a three-day tour of Pennsylvania , a crucial battleground state, with a speech that focuses on taxes and aims to contrast his policies with those of Trump.

Trump leaned heavily on major Republican donors  in March as he sought to close the financial gap separating him from Biden, new federal filings showed.

Vice-Presidential Calculations: As Trump sifts through potential running mates, he has peppered some advisers and associates with a direct question: Which Republican could best help him raise money ?

Embracing the Jan. 6 Rioters:  Trump initially disavowed the attack on the Capitol, but he is now making it a centerpiece of his campaign .

Mobilizing the Left: Amid the war in Gaza, the pro-Palestinian movement has grown into a powerful, if disjointed, political force in the United States. Democrats are feeling the pressure .

On a Collision Course:  As president, Trump never trusted the intelligence community. His antipathy has only grown since he left office, with potentially serious implications should he return to power .