Tara Evonne Trudell reflects on the last time she saw her stepmother, Tina Manning Trudell, and her siblings, Ricarda, Sunshine, and baby Eli. She shares photographs taken by her mother, Lou Trudell while at her first Sun Dance in the summer of ‘78. The blended family consisted of six children and an incredible amount of love and guidance from Tina as she prepared Tara for her life-affirming ceremony on her indigenous path of being in this world.

Six months later, on February 12, 1979, Tina and her siblings, all vanished in a fire that tragically not only claimed their lives but set Tara on a lifelong struggle to survive this devastating loss.

For 42 years Tara has dreaded this time of year but decided this year, dealing with her health issues in her lungs, which represents grief, she needed to uplift her own physical and spiritual healing by taking her memories and sharing them here today, February 12, 2021.

In this way, she strives to honor and celebrate them as the true ancestors they are to be represented in all she continues to seek in reclaiming her purpose to better serve humanity and earth as Tina prepared her to do so long ago.

In this virtual remembrance exhibit, Tara continues to honor her connection with Tina and her siblings with an intimate collection of photography, poetry, video, audio soundscapes, handmade prayer beads, and a remake of her dad’s (John Trudell) poem and song, Tina Smiled.