Elaneya

The Voice of the Earth

North America

 

I am Elaneya!

My name means 'she who carries the morning light'. I was born in the western USA, into a family with indigenous roots. As a child, I quickly learned to listen. Not just to people, but also to what is there, without words. My grandfather believed it was important not to own things, but to respect them. Especially animals. Horses were among them. I rode them long before I understood everything I was told.

At the age of seven, I came to Germany. My mother had found work here. We moved to a small village in the Black Forest. The landscape was different, denser, quieter. But the connection to nature was not unfamiliar to me. It was just expressed differently. Different forests, different animals, different rhythms. What I knew from home was not easily found here, but it was not entirely lost either.

At school, I was silent at first. I didn't speak the language, I didn't know the rules. I observed, imitated, made mistakes. A lot remained the same at home. The way we interacted with nature, with animals, with what is passed down. Outside, I learned to fit in without giving everything up.

A riding stable nearby became my fixed point. The work there was simple and clear. Horses don't react to origin or language. They react to how you behave. I knew that. There I found something familiar again, even though everything around me was different.

Today I am 24 and still live in the Black Forest. Two landscapes have shaped me. They are different, but they are not mutually exclusive.

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The image combines indigenous heritage with elements of the Black Forest through clear, symbolic details. The geometric tattoos pick up traditional patterns and stand for belonging and identity. The feathers refer to a connection with nature and spiritual significance. The red pompoms set a conscious accent and quote a central element of the Black Forest traditional costume. The floral embroideries complement this connection and bring both cultures together in a calm, precise form.

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