phati'tude Literary Magazine Vol. 1, No. 2 by The IAAS

Gabrielle David Editor

Regie Cabico Tony Medina Guest Editors

Lorraine Miller

Vo l . No. 1 / N o . 2 n Summer 2 0 0 1

Illustrations/Art Design

a publication of The Intercultural Alliance of Artists & Scholars, Inc. a New York not-for-profit organization

Board of Directors Gabrielle David, Chair Salvatore J. Vitiello, Secretary Murray R. Markowitz, Treasurer Geary Hobson Shirley Bradley LeFlore Richard L. Russell

FEATURES

Interviews: Two insightful interviews with Simon J. Ortiz and Joy Harjo, who share their thoughts on Native culture & literature.

Reviewer’s Corner: Featuring books on Native literature & culture written by Native & non-Native writers.

phati’tude Literary Magazine is published quarterly (Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall), ISSN: 1091-1480; ISBN: 145371992X; EAN-13 9781453719923. Copyright © 2001 and 2010 by The Intercultural Alliance of Artists & Scholars, Inc. (IAAS). All rights reserved. First publication under Chimeara Communications, Inc. 1997. Printed and bound in the U.S.A. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical without permission in writing from the Publisher. The views expressed by authors do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors of phati’tude Literary Magazine, the Board of Directors of the IAAS, donors or sponsors. Single issue: US$18; Annual subscriptions: US$65; Int’l-Canadian: US$75; Institutional US$110. We offer special discounts for classes and groups. The Publisher cannot guarantee delivery unless notification of change of address is received. Visit our website at www.phatitude.org. Manuscripts with SASE, letters to the editor and all other correspondence to phati’tude Literary Magazine, P.O. Box 4378, Grand Central Station, New York, NY 10163-4378; or email editor@phatitude.org. Cover Art: Sam English (see p. 158).

Contents DEPARTMENTS

Editor’s Note .......................................................................................... 6 Reviewer's Corner .............................................................................. 10 Contributors Section ....................................................................... 152

ARTICLES/ESSAYS Geary Hobson/Joseph Bruchac Tributes to E.K Caldwell & Carroll Arnett/Gogisgi ........................ 32 Carol Snow Moon Bachofner Whose Voice Is Singing? ................................................................. 111 Kimberly M. Blaeser A Storied Identity ............................................................................... 35 Beth Brant/Degonwadonti To Be or Not To Be Has Never Been the Question ...................... 96 Deborah A. Miranda What’s Wrong With A Little Fantasy? ............................................. 69 Liz Pinto Keeping Tradition Alive .................................................................... 132 James Ruppert Listen for Sounds: An Introduction to Alaska Native Poets Nora Marks Dauenhauer, Fred Bigjim, and Robert Davis ........ 121 Norma C. Wilson Leslie Silko’s Novels as Acts of Resistance ............................... 127 PROSE

POETRY

Charles Brashear Hiss-Til-Toyoo ........................................................................................ 41 Jesse Bruchac How Our Land Was Made (as told in Abenaki) .............................. 51 Carter Revard/Nompewathe Family Reunion .................................................................................... 80 Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm Twelve Moons ..................................................................................... 65 Jesse N. Alexander Pictures came out: Afrikan street festival .................................. 140 Minerva Allen The Last Battle ................................................................................... 90 Native Ancestor .................................................................................. 90 M. Cochise Anderson Burning Youth ...................................................................................... 66 Annette Arkeketa hoe-pue-take yv-hi-kv-kvs ................................................................ 53 C.D.I.B. (Indian Rap Song) .............................................................. 104 Carroll Arnett/Gogisgi Shortbread: Foreskin, Wasn’ts, Bombs, Water, Fingers ............ 67

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Carol Snow Moon Bachofner Skin Talk, Skins, Breath On Lake Okanagan, Hair, Bones ......... 59 Charles Ballard Goodbye to Calico ............................................................................ 107 Juanita C. Barnes-Bourguillon First Years of Fear ........................................................................... 102 Diane E. Benson Kind of Like Wishing ........................................................................... 87 Bernie Bernstein Brave’s New World .......................................................................... 135 Gloria Bird What We Owe ...................................................................................... 79 Chris Brandt A Quiddity For a Refugee ................................................................ 139 Jeane C. Breinig Fisherman’s Daughter ...................................................................... 95 Vee Browne Whisper Soft, Indian Summer Wind ............................................. 114 Joseph Bruchac Remembering Elms ............................................................................. 57 Regie Cabico Pocahantas Grants An Interview With Rolling Stone ................ 126 E. K. Caldwell Elements .............................................................................................. 63 Derek J. Cannon Round One ........................................................................................... 66 Heading for Home ............................................................................ 101 Don Mee Che A Maid-girl .......................................................................................... 147 Bellflower ........................................................................................... 147 James E. Cherry Blackman on Trial ............................................................................. 144 Rosa Lynette Clipper-Fleming The Game ........................................................................................... 133 Allison Hedge Coke A White Lady Speaks ....................................................................... 106 Jim DeWitt Storm Trooper of the Judicial System .......................................... 148 Marilyn Dumont The Devil’s Language ........................................................................ 55 Anita Dupris Spider Woman .................................................................................... 40 Jimmie Durham A Cherokee Language Lesson ......................................................... 54 Columbus Day ..................................................................................... 34

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Jack D. Forbes When America Was a Brown Woman ............................................. 77 Holding On ........................................................................................... 88 Eric Gansworth Mystic Powers ................................................................................... 103 Robert Franklin Gish Montaña de Oro .................................................................................. 62 Frederick J. Goodall Aunt Shirley and Cleopatra Jones ................................................. 149 Janice Gould We Exist ................................................................................................. 17 History Lesson ..................................................................................... 74 Linda LeGarde Grover The Refugees .................................................................................... 100 Maja Guerrero “The Real Woman, ‘Malinche’” ........................................................ 92 Joy Harjo Promise of Blue Horses .................................................................... 59 Barbara-Helen Hill White Snake Coils — A Prophecy ................................................... 105 Geary Hobson A Hunting Story .................................................................................... 47 Ruth Hopkins The Chosen Ones ............................................................................. 112 Maurice Kenny Ars Poetica ......................................................................................... 110 David Kherdian Letters to My Father ....................................................................... 148 Pamela Green LaBarge The Web and the Wasteland ............................................................ 58 Reginald Lockett Baby, Let Me Read Your Book ....................................................... 142 Tom Loftus Stress Free Living at its Finest ...................................................... 150 Out on the Sidewalk ........................................................................ 150 Victoria Manyarrows Monochrome Indian ........................................................................... 93 Cultural Survival ............................................................................... 113 Joseph R. McGeshick The Indian in the Liquor Cabinet ..................................................... 93 Jesús Papoleto Meléndez The Disfiguring of Sacred Land ..................................................... 136 Tony Medina Harlem to Havana ............................................................................ 142 Tiffany Midge Sweetheart .......................................................................................... 62

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Deborah A. Miranda Written On the Bark of Trees ........................................................... 56 Margo Norman Sum Folks Is Classy — Ise Not ...................................................... 150 Simon J. Ortiz/Hidritsih Like myself the source of this narrative ........................................ 39 Telling About Coyote ........................................................................... 91 L. Patty Philips Looking Toward Tres Castillos .......................................................... 79 Freddie Came Home ........................................................................ 109 Richard P. Quatrone Asking the Big Question .................................................................. 138 Louis Reyes Rivera brethren not afraid .......................................................................... 116 staid/alive .......................................................................................... 117 Lola Rodríguez CAFÉ CON SANGRE: Revisiting The Past, Una Lección de Historia Hispánica ............................................... 125 Richard Rosenberg Iron in the Garden (an excerpt) ..................................................... 145 Armand Garnet Ruffo At Geronimo’s Grave ......................................................................... 68 G. Anna Sanchez/Ohoyo Ishkitini radiation winds .................................................................................... 61 Ilka Scobie Life After Death for Biggie Smalls ................................................. 151 for Louie, In memory of Louis Cartwright .................................... 151 Bob Slaymaker Marrying into the World ................................................................... 137 Georgiana Valoyce-Sanchez The Fox Paw and Coyote Blessing ................................................... 49 Toy-Ling Washington The Ties That Bind ............................................................................ 134 Gail Moran Wawrzyniak Bottled Voices and Silences ............................................................. 94 Bayla Winters Santa Evita at the Bijou .................................................................. 146 William Woodruff The Outsider ...................................................................................... 143 Emanuel Xavier Tradiciónes ......................................................................................... 131 William S. Yellow Robe, Jr. Between the 8th and 9th Moon .................................................... 108 The Homestead ................................................................................ 108 Nancy C. Zak I Am the Voice ................................................................................... 102

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Editor’s

Gabrielle David

Note

urprise! phati'tude is back and it has a new home! And you, our supporters, contributors and subscribers, have not been forgotten! Due to financial problems as well as family commitments, I was unable to pursue phati'tude. Then in 2000, the magazine piqued the interest of a small group of attorneys and business people I work with, who eventually took this project on as "pro bono" matter and helped redevelop phati'tude as a not-for-profit entity. That, coupled with a few close colleagues who consistently nagged and reminded me of the importance of phati'tude and what it represents, I am pleased to announce that phati'tude was reorganized under the umbrella of The Intercultural Alliance of Artists and Scholars, Inc. (the "IAAS"), a not-for-profit New York-based organization. The organization's primary objective is to unite artists and scholars to raise awareness of multiculturalism among the general public by:

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teaching the public to read and appreciate multicultural works; introducing the public to multicultural works; and ensuring that more multicultural works will be written and published in the future.

I must admit, that after being out-of-the-loop for several years there was, of course, fear that phati'tude was past its prime. However, in this day and age, and in light of recent current events, I believe that cultural tolerance is even more important than ever before. While there are those who often misinterpret multiculturalism to solely represent the "minority" and immigrant population, I never believed multiculturalism to be solely a brown versus white issue; rather it is myriad ethnic groups, social classes, genders, sexual orientations, immigrant status, time periods and political beliefs that reflect the emotional highs and lows associated with living in such a diverse country as America. Thus, the premise of phati'tude remains the same: to continually represent artists/poets/writers on the cutting edge of the multicultural revolution, beyond mainstream marginalization. In addition to phati'tude, which will be published quarterly, the IAAS intends to develop phati’tude’s monthly counterpart, phati'tude Online, and expect its debut by year's end. We also plan to develop the IAAS's website into something special – a place where artists and scholars can meet to exchange ideas and develop literary programs across the country. We have also established under the IAAS a small publishing house, 2Leaf Press. Certainly, as these and other projects develop, I will keep you informed. While phati'tude's flame flickers once again, it is important that I acknowledge some of the many people who have helped – past and present – to get the magazine off the ground. Special thanks to: Regie Cabico, Tony Medina, Sonia Sanchez, Steve Cannon, Andrew Jackson, Linda Bannerman-Martin, and many others too numerous to mention, for initially helping out when phati’tude first appeared on the scene. Special thanks goes to Shirley Bradley LeFlore for pushing me; Sal Vitiello for re-inspiring me and resurrecting this project; the IAAS Board for their commitment and support; Pamela Bruzesse and Rose Auslander for their extraordinary care and attention to the IAAS’s corporate structure and intellectual property issues; Jerine Watson for superb on-the-spot copy editing, and coworkers Dallas Logan, Fred Mazelis, Carla Sheinkopf and Albert Valentin who, at my insistence, critiqued many aspects of this project. I would also like to thank my family and in particular, my mom, whose eternal spirit provides me daily strength and support. Most importantly, I want to thank you – the contributors and subscribers – for your patience, kind words and for having faith in phati’tude and not giving up hope. Now that the dust has cleared, I hope that I can now finally live up to the task at hand, which is to publish works of significant merit crafted by writers from a broad range of styles and experiences. Our pledge is to labor diligently to select and promote works of significant merit crafted by writers from a broad range of styles and experiences.

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Below is my original “Editor’s Note,” which was written upon the completion of Indian Summer, back in 1997. What is amazing to me, that even now, the work presented in this issue remains classic and is timeless. As you flip through these pages, I hope will agree that the voices contained herein are an important part of our American literature and cultural landscape.

à à à

s I have read books devoted to "American Literature,” in anthologies where hundreds of writers are cited as "American" writers, I have often pondered what the term "American Literature" means. Too few of these "American" collections include ethnic-minority writers. I believe that the term "American Literature" should not be limited to one solitary voice – those Americans of European descent – rather, it should encompass the "voice" of all Americans, in particular, those of indigenous and ethnic-minorities. Going beyond this ethnocentrism and presenting writers from the multicultural spectrum of America is the primary goal of phati'tude. From time to time, phati'tude will devote an issue to highlight writers from a segment of that cultural spectrum. As the first of these special issues, I thought it only appropriate that we first focus on Native Americans who, after all, are the first creative people of America. And in order for this issue to be successful, it was important to present an honest and accurate overview of Native literature and its key components, namely: history, ceremony and song, storytelling and insight into Native authorship. Too often, our understanding of the history and culture of Native Americans has been distorted by unsympathetic, culturally-biased and inaccurate characterizations. As editor, I believe that it is my responsibility to present to the general public and fellow writers an issue that circumvents stereotypical ideas, gives insight to Native people, and sheds light on what it means to be "Indian" in today's modern world. An issue of this nature would offer readers a well-rounded, thought-provoking examination of Native culture and literature. Thus, the birth of Indian Summer. With that goal in mind, I began the long journey of finding Native writers. I was afraid that it would not be an easy task because I personally knew so few Native writers. Two months later, after making numerous telephone calls and mailing out dozens of letters, I still did not have an ample amount of Native writers for Indian Summer, and dropping the theme concept became

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inevitable. As I was quickly approaching the deadline, I went to my local bookstore, bought a shopping bag full of books on Native American literature and a number of anthologies, wrote to some of the individuals listed in the credits of those books and held my breath. Four days later, I began receiving telephone calls and mail. One of the first persons I heard from was Geary Hobson, who happened to be a member of Native Writers’ Circle of the Americas, and he turned me onto its membership. In five short days, I received a deluge of submissions. I've been in Indian heaven ever since! My new problem was how to begin the process of selecting pieces from the many excellent submissions I received. While the intent of special theme issues such as Indian Summer was to devote only a portion of the magazine to that theme, the overwhelming response and fine works received from Native people across the continent caused me to double the initial number of pages devoted to Native works. There were so many good submissions, I simply did not have the space to publish all of the works and was faced with the difficult decision to pick and choose. As a result, many of these works will be seen in future issues of phati'tude. My next problem was to frame the written works in appropriate artwork. Rather than using stereotypical images of horse-mounted warriors wearing war bonnets, or using designs that represent a particular tribe, I used the petroglyphs or symbolic characters that were universally used by Natives many centuries ago to tell the stories of their people and culture. The cover, painted by Chippewa artist Sam English of New Mexico (see p. 148), features the Coyote – a character that figures in virtually all Native American cultures. Known as the "Trickster,” the coyote can take on both human and animal form. Depending on tribal custom, the Trickster may appear as raven, hare, wolverine or even as spider, but its more frequent guise is as the Coyote. I am thrilled with Sam's choice of subject because the ubiquity of the coyote among tribes paired with its different manifestations reflects so well the differences and similarities that characterize the writings in this issue. I was then faced with the question of how to handle submissions received from non-Natives. Members of the Native community expressed to me their varied political viewpoints regarding nonNative experts of Native culture. That, together with the emergence of well-respected Native critics and my belief that it is important that the Na-

tives should speak for themselves led me to the decision that Native-written works would be kept in a unified section. At the same time, I felt it equally important to publish some of the many tributes submitted by non-Natives – after all, the essence of phati'tude is about establishing a cross-cultural connection – therefore these works have been included in a separate section. Within these pages you will find work by some of the most widely read and respected Native writers as well as emerging writers on the scene, each pushing American art and literature into new directions. Together, these authors constitute a powerful force on the American literature tradition. Beginning with Janice Gould's prolific "We Exist,” Indian Summer unfolds to tell the stories of Native life, moving on to interviews with Simon Ortiz and Joy Harjo which set the stage for the poems and essays that follow and finishing with Vee Browne's "Whisper Soft, Indian Summer Wind." This collection of writings includes works from some of the major tribes across the continent – the Eastern Woodlands, the Southeast, the Great Plains, the Southwest, California, the Northwest Coast and the Far North (Alaska and Canada). Throughout Indian Summer there pulsates a common kinship and mutual concern about the energy of nature, the act of dispossession, the power and poignancy of everyday life, songs of suffering, ascent from the ashes of battle, death and despair, the celebration of being, to the soul's search for the great mystery - themes which have been shaped and reshaped for thousands of years. And I think you will agree that the juxtaposition of Native writers expressing Native thoughts in a language that has been forced upon them ever since the incursion of the first European colonists is quite striking. As the first theme issue of phati'tude, I believe that Indian Summer contains an outstanding volume of work written by important writers of our day. In my research and in my conversations with the writers published within, I have come to realize that the publication of Native literature is somewhat scarce, despite the occasional publication by major publishing houses of Native books and anthologies. Native writers rely upon a limited number of publishing resources, including the Native-owned Akwesasne Notes, The Greenfield Review Press, Wicazo Sa Review, Four Directions, Wordtrails, and such University presses in Arizona, Nebraska, New Mexico and Oklahoma. As I have told many of our Native contributors, Native writers and artists do not "disappear" from

the pages of phati'tude after this issue. We do not take lightly the fact that phati'tude offers writers from every cultural background the opportunity to publish when such opportunities are sometimes hard to come by. Indian Summer was not produced as a token effort – I believe these poets are a very important part of American literature and their voices should be heard and celebrated by the larger culture. Given the growing acceptance of Native culture and literature as a legitimate field, and the influx of Native writers on the scene, I sincerely hope that by example of phati'tude, literary journals and publishers alike will seek Native writers for inclusion with the same rigor as they do for nonNative writers in all literary projects. Towards that end, phati'tude will continuously strive to publish the works of Native writers. The heartfelt support and thanks I have received has reinforced my belief that phati'tude fills a void by offering a forum where writers can meet and exchange literary ideas and viewpoints. It is our editorial objective to get the word out not only on a particular culture, but to learn about each other's culture through literature. Working on this issue has opened a doorway to a wonderful group of people whose good works I am committed to showcase and publish in future issues of phati'tude. Pulling together this body of work was as fascinating as it has been challenging. I found myself questioning the accessibility of Native culture; the perceptions and stereotypes we all have of Native people; the validity of so-called non-Native experts who inject their own Euro-values in their assessment of an indigenous people and their culture; and my own family ties to Native tribes, both in North and South America. Most importantly, friendships have been forged during the production of Indian Summer, which I hope will last for years to come. This issue would have been impossible without the help of Geary Hobson and Carter Revard who not only helped get the word out, but also guided me through the journey. I'd also like to thank Joy Harjo taking time from her hectic schedule to grant an interview, and for Simon Ortiz' many talks about Native culture, customs and Third World issues. I would also like to thank Juanita Espinosa from the Native Arts Circle in Minnesota, whose guidance initially laid the groundwork for my search of Native writers. Finally, many people have asked why this issue is called Indian Summer, a commonly used phrase which describes a "warm autumn." Some

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thought the title to be pejorative because the misperception of Native people in this country is a stinging reality. To the contrary, summertime is the season when many tribes celebrate cultural renewal and it is in that spirit that the Indian Summer issue was conceived. I think once you review the fine works in this issue, you'll agree that this is, in fact, a wonderful Indian Summer.

à à à In the midst of reorganizing phati’tude, when I contacted Geary Hobson to invite him to join the Board of the IAAS, a wonderful opportunity

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presented itself to get Indian Summer published in time for the Native Writers’ Circle of the Americas, and Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers’ tenth festival of Returning The Gift this October in Oklahoma. As I put the finishing touches on the magazine to send it to press, all I can think about is how fitting it is to present in-person this debut issue of phati’tude to Native writers who are, in fact, our first and true Americans. For me, this is such an honored privilege. Everything is as it should be. Stay tune for more!

Reviewer’s Cor ner Native American Literature Native American literature existed years before the Europeans began to write of their experiences in North America. The first works of Native people were the songs, stories and ritual dramas that were passed on orally to communicate a tribe’s cultural beliefs from generation to generation. Today’s Native authors blend the past and present in their works by incorporating traditional oral literature into accounts of contemporary life. The following are books written and/or edited by both Native and non-Natives writers, which provide an ample introduction to Native American literature and culture. (G. David, ed.)

REFERENCE BOOKS Indians of North America; Literatures of the American Indian by A. LaVonne Brown Ruoff Frank W. Porter, II, General Editor (Chelsea Hse Pub. 1991, ISBN 079103701) art of the “Indians of North America” series for young adult readers, this volume is an introduction to Native American literature. It examines Native oral traditions before European contact, up to the works of contemporary Native writers. Clearly written and accessible, this 108 pp. volume, illustrated with black and white photos, paintings and maps, gives the reader immediate and informative insight on Native culture. A. LaVonne Brown Ruoff, a non-Native, is Professor Emerita of English at the University of Illinois, Chicago, is editor of S. Alice Callahan's Wynema: A Child of the Forest, coauthor of Life, Letters and Speeches (1997), and contributing editor of The Chippewa Landscape of Louise Erdrich (edited by Allan Chavkin, 2000).

Handbook of Native American Literature edited by Andrew Wiget (Garland Pub. Inc. 1994/1996 ISBN 081532586X)

andbook of Native American Literature chronicles the history and vast diversity of Native literature. In this pathbreaking 600 pp. volume, editor Wiget meets the challenge by bringing together an extensive collection of essays that present historical elements of the oral tradition. Included are articles on Native policy, which provide the reader with concise background material essential to fully understanding and appreciating Na-

tive authorship. Wiget also intertwines biographical essays on various Native writers in a framework that creates a unique perspective on Native American literature and its authors. Divided into three sections, each opens with introductory essays by Wiget, A. LaVonne Brown Ruoff, and Joseph Bruchac. The first section, Native American Oral Literatures, opens with Wiget’s “Native American Oral Literature: A Critical Orientation.” The second section, The Historical Emergence of Native American Writing leads with Ruoff’s essay “Native American Writing: Beginnings to 1967.” Biographical treatments of some of the first known Native writers include: Black Elk, George Copway, Charles Alexander Eastman, D’arcy McNickle and Samson Occom. The final section, A Native American Renaissance: 1967 to the Present, begins with Native author Bruchac (Abenaki) and his powerful essay “Contemporary Native American Writing: An Overview,” which candidly confronts the problems that Native writers have faced publishing their works. Biographical treatments of contemporary Native writers such as Paula Gunn Allen, Elizabeth CookLynn, Vine Deloria, Maurice Kenny, N. Scott Momaday, Simon Ortiz, Carter Revard and Joy Harjo follow. Overall, readers will find Handbook a useful source and a means to opening critical discussion for teachers, students and writers alike. Andrew Wiget, a non-Native, is an English professor at New Mexico State University. He is the author of numerous critical essays and several books, including the Dictionary of Native American Literature (1995).

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ANTHOLOGIES American Indian Poetry, An Anthology of Songs and Chants edited by George W. Cronyn; foreword by Kenneth Lincoln introduction by Mary Austin (Ballantine Bks 1918, 1962, ISBN 0449906701) irst published in 1918 and one of the first works to examine in-depth the historical sources of Native American literature, American Indian Poetry, has remained a mainstay of American literature. Filled with pieces collected from Native people in their own languages and translated by leading scholars and poets of the day, it was one of the first books to recognize oral verse as an essential, vibrant part of American literature. Here, readers will find a window to the past, as well as a new perspective for understanding present day Native authorship. Kenneth Lincoln (a non-Native, adopted into the Oglala Sioux), is an English professor at University California. He is the author of Native American Renaissance, Indi’n Humor: Bicultural Plays in Native American, and Men Down West.

Harper’s Anthology of 20th Century American Indian Poetry edited by Duane Niatum (Harper San Francisco 1988, ISBN 0062506668) arper’s Anthology presents the best thirtysix premiere Native American poets of the day, including James Welch, N. Scott Momaday, Louise Erdrich, Ray Young Bear, Linda Hogan, Paula Gunn Allen, Steve Crow, Joy Harjo, Gladys Cardiff and Elizabeth Cook-Lynn. From 1973-74, Niatum was the editor of the Native American authors series at Harper & Row. In 1975 he served as the editor of the anthology, Carriers of the Dream Wheel, also published by Harper & Row. As Niatum states in his Preface, “Harper’s Anthology . . . [is] the mature fruit of that earlier effort.” Authors are presented by birth year, beginning with Frank Prewett (b. 1893), ending with A. Sadongei (b. 1959). Thus, readers are able to follow a generational perspective as they peruse through the book. Many of the poems included in this 396 pp. volume have become classic in American literature. Nearly ten years later after its publication, Harper’s Anthology is still one of the most widely read anthologies of contemporary Native American poetry. Duane Niatum, a member of the Klalam Tribe, is a poet, author of critical essays, and editor of

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several books and anthologies, including Drawings of the Song Animal (1990); The Submuloc Show, A Visual Commentary on the Columbus Quintcentennial From The Perspective of America’s First People (1992); and coauthor of Durable Breath, Native American Contemporary Poetry (1994).

American Indian Literature, An Anthology (Revised Ed.) edited by Alan R. Velie (Univ. of OK. Press 1979, 1991, ISBN 080612345)

merican Indian Literature is a superb collection with well-written introductory essays, excellent examples of various literary forms, and translation. Consisting of six sections: Tales, Songs, Oratory, Memoirs, Poetry and Fiction, the works selected represent the variety of Native literature of different periods and regions – from the prehistoric Delaware epic Walam Olum and the myth of the Acoma Pueblo, through the memoirs and oratory of the early contact period, to the songs and short stories of today’s rural and urban Native Americans. Along with the traditional literature of songs, memoirs, and oratory, the anthology offers a large selection of poetry and fiction from writers Louise Erdrich, Rayana Green, Joy Harjo, nila northSun, N. Scott Momaday, James Welch, Gerald Vizenor, and Maurice Kenny, among others. In his Introduction, editor Velie presents a brief overview of Native oral tradition and literature, and discusses scholarship and trends in native American literature. He says, “I urge readers to judge them as they would any other literature, not just political or sociological relevance. Stereotypes of the mute and stoic Indian are distortions. Indians have always been highly verbal people, and their literature reflects it. It was the first American literature, and much of it ranks with the best any Americans have produced.”

Artwork by L. Miller

Alan Velie, a non-Native, is an English professor at the University of Oklahoma. He is the editor of The Lightning Within, Anthology of Contemporary American Indian Fiction (1991), and author of Native American Perspective on Literature and History (1995).

A Gathering Of Spirit edited by Beth Brant (Firebrand Books 1988, ISBN 0932379559)

ven after thirteen years and several editions later, A Gathering of Spirit remains one of the best sources of Native American women writers. First published in 1983 under Women’s Press, it created a wave in both the feminist and Native American publishing worlds. Never before had so many Indian women’s voices been heard in print. The book features established writers such as Paula Allen Gunn, Mary TallMountain, Linda Hogan, Joy Harjo, Luci Tapahonso and Wendy Rose, as well as first-time writers from the Native community. What captivates the reader is the intimacy that Brant established with the contributors and the personal correspondence that she artfully weaves throughout the book, giving it a personal touch. Indeed, the ripples from Gathering are still being felt, as newer titles such as Reinventing The Enemy’s Language takes its place among anthologies edited and written by Native Women. Beth Brant (Degonwadonti) is a Bay of Quinte Mohawk from Ontario, Canada. Her work has appeared in numerous Native, feminist journals and anthologies in Canada and the United States.

Returning the Gift: Poetry and Prose from the First North American Native Writer’s Festival edited by Joseph Bruchac (Sun Tracks/Univ. of AZ 1992, ISBN 0816514860)

eturning the Gift is an impressive anthology that spans the continent, reflecting a wide range of tribal affiliations and languages. In 1992 an unprecedented gathering of more than 300 Native writers was held in Norman, Oklahoma. The Festival brought more Native writers together in one place than at any other time in history. Every writer who attended was invited to submit unpublished work; the best of more than 200 submissions are included in this volume. In his Introduction, Bruchac talks about the usage of the terms “Native American” versus “Indian,” contemporary Native writing, the mainstream’s reaction to native literature and how the anthol-

ogy was put together. Festival historian and coorganizer Geary Hobson speaks candidly about his initial feelings towards the idea of the Festival itself, and the steps taken to make the Festival a reality. These explanatory essays give the reader insight on the eclectic works which follow, from established writers, to lesser-known and new voices in the Native community. Many of the writers from the first Returning The Gift (now known as the Native American Writers’ Circle) have contributed to “Indian Summer.” Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki), is publisher of The Greenfield Review Press and author of numerous poetry collections, essays and books. Geary Hobson (Cherokee-Quapaw/Chickasaw), is a professor of English, specializing in Native American literature at the University of Oklahoma. He has served as project historian of the Native American Writers’ Circle since 1991. His essays and reviews have been published in a number of journals and his recent poetry collection is Deer Hunting and Other Poems (1990).

Reinventing the Enemy’s Language, Contemporary Native Women’s Writings of North America edited by Joy Harjo and Gloria Bird with Patricia Blanco, Beth Cuthand, and Valerie Martinez (W.W. Norton 1997, ISBN 0393040291) dited by Joy Harjo and Gloria Bird, Reinventing the Enemy’s Language: Contemporary Native Women’s Writing of North America showcases the voices of contemporary Native women through poetry, fiction, personal narrative, prayer, testimonials, and the interwoven issues of what it is to be an American Indian and female at the end of the twentieth century. Ten years in the making, Reinventing features eighty-seven writers representing fifty tribal nations. Some of the writers, like Louise Erdrich, Linda Hogan, and Leslie Silko, are nationally recognized authors. Others, like Wilma Mankiller, former Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, and Winona Duke, who lives and works on the White Earth Reservation, are known ordinarily for their contributions to tribal communities. What is noteworthy is Harjo and Bird’s Introduction in which they describe how the book was conceived and the remarkable journey they each undertook while compiling this massive collection of work. Bird openly discusses the editing process and how she had to set aside her own conventional academic standards in order to rec-

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ognize the “oral nature of submissions and value the literal testimony of the women’s voices that came through their writing.” In addition to the selection process, each editor talks about the problems they encountered with their requirement that all contributors had to be “tribally identified.” This has become a “very charged issue” due to the highly political blood quantum issues that have evolved in the Native community. The dispute further invoked the question of Native women in the U.S. who are not enrolled due to political reasons, Native women in Canada who were dispossessed of their status when they married a non-Native, and the mestiza and Chicana in the United States who are Native and have definitive blood ties, but are not enrolled. As Harjo states, “editing this anthology was a difficult and complicated process. It brought up many different issues and questions.” These revealing statements shed light on the enormous task set before Harjo and Bird in producing this voluminous collection. Reinventing addresses the contradictions inherent in composing words in English, the “enemy’s language,” rather than the native tongues that Native people were forced to give up as a result of European colonization. Honest, gritty and provocative, the writers in Reinventing depict the poverty, alcoholism, depression and violence often found in their communities. These horrors are balanced with tales of love and joy, celebrations of womanhood and testimonies to the indigenous population that has endured throughout centuries of colonization. Writing in the language of their colonizers these Native women who are different in personal experiences, tribal tradition and custom, describe their shared concerns thus giving great dimension and depth to their collective stories. The anthology’s structure follows the cycle of creation: genesis, struggle, transformation, and return. Part one, The Beginning of the World, features themes tied to identify, birth, and the early stages of life. The second section, Within the Enemy: Challenge, presents characters wrapped in personal struggles that echo larger political, economic and social issues particular to the Indian experience. Part three, Transformation: Voices of the Invisible, contains stories of people in the midst of change, both deliberate and unintentional. The last section, Dreamwalkers: The Returning, completes the cycle of creation. Each writer in Reinventing opens her first entry with a personal narrative. Within these moments of selfreflection, writers express an urgent need to reclaim their rich past and to fight the debilitating amnesia of the dominant culture.

Indian Summer n Vol. 1/No. 2

Reinventing is a beautiful 600 pp. hardcover book. Poet/musician Joy Harjo (Muscogee) and poet/novelist Gloria Bird (Spokane) have done a spectacular job pulling this collection together.

POETRY COLLECTIONS Life Is a Fatal Disease, Collected Poems 1962-1995 by Paula Gunn Allen (West End Press 1997, ISBN 0931122856)

ife is a Fatal Disease is an engaging collection of poetry which reflects Allen’s multifaceted approach to contemporary Indian life. Written in the great tradition of storytelling and education, Allen brings to life a multitude of people, places and situations. The book is divided into three sections: The Warning, Birth is 100% Fatal, and Trinity. Particularly compelling is The Warning which opens with poems such as “Malimalli, La Malinche, to Cortes, Conquistador,” “Pocahontas to Her English Husband, John Rolfe” and “Medicine Song.” The work then traverses into womanhood and images of Cubero and Laguna Pueblo, where Allen was born and raised, and its culture. Finally, beginning with “Indian Blood,” Allen discusses in great detail her mother’s diagnosis of Lupus (a debilitating disease which cripples different systems of the body), the effects of that disease on her mother’s body and spirit and how it affected Allen’s relationship with her mother. In total, Allen presents a wide variety of her poetic skills: her rich references, her lyrical flights, her earnest and compassionate voice. Weaving together threads of family, friends, social convictions and life observations, Life is a Fatal Disease carries the reader deep inside the head and heart of Allen. Paula Allen Gunn (Laguna/Sioux/Lebanese/ Scotch-America) has edited or written over a dozen volumes in a variety of genres. She is the coauthor of As Long As The Rivers Shall Flow: 10 American Indian Biographies (Scholastic Press, 1996), and is currently a professor of English at University of California, Los Angeles.

Columbus Day, poems & drawings by Jimmie Durham (West End Press 1993, ISBN 093112309)

olumbus Day, a subversive account of the fruits of Columbus’ ill-omened voyage, has a lively underground reputation since it was first published in 1983. Durham was an active member of the American Indian Movement in the 1970s and

early 1980s and shares his insight about world society and the politics that was taking shape at that time. Durham conveys in vivid language his experience as activist, writer and organizer. His wit and visual artistry is evident in both the poems, prose, speeches and drawings that accompany the text. His poems “Cherokee Language” and “Columbus Day” are featured in this issue of phati’tude. Jimmie Durham (Cherokee) is an internationally recognized sculptor, graphic artist, performance artist, poet and cultural critic. His recent books include Elaine Reicheck: Native Intelligence (1992); and A Certain Lack of Coherence; Writing on Arts and Cultural Politics (1993).

Beneath My Heart Poems by Janice Gould (Firebrand Books 1990, ISBN 0932379842)

eneath My Heart is substantial, layered poetry, deeply rooted in the author’s Native American landscape. Like her mother, her grandmother, and the women before them, Gould shares a collective memory with the Maidu Indians of Northern California. The book is divided into five sections. Of those sections, three figure prominently: Coyotismo, incorporates traditional Native symbols into a contemporary viewpoint; Children Who Never Departed, is Gould’s examination of her Native history and how it reflects her own being; and Beneath My Heart, includes intimate poems which explore the loss of her mother. Writing as an outsider – a lesbian and a mixed-blood California Indian – Gould examines in this work her losses, both the personal and particular events of her own life, including the loss of the land, loss of people and a way of life. By the same token, with equal candor, Gould celebrates love, femininity and her sexuality. Gould’s poems, “We Exist” and “History Lesson” are featured in this issue of phati’tude. Janice Gould (Maidu/Konkow) has also published Earthquake Weather (1996), which continues her exploration of life, loss and love.

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Many Thanks to all the Native people who contributed to Indian Summer Your words are true & real — Your love & support is greatly appreciated. – Gabrielle David, Editor Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm (Anishnaabe) Minerva Allen (Assiniboine) M. Cochise Anderson (Chickasaw/Mississippi Choctaw) Annette Arkeketa (Muskogee Creek/Otoe-Missouria) Carol Snow Moon Bachofner (Abenaki) Charles Ballard (Quapaw) Juanita C. Barnes-Bourguillon (African/Native American) Diane E. Benson (Tlingit) Gloria Bird (Spokane) Kimberly M. Blaeser (Anishinaabe) Beth Brant/Degonwadonti (Mohawk) Jeane V. Breinig (Tlingit/Haida) Vee Browne (Navajo) Jessie Bruchac (Abenaki) Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki) E. K. Caldwell (Tsalagi/Shawnee) Derek J. Cannon (Kiowa) Allison Hedge Coke (Tsalagi/Huron) Marilyn Dumont (Metis) Anita Dupris (Colville Confederated Tribes) Jimmie Durham (World Clan Cherokee) Jack D. Forbes (Powhatan-Renápe/Delaware-Lenápe) Eric Gansworth (Onondaga) Robert Franklin Gish (Cherokee) Janice Gould (Maidu/Konkow) Linda LeGarde Grover (Bois Forte Ojibwe) Maja Guerrero (Yaqui/Opata) Joy Harjo (Muscogee) Barbara-Helen Hill (Mohawk) Geary Hobson (Cherokee-Quapaw/Chickasaw) Ruth Hopkins (Dakota Santee-Sioux) Maurice Kenny (Mohawk) Pamela Green LaBarge (Oneida) Victoria Manyarrows (Tsalagi/Cherokee) Joseph R. McGeshick (Sokaogon Chippewa/Assiniboine Sioux) Tiffany Midge (Standing Rock Sioux) Deborah A. Miranda (Ohlone Costanoan-Esselen) Simon J. Ortiz/Hidritsih (Acoma Pueblo) L. Patty Philips (Delaware-Apache) Carter Revard/Nompewathe (Osage) William S. Yellow Robe, Jr. (Assiniboine) Aranand Garnet Ruffo (Ojibway) G. Anna Sanchez/Ohoyo Ishkitini (Choctaw/Cherokee) Georgiana Valoyce-Sanchez (Tohono O’odham-Pima/Chumash) Gail Moran Wawryzniak (Ojibwe) Nancy C. Zak (Inuit)

for Beth Brant

Indians must be the loneliest people on Earth — lonely from our histories, our losses, even those things we cannot name which are inside us. Our writers try to counteract the history that says we are a dead, a conquered People. But our words are like a shout in a blizard. In snow one December, those at Wounded Knee lay dying, dead, their mouths frozen open. Soldiers dug a ditch for the bodies. Then prairie soil crumbled over the People and their hearts fed on roots and stones. Their mouths filled with dust. At sunrise the daughter lies on her bed, legs drawn up, fist in her mouth. I am poisoned, she thinks, beneath my heart. This is what it means to be Indian. My mother is not here. They mined her for her grief, following each vein, invading every space, removing, they said, the last vestige of pain. At dawn, this time of prayer, the daughter in a voice mined from a sickness of soul tries to name the words which say we exist. by Janice Gould—Maidu/Konkow JANICE GOULD: “We Exist” Copyright © 1986 by Janice Gould. Reprinted from BENEATH MY HEART, Poetry by Janice Gould, with the permission of Firebrand Books, 141 The Commons, Ithaca, NY 14850.

an one single writer make such an impact on

a whole literary genre of writers? Simon J. Ortiz appears to have done so. By the time he published his poetry collection, A Good Journey (1977), which exemplified Ortizâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; journeys literally (he traveled throughout the country to teach and share his voice), as well as figuratively (his journey as it relates to Acoma culture), Ortizâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; role of traditional Acoma Pueblo storyteller became firmly established. Since then, with numerous collections of poetry, numerous critical essays, short stories, and novels under his belt, Simon Ortiz has become one of the most important writers in American literature, recognized by writers, critics and scholars in both Native American and non-Native communities alike. Yet, as talented and accomplished as Ortiz is, he is still not largely known to the public at large.

by Gabrielle David

(conâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t p. 22)

photo: John Fago

photo: Paul Abdoo photo: Paul Abdoo

oy Harjo is curious about the world. About the why and how of things, of people and in particular, Indian people. She is dedicated to the beauty of music, language and literature. A cultural-activist proud of her Muscogee heritage, Harjo combines elements of storytelling, prayers, and

The Music of Her P o e t r y by Gabrielle David

song in her work. Her writing is drawn from the realities of American culture, feminine individuality and the Native American tradition of praising the land and spirit. Harjo is the quintessential American poet â&#x20AC;&#x201C; her words are poetry, and her poetry is music. (conâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t p. 28)

Simon Ortiz (con’t from p.18)

Still, Ortiz, the consummate teacher and cultural philosopher, has grown to become one of the leading figures in the struggle to preserve and continue traditional Native American themes and forms, which has become the mainstay of his work. Ortiz’s commitment to preserving and expanding the literary tradition into which he was born – the oral tradition of the Acoma Pueblo people – accounts for many of the themes and techniques which characterize his work. Even when his work addresses social and Third World concerns, the poetic melodies of traditional Acoma Pueblo oral narrative and song shines through. This voice is reflected in his burgeoning body of works. The theme of survival at the communal level is the major focus of his works collected in Fight Back: For the Sake of the People, for the Sake of the Land (Institute for Native American Development (INAD) at University of New Mexico Press, 1980). Woven Stone (University of Arizona Press, 1992), an omnibus of three previously published works: Going for the Rain; A Good Journey; and Fight Back, offers old and new readers an appreciation of the fruits of his dedication. After and Before the Lightning (Sun Tracks: University of Arizona Press, 1994) was inspired by a winter spent teaching at Sinte Gleska University in South Dakota on the Rosebud Lakota Sioux Reservation. As Ortiz faced the reality of a prairie winter, he confronts the political reality for Native communities and cultures in a journal format, which is presented as ‘one’ poem. The collection parallels

the winter’s brutal weather and sacred beauty to that of Native culture and the stark realities being constantly challenged. Speaking For the Generations: Native Essays For the Sake of the Land and the People (University of Arizona Press, 1998), is an anthology, compiled and edited by Ortiz, of Native writers from the U.S., Canada and Guatemala. Speaking for the Generations is a tight, well-selected anthology, which makes traditional connections with Native American culture and sovereignty. Through the works highlighted in this collection, the authors make it clear that they do not seek individual expression as much as they fulfill an ancient social role of storytelling. Men on the Moon: Collected Short Stories (Sun Tracks, v. 37) (University of Arizona, 1999) contains stories drawn from Ortiz’s Acoma Pueblo experience, yet focuses on situations common to Native people, whether living on the land or in the cities. In From Sand Creek: Rising in This Heart Which is Our America (Sun Tracks v. 42), Ortiz provides a powerful vision about the Sand Creek Massacre which is alternately personal, social-political, historical and even hopeful. This book, which was out of print for several years, was reissued by University of Arizona Press in 2000. Ortiz has two other books coming off the press: Out There Somewhere (Sun Tracks v. 49), a new collection of Ortiz’s prose and poetry, is due for release this November 2001, and Beyond the Reach of Time and Change, a book that explores early photographs taken of Native people, which is due for release in the immediate future. Both books are being published by University of Arizona Press.

In addition, Ortiz has written a number of children’s books, notably, The People Shall Continue (Children’s Books Press, 1977), which offers perhaps the single best overview of Native history for younger children written in clear and concise text. The book is so popular that it has been reprinted several times over. Currently, Ortiz is working on a nonfiction collection called Wanting To Know You. Ortiz has won numerous awards throughout the years, from being honored at the White House in 1980 in the President’s “Salute to Poetry and American Poets,” the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Writer’s Award, award recognition from the NEA, and The Returning The Gift Lifetime Achievement Award. To support his writing career, Ortiz has spent much of his time teaching at San Diego State, the Institute of American Indian Arts, Navajo Community College, the College of Marin, Lewis & Clark, the University of New Mexico and Sinte Gleska University. He recently relocated to Canada and is currently teaching Creative Writing, Native American Literature and Aboriginal Studies at the University of Toronto. There comes a time when a person arrives at a “comfortable place” in their life, and Simon Ortiz has seemingly “arrived.” Ortiz has won his bouts with personal demons, survived three marriages and helped raised three children who have been taught to understand a sense of self and other. Although Ortiz has travelled extensively throughout the country – from reservations to bustling cities – he always returns to his beloved New Mexico, where the Pueblos have lived for centuries, where his forefathers began. Even though Ortiz is now living in Toronto, he has recently said that “wherever I am, Acoma

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Tributes to E.K. Caldwell & Carroll Arnett/Gogisgi hile “Indian Summer” was being edited, two of phati’tude’s contributing Native writers, E.K. Caldwell and Gogisgi/Carroll Arnett, passed away during the Summer of 1997. Joseph Bruchac, who worked closely with E.K. (Kim), wrote a poem in tribute, while Geary Hobson gave us permission to reprint his tribute which was posted on the Native American Writers’ Circle website at the time of her untimely death.

While I did not know Carroll and E.K. personally, I was a great admirer of their work. I found their voices eloquent, urgent, humorous, brutally honest, and they each managed to affirm the enduring potency of Native oral traditions. E.K. was a respected poet and musician in her own right. Her poetry and stories have been published in a variety of anthologies and journals both nationally and internationally including: "For She is the Tree of Life; Grandmothers Through the Eyes of Women Writers,” "Blue Dawn, Red Earth,” "Gatherings Vll,” and "Reinventing the Enemy's Language." Kim's journalistic writings were published in nationally distributed News From Indian Country, New York Times syndicated multicultural wire service, The Bloomsbury Review, Indigenous Woman Magazine and American Indian Review, to name a few. Two of her books were published since her death: Bear: Animal Lore and Legend American Indian Legends (October 1999), a children’s book; and Dreaming the Dawn: Conversations With Native Artists and Activists (American Indian Lives) (December 1999), a collections of works by Native writers, edited by E.K. Believe it or not, I was already familiar with Carroll’s work long before phati’tude’s inception, having “discovered” his work while in high school, and was honored that he submitted work for publication in this issue. He taught literature and writing at Nasson College, was professor of English at Central Michigan University, wrote more than three hundred poems and stories, and published over a dozen books, sometimes under his Cherokee name “Gogisgi.” The timelessness of his poetry is demonstrated in Carroll’s response to the Oklahoma Bombing of 1995 in the poem “And So On” (submitted in Geary Hobson’s tribute), which could have been easily written about the recent tragedy of the WTC terrorist attack in New York City this past September. The outpouring by both Native and non-Native authors makes it clear that both E.K. and Carroll have made an invaluable contributions to American literature. They will be, and will continue to be, sorely missed. (G. David, ed.)

Gogisgi/Carroll Arnett (1927-1997)

n July 2, 1997, the Cherokee writer, Gogisgi/Carroll Arnett, passed away in Michigan. Gogisgi, which means “Smoke” in Cherokee, was born in Oklahoma City in 1927. He attended the University of Oklahoma for a while soon after he left the U.S. Marines at the end of World War II. For the last thirty years he had lived in Michigan, where he had taught as a college professor at Central Michigan University until his retirement a few years ago. In more than thirty years of writing, he published twelve books of poems and was recognized as a major Indian poet, albeit lesser known in his native city and state than a number of others who lay claim to Cherokee culture. His books were: Then (1965), Not Only Than (1967), Like a Wall (1969), Through the Woods (1971), Earlier (1972), Come (1973), Tsalagi (1976), South Line (1979), Rounds (1982), Engine (1988), Night Perimeter (1991), and Spells (1995). I may have left out one or more, but I don’t think so. When Tsalagi came out, Carroll sent me a copy and afterwards he sent me a copy of each new book he published. I value them highly, just as I valued his friendship. I was privileged to know Carroll for twenty-three years. He was a good friend, a strong influence as a writer and as a person, an older brother. In fact, it was by this latter designation – older brother – that I addressed him in our letters. His generosity to a host of younger writers – Gordon Henry, Joy Harjo, Lance Henson, Barney Bush, me – is well-known, as well as his encouragement and help to elder writers, like the late Louise Littelcoon Oliver. In his poems, Carroll always stressed that waste is perhaps the most unforgivable thing that human beings indulge in – the waste of time, of emotions, of land and resources, of each other. A short poem of his sums this up quite well (the shortness of the poem a string indication of how he always avoided over-expending words): The Old Man Said: Two The wisdom of an animal may be measured by the quantity of its excrement. See how little of his waste brother deer leaves behind. In one of Carroll’s last poems, he decries waste again an instance of human waste of a staggering magnitude – the Oklahoma City bombing in April 1995: And So On 168 murdered How the sun can still shine there I don’t know. Others say they know – good for them. Words about hope everlasting, the spirits of kids laughing, about vengeance and justice – mere comfort. A massive emptiness sits there in the sun’s silent light, impossible to forgive as it is to forget. Carroll’s life was the exact opposite of wastefulness. It was a life filled with sharing and compassion, of building and creating, of nurturing and preserving. He cannot be replaced and I find I am already missing his presence tremendously. — Geary Hobson

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E.K. Caldwell (1954-1997)

The Fire Continues In Memory of E.K. Caldwell A headache one day, pain and a bright light behind her eyes as if the Creator had touched her forehead. Was it warning for her to seek help. This one who thought so often of others before herself? Or was it just to hint to her that she would soon leave behind hurts she had grown used to in this life where she always found vision that lifted her above such pain the way an eagle’s wings can lift its sight above the highest mountain? The phone call came, like far too many in this year of departures, a voice made thin by distance and loss: Kim died last night, And then those thoughts — How can it be so? How can we all go on without her? An inventory formed in my mind, how she never turned aside from work, how her voice was always the first to speak in praise of others or to share with the children, how she added music to our lives, always lent her strength when another was weak. It is no wonder that eagles soared and whales rose to sing on that day when her ashes dances with the waves. And now her feet have reached the sky trail. From the top of that mountain, tall beyond breath or sight, she looks back with love, then turns to join those gone before. We have her name, we have the words she wrote for us, the stories and poems and songs that touch us as Grandmother Moon touches calm listening water. And that reflection of her full, gentle life must be enough though we wanted more. — Joseph Bruchac

Indian Summer n Vol. 1/No. 2

Family Reunion by Carter Revard/Nompewathe

This was written after a visit by my brother Addison Jump Jr. and his two children Kim and Aaron back about 1991 or so. I should explain that I had six brothers and sisters– my oldest brother Antwine was a quarter Osage; my twin sister and I about an eighth or sixteenth Osage; and our two younger sisters and two younger brothers were almost half Osage: our mother was Irish and Scotch-Irish. Antwine was born in 1929, my sister and I in 1931, our younger sibling in 1934, 1936, 1938, and 1941 – all in Pawhuska, Oklahoma (the Osage Agency town on the Osage Reservation in Oklahoma). Until 1934 we lived mostly in Pawhuska, after that we grew up in the Buck Creek rural community twenty miles east of Pawhuska. I went to school in the oneroom Buck Creek school for eight grades, then went to Bartlesville High School, then U of Tulsa, then Oxford U, finally Yale for Ph.D. My youngest brother, Addison Jump Jr., was born in 1941, also went to school in Buck Creek, then Bartlesville High, then a year at Northeastern Oklahoma State in Tahlequah (the Cherokee capital), then U of Kansas Lawrence for B.A. inmath, then Oklahoma State at Stillwater for MS in Math. He now has got his PhD in math from a university in Washington D.C. and works for the U.S. government (Navy) in D.C. as a computer programmer. His wife Grace is a fullblood Lakota from Pine Ridge S Dakota.

adn’t seen my youngest brother and his kids for quite some time. You know how it is here in America, we try to get as far as possible from each other. I mean, the main theory of family in psychology seems to be that families which stay together are abnormal – if you try to live near your parents you are abused, and plan to murder them. Why else was Oedipus the model for psychoanalysts to explain the Modern Family’s usual condition? Besides, the real reason for coming to America, according to the theory of the Melting Pot, is to forget who you were in Europe, or Asia, or even Mexico. (The Africans had their old selves dissolved away, of course, on the slave boats.) Once you get here, the idea is to be only yourself. Naturally this means you have to disperse: if you belong to some ethnic group you had better move away from them and be really American like the rest of us, or them. It’s hard for New Yorkers to do this but even they can go to California or Florida to lose their old names, classes, histories. There you can start over, and nobody can hold your past against you, you can invent one if needed. You can make your fortune, and if you want to send a little (con’t p. 82)

One major difference between Native and nonndigenous writers often fall victim to views of themselves and their writing put forth by domi- Native writing seems to be a difference between nant cultures. Stereotypes persist in spite of a Native and non-Native concepts of time. The nonproliferation of writers and educators from both Native writer approaches subjects and themes reservation and urban Native communities who write through a linear time line . . . having a distinct beginning, middle, and end. Characand teach at a level commensuters and circumstances appear, rate with their non-Native(1) conexperience conflict, and resolve. temporaries. Too often, the NaEvents seem unrelated to one tive writer is seen as less than another outside the context of the his or her peers. There is no moments in which the story or widely natural public view of the poem or song exist. Legends or Native person as an educated, stories are not necessarily successful member of society. viewed as real. Fiction is just One difference between that: make believe. Myths are Native and non-Native literature seen as fantasy teaching tools (as viewed by non-Natives) has or beautifully entertaining fluff. much to do with subject matter. For the Native, time is cirThe perception is that Native cular, with beginning, middle, writers and storytellers write and end all interconnected. Life only about "Indian things . . . is a circle, with all of creation feathers, pipes, animal spirits, walking along the circle. All cremythological experiences." ated beings are equal along the There is a romanticism atedge of that circle and all are retached to what the reading publated to one another. Reality exlic deems "Native American ists in all levels of storytelling. writing." This includes writing Stories, even those of a superabout being a downtrodden natural bent, are considered mass of have-nots who are victims of everything, doomed to by Carol Snow Moon Bachofner based in reality and have both Abenaki intrinsic and extrinsic benefit to permanent ruin. That which is the family, tribe, nation, society. not rooted in these themes is then discarded The defining of life in literature, severely limited as being unauthentic. Indians should "write Indian." Another large part of the authenticity problem in non-Native thinking (and writing) is expanded to a lies with some "traditional" Natives who are not able boundlessness in Native view. Writing about the to accept that non-reservation Natives can write with ocean as a speaker in non-Native writing is called authentic Indian voice. Urban Indians, who have "personification" (i.e., attributing life-like qualities spent all or most of their lives in the midst of white or actions to an inanimate object), while the Nasociety (by force or choice) are often accused of be- tive author is simply describing the ocean's natuing "new agers" or wannabes. Their literary efforts ral actions as a living being. A Native writer, one whose work is infused with are overlooked, discounted, or rejected as being unacceptable. One prevailing excuse for this rejection Native thinking, need not be quantified or reservais that stereotypical subjects are not present due to tion-raised in order to write authentically as a Native lack of primary exposure to Native culture (reserva- writer. Critics, Native and non-Native alike, might do tion life). Blood quantum analysis comes into play well to take another look beyond the surface stereowhen judging a writer's ability to write authentically type of subject matter, to the deeper issues of time, as a Native. What percentage of Native blood should life, and purpose when judging the authenticity of one possess (as determined by whom?) in order to the voices singing our stories and songs. And, while be a "Native" writer? The very people who grumble there are charlatans trying to capitalize on indigenous about being classified by the dominant society may culture through creation of pseudo-Native writings, classify others when it comes to authenticity of voice. there are also those disconnected Natives who sing If an urban Native writes about the society in which with the voices of old grandmothers who bequeathed he or she actually lives, is it less Native than that writ- the stories and songs to perhaps the only family ten about by a reservation resident? I believe there is member who would listen and could be trusted to authenticity in both lives and in both writing products. I pass them on. think that what makes writing authentically "Indian" is the value system, the world view, of the writer. Does the (1) Note: For purposes of this essay, the term 'non-Native' writer see with a Native eye? refers to those of euro-rooted cultures.

W h o s e Voice is Singing?

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Contributors Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm (Anishnaabe of the Chippewa of Nawash First Nation) has published in various anthologies, journals and magazines in Canada, the U.S. and Aotearoa (New Zealand). She works as a communications consultant with First Nations groups, organizations and projects, and currently teaches creative writing at the En’owkin International School of Writing in Penicton, British, Columbia. Jesse N. Alexander is a performance poet, hypertex book publisher and winner of PoetryWorks’ “Breath of the Four Winds” contest. He has performed at the Knitting Factory and the Sumei Multidisciplinary Center, Newark, NJ and his work has appeared in Sojourners Magazine. Minerva Allen (Assiniboine) is the author of two poetry collections, Spirits Rest and Winter Smoke. She currently resides on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation in Northern Montana. A retired educator, she currently teaches part-time Native language and is currently working with her tribe to retrieve artifacts and ancestral bones from museums and other resources. M. Cochise Anderson (Chickasaw and Mississippi Choctaw) is a poet, playwright, actor and traditional storyteller. He lectures and teaches poetry, playwrighting and Native American Studies throughout the United States in Native and non-Native public schools, as well as cultural centers and museums. He also continues the honored profession of storyteller and traditional musician. Annette Arkeketa (Muskogee Creek/enrolled member of the Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Oklahoma) has conducted numerous poetry workshops and readings throughout Oklahoma and Texas. Her volunteer efforts include the American Indian Theatre Company, American Indian Resource and Education Coalition, Native American Heritage Committee, Corpus Christi Army Depot, White House Conference on Indian Education, Red Spirit Inter-Tribal, and Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers. She is also a coordinator for the Oklahoma City Muskogee Association and the Linguistic Anthropology Department of the University of Oklahoma in Norman. She is the author of the poetry collection The Terms of a Sister (Full Moon Publishing, Corpus Christi, TX). Carol Snow Moon Bachofner (Abenaki) is a retired registered nurse and full-time writer whose poetry has been widely anthologized. Her first full-length poetry manuscript Taproot . . . poems from a little brown basket, was a finalist in The Greenfield Review Press’ Native American Authors First Book Award in 1995. She is the winner of the Jack London Award 1997 (for service to the writing community) and the Jack London Poetry Award 1997. A member of Wordcraft Circle of Native American Writers & Storytellers, California Writers Club, the Conservatory of American Letters, Teachers and Writers Collaborative, Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance, the New England Poetry Club and she was recently named poet-teacher in the California Poets In the Schools. Charles Ballard (member of the Quapaw tribe of Northeastern Oklahoma) is retired from the Department of English at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. He has published articles in his field of Native American mythology, and received the 1996 Diane Decorah Memorial First Book Award for Poetry from the Native Writer’s Circle of the Americas, sponsored by the University of Oklahoma at Norman. Juanita C. Barnes-Bourguillon (African/Native American) has been published in various anthologies, including Whispers, Iliad Press, Something for Everyone, Creative Arts & Sciences, Treasured Poems of America, Sparrowgrass poetry Forum, Inc., and others. Diane E. Benson (Tlingit, of the T’akdeintaan (Sea Tern Clan), originally from Sitka, Alaska) is a playwright and poet. She has published in Returning the Gift (Univ. of AZ, 1994), Collaloo: Native America Literatures (John Hopkins Univ., 1994) and Raven Tells Stories (The Greenfield Review Press, 1991), and is currently attending the Master of Fine Arts Creative Writing Program at the University of Alaska, Anchorage. Bernie Bernstein began his writing career after retirement from government service. His work has appeared in over fifty publications, and his work was presented as part of the composite play “Time Dance,” in Illinois which appeared on Cablevision in January 1980. He spends considerable time reading throughout the Cook County and Chicago metropolitan areas. Gloria Bird (member of the Spokane Tribe of the slawtews or Chewelah band, a Kalispel band of the Flathead) is author of Full Moon on the Reservation which won the Diane Decorah First Book Award for Poetry, coeditor with Joy Harjo, of Reinventing The Enemy’s Language: North American Native Women’s Writing, (W.W. Norton, 1997), and author of the forthcoming chapbook, The River of History, from Trask House Press. She is an associate editor of the Wicazo Sa Review, in Washington. Reinventing The Enemy’s Language is reviewed in this issue of phati’tude. Kimberly M. Blaeser (Anishinaabe/German, enrolled member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe) is currently an Associate Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Her publications include Trailing You, which won the Diane Decorah First Book Award for poetry from the Native Writer’s Circle of the

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Americas, and Gerald Vizenor: Writing in the Oral Tradition, a critical study. Her work has been anthologized in numerous Canadian and American collections, including: Earth Song, Sky Spirit, The Colour of Resistance, Red Earth, Narrative Chance and Unsettling America. Chris Brandt’s poems and essays have appeared in magazines in the U.S. and Spain. His translation of Carmen Valle’s book Entre la vigilia y el sueno de las fieras was recently published as a bilingual edition by the Institute for Puerto Rican Culture in San Juan. Beth Brant/Degonwadonti (Bay of Quinte Mohawk from Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory in Ontario, Canada) is editor of the ground-breaking collection A Gathering of Spirit (Firebrand Books, USA and Women’s Press, Canada 1988), and I’ll Sing Til the Day I Die: Conversations with Tyendinaga Elders (McGilligan Books, Toronto 1995). She is the author of Mohawk Trail (Firebrand Books and Women’s Press, 1985), Food & Spirits (Firebrand Books and Press Gang, 1991), and Writing As Witness (Women’s Press, 1994). Her work has appeared in numerous Native, feminist and lesbian anthologies throughout North America. She was recently made a Fellow of the Rockefeller Foundation. A Gathering of Spirit is reviewed in this issue of phati’tude. Charles Brashear (Cherokee) has authored a dozen books, several short stories and critical essays. His work has appeared in High Plains Literary Review, Crazy Quilt Quarterly, SAIL, San Diego North County Magazine, The Greenfield Review Press, New Frontiers -The Magazine of New Mexico, and has works forthcoming in American Indian Culture and Research Journal and Cimarron Review. An original member of the Native Writers’ Circle of the Americas, he is also secretary of Wordcraft Circle, 1996/97. He taught at the University of Stockholm (on a Fulbright grant), University of Michigan, and San Diego State University. Recently retired, he is devoting all his time to writing, research and travel. Jeane C. Breinig (tribally enrolled in the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska and of the Haida Nation: Raven Brown Bear Clan) is currently an Assistant Professor of English at The University of Alaska, Anchorage where she teaches composition, and American and Native American literature. Vee Browne (Navajo) is an educator and substance abuse counselor at Chinle High School. She holds a B.S. in Education, an M.Ed. in Counseling, and her short stories and poetry have appeared in numerous anthologies. She currently resides in Cottonwood/Chinle on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona and is working on a poetry collection for University of Arizona Press. Jesse Bruchac (enrolled member of the Abenaki Nation) is a poet, writer, linguist of the Abenaki language, and singer-songwriter in both English and Abenaki. His poems and songs in the Abenaki language have published in the United States and Europe, including Moccasin Telegraph and Reclaiming the Vision. In addition, he has appeared as a featured guest on Canadian Public Radio and Television, CNN and National Public Radio’s All Things Considered. He teaches Abenaki culture classes and is a member of the performance group, Dawn Land Singers, whose 1994 CD Alnobak features his original compositions, has been widely played on Native radio in Canada and the United States. Joseph Bruchac, III (enrolled member of the Abenaki Nation) is an award-winning author, poet, storyteller, a scholar of Native American culture and publisher/owner of The Greenfield Review Press. His poems, articles and stories have appeared in more than 500 publications, from Parabola to National Geographic and Smithsonian magazines. He is the author of the novel Dawn Land and Ling River, coauthor of the “Keepers of the Earth” series, and has recently published Roots of Survival, Native American Storytelling and the Sacred (Fulcrum Publishing, 1996) and Bowman’s Store, A Journey to Myself (1997). Regie Cabico, an editor of phati’tude, is the winner of The New York Poetry Slam, a Road Poet on Lollapalooza and was the opening act of MTV’s Free Your Mind Spoken Word Tour for which his performance garnered a poetry video on MTV. His work appears in numerous anthologies, including Aloud: Voices from The Nuyorican Poets Cafe. He is the recipient of a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship for Poetry and teaches at The Writer’s Voice in Manhattan. E. K. Caldwell (Tsalagi/Shawnee/Celtic/German) is a writer whose poetry and short stories have been included in many anthologies in the U.S. and Canada, most recently in For She is the Tree of Life: Grandmothers Through the Eyes of Women Writers (Conari Press, 1995), Blue Dawn, Red Earth (Doubleday, 1996), Gatherings VII (Theytus Press, 1996) and Reinventing the Enemy’s Language (W.W. Norton, 1997). She is a regular contributor to News From Indian Country, a past contributor to The New York Times Syndicate’s multicultural wire service, and is the recipient of the Native American Journalists Association Award for best feature story of 1996. Derek J. Cannon (member of the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma) is a poet and writer. His book, Native American Perceptions, a collection of poetry and art (provided by a Cherokee artist), is forthcoming in July 1997. Don Mee Che is a writer and film video artist whose artwork and films have been shown at galleries in Arizona, Los Angeles and Seattle. She holds an M.F.A. from California Institute of the Arts and currently teaches writing at an adult literary center in Seattle. James E. Cherry is a poet and fiction writer whose work has appeared in DrumVoices Revue, The Griot, Crab Orchard Review, NOMMO, Shooting Star Review and the anthology Beyond the Frontier, edited by E. Ethelbert Miller, to be released in 1998. He is currently working on his novel.

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Rosa Lynette Clipper-Fleming is authoring the forthcoming novel Soultelling. Her most recent publication is a poetry chapbook entitled Reality/Fantasy. “The Game” is her first published poem in a literary magazine. She does several scheduled poetry readings throughout the Dallas, TX area. Allison Hedge Coke (Tsalagi/Huron/French Canadian/Portuguese) has published poetry, fiction and nonfiction in numerous Canadian and U.S. literary magazines and anthologies, including Caliban, The Little Magazine, 13th Moon, Speaking for the Generations and the Lands, Reinventing the Enemy’s Language, and 11th Muse. Gabrielle David, publisher and editor of phati’tude, is a poet, writer, photographer and graphic artist. She has published two poetry collections, this is me, a collection of poems & things (CCI Books, 1994) and spring has returned & i am renewed (CCI Books, 1995). Jim DeWitt is the author of 34 published books of poetry, stories and erotica. He is the managing editor of the publishing House Pen-Dec Press, editor of Eschew Obfuscation Review and Free Fall Express. He has served as president of the Michigan Council of Teachers of English and director of six annual youth writing competitions. His works has been widely published, appearing in literary magazines, periodicals, and anthologies. In addition, he was the first place winner of the San Francisco Bay Area Poets Coalition and was recently nominated for the 1997 Pushcart Award. Marilyn Dumont (Metis, northeastern Alberta) has published in numerous publications, including Writing the Circle (Newst Press 1990), The Road Home (Reidmore Books, 1992), The Colour of Resistance (Sister Vision Press, 1994), Looking at the Words of Our People (Theytus Books, 1994) and Miscegenation Blues (Sister Vision Press, 1994). She recently published her first collection of poetry A Really Good Brown Girl (Brick Books, 1996) which won the Gerald Lampert Memorial Award for Best First Collection of Poetry by a Canadian poet presented by the League of Canadian Poets. She is currently completing her Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, at the University of British Columbia while teaching English to First Nations adult students at the Native Education Center and Creative Writing through Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, B.C. Anita Dupris (member of the Colville Confederated Tribes) has published in numerous publications. Currently a part-time Chief Justice of the Colville Tribal Court of Appeals, she is also a consultant in tribal courts and government development. In 1995, she received an award from the Washington Poet’s Association. Jimmie Durham (World Clan Cherokee) received his B.F.A. from the Ecole de Beaux Arts in Geneva, Switzerland. During the 1970s he was a member of the Central Council of the American Indian Movement and was a founder and executive director of the International Indian Treaty Council. His poetry has appeared in numerous publications. His poetry collection, Columbus Day, is reviewed in this issue of phati’tude. Jack D. Forbes (Powhatan-Renápe/Delaware-Lenápe and other backgrounds), is the author of numerous books, monographs and articles, including: Columbus and Other Cannibals (Autonomedia, 1992), Only Approved Indians (Oklahoma, 1995), Apache, Navaho and Spaniard (Oklahoma, 1960, 1994 ), and Africans and Native Americans (Illinois, 1993). A world renown poet, writer and guest lecturer, he is professor and former chair of the Native American Studies at the University of California at Davis, where he has served since 1969. A recipient of the Before Columbus Foundation’s American Book Award for Lifetime Achievement 1997, his forthcoming novel Red Blood is scheduled for release in 1997 from Theytus Books of Canada. Eric Gansworth (Onondaga) is a writer, painter and photographer. His fiction has appeared in Growing Up Native (Morrow), Blue Dawn, Red Earth (Doubleday) and Iroquois Voices, Iroquois Visions (Bright Hill), and in the forthcoming For a Winter’s Night (White Pine). His poetry was included in the performance audio tape Roadkillbasa. His forthcoming novel, Indian Summers, will be published by Michigan State Univ. Press in 1997. He is currently an Instructor of English at Niagara County Community College. Robert Franklin Gish (native New Mexican and member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma) is currently the Director of Ethnic Studies at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. The author of fifteen books and numerous scholarly articles on the history and literature of the American West, his most recent books are: Beyond Bounds: Cross Cultural Essays on Anglo American, Indian and Chicano Literature (Univ. of NM), Bad Boys and Black Sheep: Fateful Tales From the West (Univ. of Nevada), and Beautiful Swift Fox: Erna Fergusson and the Southwest (Texas A&M Univ.) and When Coyote Howls (Univ. of NM). He is a frequent contributor and book review editor for several literary magazines. Frederick J. Goodall, a graduate of Howard University, is a poet whose work has appeared in Eclectic Literary Forum, Amelia, The Candlelight Poetry Journal, Black Diaspora, and Out of the Cradle. He works for Brown & Root as a Planner/Scheduler. Janice Gould (Maidu/Konkow) attended U.C. Berkeley, earning degrees in linguistics and English. Her first book of verse Beneath My Heart (Firebrand, 1990) is reviewed in this issue of phati’tude. She is also the author of the poetry collection Earthquake Weather (Univ. of AZ, 1996). Linda LeGarde Grover (Ojibwe, member of the Bois Forte Band of Minnesota Chippewa Tribe) is a poet and Ojibwe storyteller. Among her credits are: A Childhood In Minnesota and Growing Up in My Family, published by Duluth Children’s Museum, Duluth, MN 1994, which received an award from the University of Minnesota “Friends of the Library” in 1995; the Duluth News-Tribune and Duluth Hillside News.

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Maja Guerrero/M.A. Jaimes Guerrero (Native and Mestiza descent and heritage from the Southwest, among the Yaqui/Opata of Arizona and the California Mission Bands (Juaneno)) is an associate professor in Women’s Studies, College of Humanities, at San Francisco State University. Instrumental in developing the American Indian Studies program at the University of Colorado at Boulder, her work has been published in anthologies and texts in the interdisciplinary fields of Ethnic Studies. She is editor of the internationally award-winning The State of Native America (South End Press, 1992). The recipient of numerous grants and fellowships, she is currently working on her fourth book Native Womanism: Exemplars of Indigenism to be released in 1998. Joy Harjo (enrolled member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma) has published several awardwinning books of poetry, including She Had Some Horses, In Mad Love and War, and The Woman Who Fell From the Sky, and is coeditor, with Gloria Bird, of Reinventing the Enemy’s Language: North American Native Women’s Writing (W.W. Norton, 1997). Among her many honors, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers Circle of the Americas. She plays saxophone with her band Poetic Justice, which just released its first CD, Letter From the End of the 20th Century (Silver Wave Records, 1997), and is interviewed in this issue of phati’tude. Barbara-Helen Hill (Mohawk from Six Nations of Grand River in Southern Ontario) is anthologized in Gatherings Vols. No. 6 1996 and No. 7 1997 (Theytus Books, Penicton, BC), and is the author of Shaking the Rattle: Healing the Trauma of Colonization (Theytus Books, Penicton BC, Canada 1996, ISBN 0-919-44175-0). She is the recipient of En’owkin Creative Non-Fiction Writing award (1995), the Simon Lucas Jr. Award for Excellence in Writing (1996) and the SUNY at Buffalo Faculty of Arts and Letters Award for outstanding achievement in Art Dept. Geary Hobson (Cherokee-Quapaw/Chickasaw) is an Associate Professor of English at the University of Oklahoma, specializing in American Indian literature. His essays and reviews have been published in a variety of journals, including Contact II, New America, Y’Bird and World Literature Today. He is the editor of The Remembered Earth: An Anthology of Contemporary Native American Literature (1979), author of the poetry collection Deer Hunting and Other Poems (1990). He is also one of the original founders of the Native Writers’ Circle of the Americas, formerly Returning the Gift. Ruth Hopkins (Sioux, member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota Nation, The Santee Band of Dakota Sioux) is a sophomore college student majoring in Chemical Engineering through the University of North Dakota. This is her first publishing effort, and she has just completed her first nonfiction autobiographical manuscript. Maurice Kenny (Mohawk, not tribally enrolled) has served as panelist and adviser to many organizations such as Coordinating Council of Literary Magazines, and has been associated with Akwesasne Notes and Studies in American Indian Literature. Guest poet and speaker at many national art centers and universities, he has published books include The Mama Poems (1984), Between Two Rivers: Selected Poems (1987), and Rain & Other Fictions (1990). His most recent work, Tekonwatonti: Molly Brant, was published by White Pine Press in 1992. His work has appeared in many anthologies, including The North Country (Greenfield Review Press), Harper’s Anthology of 20th Century Native American Poetry, (Harper & Row), Earth Power Coming (Navajo Community College Press), and Wah Kon Tah (Int’l Publishers). David Kherdian’s books have been published in England, and translated in Africa, Asia and most European countries. My Father is from his unpublished memoir, I Called It Home in his acclaimed Root River Cycle. The last published volume from this cycle was My Racine (1995). He recently published Beat Voices: An Anthology of Beat Poetry (Henry Holt, 1995). Pamela Green LaBarge (enrolled member of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin) is an emerging writer. Her work has appeared in Akwe:kon/Northeast Indian Quarterly, The Mixed Bag – Wildfire: Inner Weavings, Gatherings IV – The En’owkin Journal, Dreaming History and News From Indian Country. She has recently completed an M.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and she has an intense interest in cultural knowledge which spans many art forms, including the healing arts. Tom Loftus is a graduate of the University of Connecticut where he majored in English literature. This is his first publishing effort from his body of work which includes poetry and ultra-short stories. Reginald Lockett was recently awarded a 1996 PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Award for his collection, Where the Birds Sing Bass (Jukebox Press 1995). Currently an English teacher at San Jose City College, his poems, reviews, articles and essays have appeared in over sixty anthologies and periodicals, and he has performed poetry throughout California and around the nation. Victoria Lena Manyarrows (Tsalagi/Eastern Cherokee) has published in numerous Native and multicultural publications in the United States and Canada, notably: Unsettling America (Viking/Penguin Press), Skin Deep: Women Writing on Color, Culture and Identity (The Crossing Press), Without Discovery: A Native Response to Columbus (Broken Moon Press), and the journals: The Four Directions, The Raven Chronicles, Catalyst, Calyx, Hurricane Alice, Eclectic Literary Forum (ELF) and Kalliope. She is a member of the Native Writers Circle of the Americas, Wordcraft Circle of Native American Writers’, and Storytellers and the Indigenous Women’s Network. She is the author of the poetry collection Songs From The Native Lands (Nopal Press 1995).

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Joseph R. McGeshick (enrolled Sokaogon Chippewa, Assiniboine/Sioux) was a professor at Washington State University, Pullman, and is currently finishing his dissertation for a Ph.D. in American Studies. He is currently working on his novel Don Coyote, due for publication in 1998. Tony Medina, an editor of phati’tude, teaches English at Long Island University’s Brooklyn campus. The author of Emerge & See, Arrest the IRS, No Noose Is Good Noose and coeditor of In Defense of Mumia, his work is featured in the anthologies In the Tradition, Aloud, Soulfires, Tough Love, Spirit & Flame, Catch the Fire, Identity Lessons, Poetry Nation and What Is Not Said, as well as many literary and popular culture publications. Jesús Papoleto Meléndez is a performance-poet who distinguishes himself as a dynamic presenter of his works in the oral tradition, and who has performed throughout the country, notably in California, Tijuana and New York. As a poet-teacher, his career has spanned 29 years, impacting the lives of tens of thousands of children of all ages across the country. His current collection is Concertos on Market Street (Kenetic Images Press, 1993). Tiffany Midge (enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux) is poetry editor of The Raven Chronicles and a member of the Native Writer’s Circle of the Americas. Her work has been published in SAIL, Gathering, Poetry Northwest and Reinventing the Enemy’s Language: North American Native Women’s Writing (Norton 1997). She was the recipient of the Diane Decorah Memorial Poetry Award for Outlaws, Renegades & Saints: Diary of a Mixed-Up Halfbreed, published by Greenfield Review Press in 1996. Deborah A. Miranda (member of the Ohlone/Costanoan-Esselen Nation, a California Tribe) recently won the 1997 Diane Decorah Memorial First Book Award from the Native Writers’ Circle of the Americas for her manuscript Indian Cartography, due for publication in The Greenfield Review Press in 1998. Her work has appeared in Calyx, Callaloo and Sojourner. Lorraine Miller, an illustrator of phati’tude, is an illustrator, artist and photographer. A graduate from SUNY Empire State College with a B.A. in Psychology, she is currently working on her M.A. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology at Hofstra University. Her work has appeared in numerous magazines and newspapers throughout New York. Margo Norman is the author of two books of poetry, Laffin’ at Lini’ and My Lord, My God, The Beginning. She has been a member of the Black Writers Guild and was co-owner of the magazine, The BayViewer. Simon J. Ortiz/Hidrutsih (Acoma Pueblo), is the author of numerous books, including A Good Journey, Going For The Rain, Fight Back, Howbah Indians, and From Sand Creek, which won a 1982 Pushcart Prize. Recipient of numerous awards, he has taught Native American literature and creative writing at numerous institutions and is interviewed in this issue of phati’tude. L. Patty Phillips (Delaware-Apache/Welsh/English) is a former NASA public affairs liaison who has sustained a longtime professional writing career. She has published in various publications and has received numerous awards in both the journalistic and aerospace fields. Liz Pinto has served on the state board of the California Writers Club, and is editor of the organization’s branch newsletter, Ink Slingers. Her short stories and nonfiction articles have been published in numerous journals such as Lynx Eye, Images, Sauce*Box Journal, and Dream Merchant. Richard P. Quatrone, poet, playwright and teacher, he has been the editor and publisher of Passaic Review since 1979, which is currently publishing Passaic Review’s Millennium Editions. In 1993, he earned an M.T.A. in theater from Mason Gross School of the Arts and is the founder and director of Ah! Sunflower Theater, a laboratory for a new theater of the people. Carter Revard/Nompewathe (Osage) attended Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship, earned a Ph.D. from Yale and since 1969, is professor of English at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. He is a board member of the American Indian Center in St. Louis and a Gourd Dancer. He has published poems, stories and essays in Nimrod, Greenfield Review, Denver Quarterly, Massachusetts Review and in the anthologies Earth Power Coming, The Remembered Earth, Voices of Wahkontah, American Indian Literature and The Clouds There This Light. His published collections include Ponca War Dancers and Cowboys & Indians, Christmas Shopping, both published by Point Riders Press (1980 and 1992, respectively). William S. Yellow Robe, Jr. (enrolled in the Assiniboine Tribe at Fort Peck Indian Reservation in northeastern Montana) is an actor, director, and playwright. He is a recipient of an NEA Playwrighting Fellowship, a Princess Grace Fellowship, and a Jerome Fellowship from The Minneapolis Playwright Center. He is presently the Artistic Director for Wakiknabe Theatre Company in Santa Fe, NM. Lola Rodríguez, poet/artist, is the author of Notes from a Solitary Rhumba. Her work is featured in The Coffeehouse Poetry Anthology, New to North America: Writings, and Poets and Painters. Her essays and poetry have appeared in numerous publications, including The Columbia Review, American Mensa Newsletter, The Caribbean Writer, Peau Sensible, Excursis, Lungfull!, Afro Hispanic Review, A Gathering of the Tribes and St. Mark’s Poetry. She participates in Poets and Writers Readings/Workshops Programs and is several time recipient of the Lila Acheson Wallace Reader’s Digest Grant. Richard Rosenberg holds a B.A. Magna Cum Laude in Physics from Cornell University and a J.D. from Yale Law School. Currently retired from practicing law, he is a full-time writer and fine art photographer, whose

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still life work is in the permanent collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas. Armand Garnet Ruffo (Ojibway) is a lecturer and Associate Director of the Centre for Aboriginal Education Research and Culture at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. He is the author of Opening In The Sky (Theytus Books 1994), a poetry collection and Grey Owl: The Mystery of Archie Belaney (Coteau Books 1997), a poetic narrative biography. In addition, he has written essays, fiction and plays. James Ruppert enjoys a joint appointment in English and Alaska Native studies at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and has published numerous articles on contemporary Native American literature. G. Anna Sanchez/Ohoyo Ishkitini (Choctaw/Cherokee) is the author of Native American Holocaust for Beginners (available from Writers and Readers in the fall, published under “Gregory”) and has just completed her first novel, From the Beginning and Forever. In addition to poetry, she has published professional research under the name “Gregory,” children stories, vignettes and essays. She is President and acting Director of Ho Anumpoli, an all Indian non-profit organization and is a performing Azteca dancer. Her homepage is http:// www.unm.edu/~ggregory. Ilka Scobie is an art critic and poet whose work has appeared in Cover, NY Soho Arts and The Exhibitionist; and in Exquisite Corpse, Cover, Home Planet News and in the chapbooks ANY ISLAND (Soncino, 1995) and There For The Taking (Four Zoas, 1979), respectively. She has taught at Parsons School of Design and currently conducts poetry residencies in urban public schools for Teachers & Writers in New York. Bob Slaymaker is a product of Columbia’s graduate writing program. His poems have appeared in many publications, including Essence, River Styx, the minnesota review, New York Quarterly, Exquisite Corpse and The Christian Science Monitor. Tanya Tyler writes poetry, prose, lyrics, plays and short stories. She has published in Essence Magazine and served as a board member and associate editor at Blind Beggar Press. Recently, an excerpt of her play, Wide River Crossing, was staged at the Newark Symphony Hall in New Jersey. Georgiana Valoyce-Sanchez (Tohono O’odham-Pima/Chumash) is a teacher of American Indian literature and Native American women’s literature at California State University, Long Beach. Her work has been published in The Stories We Hold Secret (The Greenfield Review Press), Invocation L.A. (West End Press), The Sound of Rattles and Clappers (Univ. of AZ). and Returning the Gift: Poetry and Prose from the First North American Native Writers’ Festival (Sun Tracks, Univ. of AZ, 1992) Michael Walters is a musician and graphic artist. He is also a musician who has performed and toured with a multitude of artists, notably Stephanie Mills, Melba Moore and Maurice Hines. He has developed logos for album covers, musical groups, and various publications and is currently owner of Cyber-Sax Graphics in Brooklyn, New York. His work is featured in this issue of phati’tude. Toy-Ling Washington is a poet/performer whose works have appeared in numerous anthologies, recently in Dusting Off Dreams and the Swiss journal ORTE. She had performed at the Afrikan Poetry Theatre and has appeared on New York’s WLIB radio station. Gail Moran Wawrzyniak (Lac du Flambeau, Ojibwe) writes poetry and essays, and is currently working on her novel. She has been published in Colors Magazine, The Hamline Literary Journal, Beaver Tail Journal and ArtWord Quarterly. A recipient of an M.A. in Liberal Studies with an emphasis in Literature from Hamline University, she currently teaches at North Hennepin Community College and working toward an M.F.A. in Creative Writing. Norma C. Wilson is a professor of English at the University of South Dakota where she specializes in Native American literature. Among her articles in Native literature is “Ceremony: From Alienation to Reciprocity” in Teaching American Ethnic Literatures, ed. John R. Maitino and David R. Peck. (Albuquerque: Univ. of NM Press 1996). Bayla Winters, who recently retired from Austin, TX as a feature stand-up performer, is currently an Extension Instructor at the University of California, Los Angeles’ Writers’ Program. A Pushcart Prize nominee and recipient of a Lifetime Award from International Writing Guild, New York City, her work has appeared in numerous publications, including Maverick Press, Graffiti Rag, Nemo, Sweet Annie Press, and White Wall Review in Canada. She is currently working on her seventh chapbook, making nice: a damn lie. William Woodruff is a writer whose works have appeared in numerous publications, including: The Amarath Review, Aura Literary Arts Review, Connecticut River Review, Crazyquilt Quarterly, Fox Cry, Frogpond, Insomnia, Lactuca, Nomad, The Pacific Review, The Panhandler, The Portable Wall, Sonoma Mandala and Spillway. Emanuel Xavier is a Nuyorican Poets Cafe Grand Slam Winner whose work has appeared in Best Gay Erotica 1997 (Cleis Press). Pier Queen, his self-published poetry collection, is available through Pier Queen Productions NY. Nancy C. Zak (Inuit/Irish/German/Scot) has a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of California, Berkeley and taught Native American Studies for many years at the Institute of American Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe, NM. and the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. Her published works include that of Inuit and Pueblo studies, notably in Dialogues With the Living Earth and Earthwalking Sky Dancers.

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About Cover Artist Sam English

e are proud to feature the artistry of Sam English, an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians from North Dakota. A Native American who paints Indians in his own colorful way, Sam’s work is bright, bold and captivating. He uses the stars, the night sky, the wind, the bright sun and the ever present Indian people — glowing in culture and community. He has used his images to inspire spiritually, family and community. As a matter of fact, if left to his own devices, Sam English would give away all of his material things to help Indian people. A man of immense compassion and sensitivity for those in need, he has donated his artistic talents to scores of Indian service organizations for their conferences on domestic violence, alcohol abuse, drug abuse and wellness. He also takes time to talk to groups concerning positive self-esteem and escaping the clutches of alcoholism. Check out more of Sam’s work at www.samenglish.com. Inquiries of Sam’s art should be directed to: Sam English Studio/Gallery; www.samenglishart.com.

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