Poetic Soul & Girl on Fire
Tanaya Winder Powerful Poetry by
The
Poetry Issue
Young Indigenous Voices
Review + Recap
Native Fashion in the City
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Contents April 2018
Welcome to the Issue 003
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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BEHIND THE COVER
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EDITOR’S WELCOME
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MASTHEAD
check out what’s in this month’s issue we take you BTS at our cover shoot
welcome to the Poetry issue
who’s all on our team
The Edge 009
NATIVE FASHION IN THE CITY RECAP we recap the 5th annual NFITC event
The Insider
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POWERFUL POETRY BY YOUNG VOICES indigenous youth poets share their striking poetry.
Features 024
POETRY SOUL: TANAYA WINDER
meet the well-known, inspirational poet
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Behind the Issue
Behind the Scenes of For more BTS video from the cover shoot, head over to Youtube.com/ NativeMax
Cover Shoot with Tanaya Winder We invited poetic soul Tanaya Winder to grace our cover for the Poetic Issue. It’s always a fun time when I meet up with Tanaya Winder. Typically, I’d meet Tanaya at an eatery where we’d we catch up on our upcoming projects or team news (it may come as a surprise to admit that I’m a member of Dream Warriors, the artist management company Tanaya founded and manages). This time, I let her inside the photography studio we’re shooting at. I styled Tanaya’s hair, makeup and outfits as Joey Little Bird, filmmaker and our in-house director and producer, hovers over us documenting every move. This photoshoot was different for Tanaya. She hardly wears a full face of makeup, let alone “dresses up” as she says. She brought her favorite B.Yellowtail dress along with a brand new red dress she recently purchased, in which she paired traditional Paiute beaded jewelry with. Check out more BTS footage from our shoot on our first episode of our new series “Behind the Scenes with Native Max Magazine”, dropping soon! -Kelly Holmes
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Editor's Welcome We had the honor of having Tanaya Winder grace our cover of our first ever Poetry Issue.
We feature young voices and Native youth poets from poetry clubs throughout Indian Country.
Resilient Voices
H
appy National Poetry Month! This issue is our first ever Poetry Issue, dedicated to poetry. It’s also undeniable that this issue is smaller than usual. Our list of content for this issue started out jam-packed with content, later shrank. Fortunately, we were able to secure a beautiful photoshoot with my mentor and Dream Warriors sister Tanaya Winder. Her work with the youth, management and poetry are inspirational, thus the reason why I invited her to grace our cover.
blessed to include a handful of beautiful and truthful works by young voices throughout Indian Country. I’m happy to see that these youth are allowed an opportunity and platform to express their works. To me, Tanaya and these young poets have resilient voices, in which they share their stories with the world. They inspire me to continue to use my resilient voice.
I also asked Tanaya to put me in touch with Native youth poets on-the-rise. I’m
Enjoy the issue and I’ll see you on our website!
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Despite this being a small issue, we’re planning on publishing more pieces on our website in regards to poetry.
“To me, Tanaya and these young poets have resilient voices, in which they share their stories with the world. They inspire me to continue to use my resilient voice.”
Kelly Holmes Founder + Editor-in-Chief
@kellycamilleholmes @kellycamilleholmes @kellzholmes
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KELLY HOLMES Founder + Editor-in-Chief @kellycamilleholmes Executive Assistant Tatiana Ybarra EDITORIAL Managing Editor Jacqueline Lina Brixey Staff Writer Rhonda “Tree” Mangan Staff Writer Darren Thompson Staff Writer Johnnie Morris Staff Writer Kelly Bedoni CREATIVE Creative Director E-’cho Martin Director of Photography Zoe Friday Videographer Joey Little Bird Web Director Celeste Terry Staff Photographer Viki Eagle
Copyright Native Max & Other Media Ventures All rights reserved. All material in Native Max Magazine is wholly copyright and reproduction without the the written permission of the Publisher is strictly forbidden. Neither this publication nor its contents constitute an explicit endorsement by Native Max of the products or services mentioned in advertising or editorial content. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, Native Max shall not have any liability for errors or omissions. We've done our best to acknowledge all photographers. In some instances photos have been provided to us by those who appear editorially and we have their permission in each case to use the images. We apologize if anything appears incorrectly. It will be a genuine mistake. Please let us know and we can give you a mention in the next issue.
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The Edge
Native Fashion in the City Recap Trends were set at the 5th annual Native Fashion in the City event last month. Here we share our fave looks by the featured designers, including the trends they were incorporating. Photography by Viki Eagle
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The Edge
ACONAV ACONAV showcased a collection of Black & White high fashion couture featuring symmetry patterns rich in stories, with Acoma Pueblo influence by Acoma Pueblo designer Loren Aragon/ACONAV.
ACONAV; www.aconav.com
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The Edge
OxDx Native American Art-Ivism was featured on this year’s runway with graphic art and activism on bold streetwear by Navajo designer Jared Yazzie of OxDx.
OxDx; www.oxdxclothing.com
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The Edge
Native Gorilla Native Gorilla delivered designs Graphic In Nature with graphic prints and pieces that deliver hardhitting messages by Lakota designer Lakota Sage/ Native Gorilla.
Native Gorilla; www.native-gorilla.com
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The Edge
Red Berry Woman Red Berry Woman represented contemporary + culture on the runway with formal contemporary designs adorned with cultural applique, dentalium, beadwork, sequins, ribbon, buckskin and elk teeth by Hidatsa/Dakota/ Assiniboine designer Norma Baker Flying Horse.
Red Berry Woman; www.facebook.com/redberrywoman
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Designs by Della Pushing the envelope on design and repping the Upper plains with her Plains-style prints and patterns is Crow designer Della Stump/ Designs by Della.
Designs by Della; www.facebook.com/ designsbydella
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Rezz’d Out Designs Street meets style with comfortable, handmade everyday-wear featuring tribal prints by Mohawk designer Kelly Marshall/Rezz’d Out Designs.
Rezz’d Out Designs; www. facebook.com/ rezzdoutdesigns
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The Edge
Siwinikan Designs Mixed prints paired with bold colors were splashed across easy-fitting dresses by Cree designer Farrah Sugar/Siwinikan Designs.
Siwinikan Designs; www.facebook.com/ swinikan
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Terry Cree Designs Terry Cree Designs showcased femininity and fierce with formalwear of feminine style and fierce fabric by Mohawk designer Terry Cree/ Terry Cree Designs.
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The Edge
A.L. Couture Feathers, fringes and frocks, Lumbee-style by Lumbee designer April Ledford/AL Couture.
A.L. Couture; www.facebook.com/aledfordcouture
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The Edge
JG Indie Refreshing colorful florals and flowy frocks by Navajo designer Jolonzo Goldtooth/JG Indie.
JG Indie; www.facebook.com/ jgindie
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All Native Max Issues Now Available in Print All print issues of Native Max Magazine are now available! NativeMax.com > Get the Magazine > Get Back Issues
The Insider Powerful Poetry by New Voices Indigenous youth poets share their striking poetry.
PHOTOS: COURTESY
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The Insider Listen Shhh Do you hear that? The whistling sound of his wiffleball bat? “BAM” And the baseball flies so far. Shhh Do you feel the soft breeze? Along with the birds chirping in the trees? Listen, they are singing. Shhh Do you hear her speak? When her soft voice creaks at the words she can’t pronounce. Her face gets red, see? Listen. Shhh Just listen. -by Alexandrea Ground
I Am From I am from the cleanse of a whispering creek, Where his tide shrinks over time. Silent, he speaks, but carries words forged like silver. As dawn arrives, I am a man between the land and sky, built, tore down, and reborn. I am the eyes arisen from the heavens, And descended towards a path ahead of me. Felled and blindfolded as darkness routed in my ocean, Seen by my mother as she glanced in my eyes. She saw my pain, my anger, my soul dripping from my cheeks. I am a cycle of life, A capacity unseen, A path unknown… Where light breathes an essence And a voice hollers in praise. -by Cody LittlePlume
Powerful Poetry by New Voices
Here are four works of Native American high school students and up-and-coming poets of Browning High School Library Rising Voices Poetry Club in Browning, Montana. BHS Rising Voices Poetry Club is a club for students who like to read, write, and perform their own poetry. They work together to help one another through the creative process and end each year with a celebratory performance of their best work.
Poetry, by definition, is the literary work in which special intensity is given to Untitled the expression of I’m hoping you will perish, feelings and ideas by the Because I know you will grow tired of me. use of distinctive style and This comment may astound, I hope you’ll find the happiness that you prerhythm; poems collectively But tended to have found. or as a genre of literature. Do not fret, For I want you to go. But for these Native I will not be upset, American youth, poetry is Because there is no need to cry over someone who will laugh without you. a safe haven for them to But know that until you, express themselves. Read I had a fascination with the color blue. through their raw, emotional Then you came, staring at me. With those lovely pools of brown. works accompanied with In the end, truth and grace. You were more than I could handle. -by Maddalynn Whitright
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Sherman Alexie Your stories touched the deepest depths of my heart Your words were able to make me shiver and summoned genuine tears at the corners of my eyes I am a Native Indigenous woman Trauma runs deep within my history and in my life, in my veins I supported you because you had the same experience Because you are a Native Indigenous man An author, a poet, and voice A voice for Us Someone had the power to speak for Us And yet you have hurt your own people You have given Us another bad reputation Your own people In a world where we aren’t taken seriously In a world where we are laughed at Your own people I felt saddened when I heard the news That you had these accusations I was angry I was full of rage and I felt sick I was not saddened by you losing awards and a reputation I was saddened that so many women had been in silence for so long and that you got away with it for so long \ And you continued with a successful career, without a second thought for so long Your books are on my shelves still, and some of your poems on my computer But like so much of my media now, it feels weird to touch it -by Peyote Mesteth Campos
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The Insider Here are two works of Native American high school students and up-and-coming poets of Native American Community Academy (NACA) Radical Poetry. NACA Radical Poetry celebrates a robust ongoing poetry collective that spans across the middle school and high school grade levels. Students share their stories of celebratory cultural and Indigenous identities, languages, and traditions through the lens of poetry and spoken word. NACA poets continue to speak truth to power, challenge the dominant narrative, and celebrate Native identities all the while exploring the craft of poetry and spoken word.
Poem by Emily Jaramillo dear fellow pissed-off indigenous kids, if your conservative relatives threaten to punish you for protesting FUCKING DO IT ANYWAY. they are not held responsible to begin the redirection and healing they are so afraid of. equality is manifesting into a neoliberal value so if you’re here for reparations and decolonization－ please stand up. dear mr. president, you’ve had since 1993 to clean up your act regarding your ever so intelligent thoughts on indian blood and gaming casinos do you not think that ‘they don’t look indian to me’ is a mantra that my brothers and sisters hear every fucking day in seek of acknowledgement or the simple right of living? there is no justification for continuous genocide from people whom then have the audacity to complain about immigrants instead of realizing they are immigrants themselves because in this society a white man can take your job and call it manifest destiny And finally, dear conservative asshole that had the nerve to cross me, no－ i’m in fact not smudging with sage to cover up the smell of drugs
TAYLOR HARLAN: YOUTUBE
it’s called wellness It’s called self care It’s called don’t make assumptions about me based on my culture
Untitled Yá’át’ééh, shik’éí dóó shidine’é Shí éí Taylor yinishyé Ta’neeszahnii nishłį́ Dzi ł t ł’ahnii bashishchiin Hashk’ąą hadzohi dashicheii Kiyaa’áanii dashinalí Ákót’éego diné asdzáán nishłį́ Tʼiistsʼóózí déé’ naashá Ahéhee’ My name is the distance in between.. The darkness that traps me in my own nightmares... Taylor...plain and simple? Or a complicated color wheel of emotion and abyss like depth... When my looks became my name.... Jackie Jr. they said... You look just like your aunt they joked.. But this line of women.. My moms, my aunts and my grandmothers... Stronger than the clouds of grey that hold my spirit hostage.. Devine like celestial goddesses... My signature, and ever sighing sign of social stratification A Belligerent battle to contain the demonic presence of my inner rationalizations The riot that is tied to the history of this perplexing embodiment An enchanting drum beat of anarchy My name is screaming from my psyche for retribution never being heard by this goddamn world, As it yanks my very breath from my lungs Engulfing my mentality in flames And entangling my sanity in its rigid grasp His curled hair and eyes like a dance through time His presence the comfort and security of home His voice the rhythmic stroke of an artist Paints “panda” as an epithet of whimsy..
I NT E R N AT I O N A L FASHION SHOW SUPPORT DU STUDENTS AS THEY STRUT DOWN THE RUNWAY IN THIS INTERNATIONAL FASHION SHOW FEATURING LOCAL AND GLOBAL DESIGNS
Wednesday, April 11th 7:30pm - 9:00pm Driscoll Ballroom University of Denver Hosted by
My name, the sketches of my imagination The murky whisper of my desperate cries The radiant glow of the sunset Leisurely dragging over the mountains And leaking through the trees like blood Dancing out of the ripped seam along my skin.... -by Taylor Harlan
try it sometime, because it’s not my fault the only smidge of ‘culture’ you have left to cling onto is fox news, your fragile masculinity, and the 2nd amendment
Videographer
－i dare you to shoot me -by Emily Jaramillo
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C U LT U R E F E S T PRESENTS
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Event DJ
Photographer
Cover Story
Poetic Soul We visit with the brilliant Tanaya Winder and her poetic soul about her recent works, what inspired her to pursue poetry and advice for the Native youth.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY VIKI EAGLE HAIR/MAKEUP/STYLING BY KELLY HOLMES
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f
or as long as I could remember, poetry was one of my creative outlets. As a native youth, I was able to put my feelings, dreams, and struggles into poetic form inside my beat-up notebook. While I didn’t pursue poetry professionally, I can say that I write for a living.
Fast forward about a decade. Fate turned me onto Tanaya Winder, a well-known and established poet, public speaker, writer, artist, and educator. And there would still be more to add to describe Winder fully. Hailing from the Duckwater Shoshone, Southern Ute, Pyramid Lake Paiute and Navajo tribes, she’s undoubtedly a Jill of all trades. She’s independent and a trailblazer. She started the first and only all-Native American artist management company, Dream Warriors, which is comprised of herself and hip-hop artists Frank Waln, Tall Paul and Mic Jordan, to name a few. Winder is the director of the University of Colorado Boulder’s Upward Bound Program (CUUB) and a leader who has started a significant number of organizations, projects, and movements. But her first love is poetry. The more I learned about Winder; there was more to admire: her hard-work and humility aside from the fact that her purpose is to help heal her people through her talents. Her poetry is an example of that. She travels the world and shares her works through performances and sells her books, caulk full of inspirational -and heartbreaking- content. I’m glad to call her a mentor and sister. We booked her for our April edition, also known as the Poetry Issue, and coordinated a photo shoot in Denver, CO. She was kind enough to share an exclusive new piece with us, which you’ll be able to read in our “Until Later” section. NATIVE MAX: When did you get involved in poetry? TANAYA WINDER: I started writing poetry during my senior year of high school. After that, in college I would take poetry classes for my "fun classes,” but it wouldn't be until the end of my sophomore year that I decided I'd be an English major and began writing more seriously. After that, I pursued
a Master's of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of New Mexico. NM: When did you start taking writing seriously? TW: I started writing most seriously in grad school because the goal of grad school is to complete a manuscript. NM: What inspires your works? TW: I'd say life and love inspire my poetry and work. I love seeing the way everything is connected and related. I learn a lot from all of my travels and trips to different places and communities. I put those lessons into the work and poetry. NM: Do you remember your first serious poem or piece? TW: I can't remember what my first serious poem was. Poems come to me all the time, and I'm always writing, so it's hard to remember the first. NM: Was writing poetry therapeutic? How did it help? TW: Writing is therapeutic. Writing is healing to me. You get to travel back in time to revisit specific memories and events and render new situations and emotions and give things new meaning NM: Who is a fellow indigenous poet you look up to? TW: My fave native poet is Joy Harjo. She's amazing NM: Was there a poem that inspired you? TW: Joy Harjo's "I Give You Back." NM: What is your advice to youth who are interested in poetry? TW: Keep following your heart. If your soul and spirit call you to write, honor that call. Each of you has a gift, a purpose, and a voice; and that voice deserves to be shared. You never know if the words you share might help heal another person so write every word you ever needed.
Read Tanaya Winder’s exclusive poem “For Girls and Women On Fire” on the next page.
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Until Later
For Girls and Women on Fire Everything happens for a reason and breaks you thought were heartaches was really Creator helping you dodge a massive bullet destined for danger, rupture, and the darkness you crawled your way out of long ago. So let go. Let go of anything that didn’t work out the way you wanted. Because you know this, deep in your heart of hearts, you know: you were born from a line of fierce women on fire, who shine light in the darkest of places, and heal those in need. And if people are afraid of you (let them be afraid) they should be. Because you are powerful beyond containment; the kind of free people dream of embodying and everything is coming together the way it was always destined. Because you are destined for greatness and anything you ever set your mind to, you looked yourself in the mirror and said “We are going to do this.” And you did. You did do it. So don’t stop now. Because you are meant to keep all of the promises you ever made to yourself.
-Tanaya Winder
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Missed the Show? #NFITC2018 Merch Available at nativefashioninthecity. com/shop
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2018 | NATIVE Photographer/MUA: Hannah Manuelito | Model: Chanelle Amber-Dawn (IG: @chanelleamberdawn) | Shots taken APRIL at FABRIC in Tempe, AZ MAX MAGAZINE
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