by Joy Harjo
Steve Pacheco, “History” from Shedding Skins: Four Sioux Poets. Copyright © 2008 by Steve Pacheco. Reprinted with the permission of Michigan State University Press.
Elise Paschen, “Wi’-Gi-E” from Bestiary. Copyright © 2009 by Elise Paschen. “High Ground” from The Night Life. Copyright © 2017 by Elise Paschen. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company, LLC, on behalf of Red Hen Press, redhen.org.
Christy Passion, “Hear the Dogs Crying” from No Choice but to Follow: Linked Poems by Jean Yamasaki Toyama, Juliet S. Kono, Ann Inoshita, and Christy Passion (Honolulu: Bamboo Ridge Press, 2010). Copyright © 2010 by Christy Passion. Reprinted with the permission of the author.
Craig Santos Perez, “ginen the micronesian kingfisher (i sihek)” from ‘guma (Richmond, California: Omnidawn, 2014). Copyright © 2014 by Craig Santos Perez. Reprinted with the permission of the author.
Mahealani Perez-Wendt, “Uluhaimalama” from Uluhaimalama (Honolulu: Kuleana Ōiwi Press, 2008). Copyright © 2008 by Mahealani Perez-Wendt. Reprinted with the permission of the author.
Leialoha Perkins, “Plantation Non-Song” from Ho’omanoa, Anthology of Contemporary Hawaiian Literature, edited by Joseph Balaz (Honolulu: Ku Pa’a Press, 1989). Reprinted with the permission of M. ‘Umi Perkins.
Tommy Pico, excerpt from “Poison Oak” from Nature Poem. Copyright © 2017 by Tommy Pico. Reprinted with the permission of Tin House Books.
Stacy Pratt, “A Creek Woman Beside Lake Ontario” [previously unpublished]. Reprinted with the permission of the author.
Henry Real Bird, “Thought” from Horse Tracks. Copyright © 2010 by Henry Real Bird. Reprinted by permission of Lost Horse Press, Sandpoint, Idaho.
Lois Red Elk, “Our Blood Remembers” from Our Blood Remembers (Kalispell, Montana: Many Voices Press, 2011). Copyright © 2011 by Lois Red Elk. Reprinted with the permission of the author.
Marcie Rendon, “what’s an indian woman to do? . . .” from Dreaming into Being (Smashwords, 2013). Reprinted with the permission of the author.
No‘u Revilla, “Smoke screen” from Black Renaissance Noire 16, no. 1 (2016): 13. Copyright © 2016 by No‘u Revilla. Reprinted with the permission of the author.
Cathy Tagnak Rexford, “The Ecology of Subsistence” from Effigies (Cambridge, England: Salt Publishers, 2009). Copyright © 2009 by Cathy Tagnak Rexford. Reprinted by permission.
Kim Shuck, “Water as a Sense of Place” from Smuggling Cherokee (Greenfield Center, New York: Greenfield Review Press, 2006). Copyright © 2006 by Kim Shuck. Reprinted with the permission of the author.
Cedar Sigo, “A Small Secluded Valley” and “After Self Help” from Language Arts. Copyright © 2014 by Cedar Sigo. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company, LLC, on behalf of Wave Books, wavepoetry.com.
Leslie Marmon Silko, “Where Mountain Lion Lay Down with Deer” and “Long Time Ago” from Ceremony. Copyright © 1981, 2012 by Leslie Marmon Silko. Used by permission of Viking Books, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved.
Jake Skeets, “Drunktown” from Eyes Bottle Dark with a Mouthful of Flowers. Copyright © 2019 by Jake Skeets. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company, LLC, on behalf of Milkweed Editions, milkweed.org.
M. L. Smoker, “Crosscurrent” and “Casualties” from Another Attempt at Rescue. Copyright © 2005 by M. L. Smoker. Reprinted with the permission of Hanging Loose Press.
James Thomas Stevens, “Tonawanda Swamps” from a bridge dead in the water. Copyright © 2007 by James Thomas Stevens. Reprinted with the permission of Salt Publishing Ltd. via PLSClear. “St. James Lake” from Bulle/Chimere (First Intensity Press, 2006). Copyright © 2006 by James Thomas Stevens. Reprinted with the permission of the author.
Denise Sweet, “Song for Discharming” and “Mapping the Land” from Palominos Near Tuba City: New and Selected Poems. Copyright © 2018 by Denise Sweet. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company, LLC, on behalf of Holy Cow! Press, holycowpress.org.
Lehua M. Taitano, “Letters from an Island” from Inside Me an Island. Copyright © 2018 by Lehua Taitano. Reprinted with the permission of WordTech Editions.
Mary TallMountain, “Good Grease” and “There Is No Word for Goodbye” from The Light on the Tent Wall. Copyright © 1990 by Mary TallMountain. Reprinted with the permission of M. Catherine Costello, Literary Executor for Mary TallMountain.
Margo Tamez, “My Mother Returns to Calaboz” from Naked Wanting. Copyright © 2003 by Margo Tamez. Reprinted by permission of The University of Arizona Press.
Luci Tapahonso, “Blue Horses Rush In” and “This Is How They Were Placed for Us” from Blue Horses Rush In. Copyright © 1997 by Luci Tapahonso. “Hills Brothers Coffee” from Sáanii Dahataa: The Women Are Singing. Copyright © 1993 by Luci Tapahonso. All reprinted by permission of The University of Arizona Press.
Earle Thompson, “Mythology” from Anthology of 20th Century Native American Poetry (New York: Harper, 1988). Reprinted with the permission of the Estate of Earle Thompson.
Laura Tohe, “When the Moon Died” and “No Parole Today” from No Parole Today. Copyright © 1999 by Laura Tohe. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company, LLC, on behalf of West End Press, Albuquerque, New Mexico, westendpress.org.
Haunani-Kay Trask, “An Agony of Place” from Ho‘omanoa: An Anthology of Contemporary Hawaiian Literature (Honolulu: Ku Pa‘a, 1989). Reprinted with the permission of the author. “Night Is a Sharkskin Drum” and “Ko‘olauloa” from Light in the Crevice Never Seen. Copyright © 1994 by Haunani-Kay Trask. Reprinted with the permission of CALYX Books.
Gail Tremblay, “Indian Singing in 20th Century America” from Indian Singing in 20th Century America. Copyright © 1990 by Gail Tremblay. Reprinted with the permission of the author and CALYX Books.
John Trudell, “Diablo Canyon” from Lines from a Mined Mind. Copyright © 2008 by John Trudell. Reprinted with the permission of Fulcrum Publishing.
Mark Turcotte, “Burn” and “Battlefield” from Exploding Chippewas. Copyright © 2002 by Mark Turcotte. Published 2002 by TriQuarterly Books/Northwestern University Press. All rights reserved.
Georgiana Valoyce-Sanchez, “The Dolphin Walking Stick” from The Sound of Rattles and Clappers: A Collection of New California Indian Writing, edited by Greg Sarris (The University of Arizona Press, 1994). Copyright © 1994 by Georgiana Valoyce-Sanchez. Reprinted with the permission of the author.
Gerald Vizenor, “Seven Woodland Crows” and “Family Photograph.” Reprinted with the permission of the author. “Fat Green Flies” from Favor of Crows: New and Selected Haiku. Copyright © 2014 by Gerald Vizenor. Reprinted by permission of Wesleyan University Press.
Vince Wannassay, “Forgotten Coyote Stories” from Dancing on the Rim of the World (Tucson: The University of Arizona Press, 1990). Copyright © 1990 by Vince Wannassay. Reprinted with the permission of the Estate of Vince Wannassay.
Michael Wasson, “A Poem for the háawtnin’ & héwlekipx [The Holy Ghost of You, the Space & Thin Air]” from Poetry (June 2018). Copyright © 2018 by Michael Wasson. Reprinted with the permission of the author.
James Welch, “Harlem, Montana: Just Off the Reservation,” “The Man from Washington,” and “Riding the Earthboy 40” from Riding the Earthboy 40. Copyright © 1971, 1976, 1990 by James Welch. Used by permission of Penguin Books, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved.
Kimberly Wensaut, “Prodigal Daughter” from Yellow Medicine Review (Winter 2007). Copyright © 2007 by Kimberly Wensaut. Reprinted with the permission of the author.
Gwen Nell Westerman, “Wicaŋĥpi Heciya Taŋhaŋ Uŋhipi (We Come from the Stars)” from Follow the Blackbirds. Copyright © 2013 by Gwen Nell Westerman. Reprinted with the permission of Michigan State University Press.
Wayne Kaumualii Westlake, “Hawaiians Eat Fish” from Westlake: Poems by Wayne Kaumualii Westlake (Unive
rsity of Hawaii Press, 2009). Reprinted with the permission of the Estate of Wayne Kaumualii Westlake.
Orlando White, “To See Letters” from Bone Light. Copyright © 2009 by Orlando White. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company, LLC, on behalf of Red Hen Press, redhen.org. “Empty Set” from LETTERRS. Copyright © 2015 by Orlando White. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company, LLC, on behalf of Nightboat Books, nightboat.org.
Tanaya Winder, “learning to say i love you” and “the milky way escapes my mouth” from Words Like Love (West End Press, 2015). Copyright © 2015 by Tanaya Winder. Reprinted with the permission of the author.
Karenne Wood, “Chief Totopotamoi, 1654” and “Hard Times” from Markings on Earth. Copyright © 2001 by Karenne Wood. Reprinted by permission of The University of Arizona Press.
Elizabeth Woody, “Weaving” and “Translation of Blood Quantum” from Luminaries of the Humble. Copyright © 1994 by Elizabeth A. Woody. Reprinted by permission of The University of Arizona Press.
Don Jesús Yoilo’i, “Yaqui Deer Song” from Yaqui Deer Songs, Maso Bwikam, edited by Larry Evers and Felipe S. Molina. Reprinted with the permission of The University of Arizona Press, Larry Evers, and Felipe S. Molina.
Ray Young Bear, “John Whirlwind’s Doublebeat Songs, 1956” from The New Yorker (2017). Copyright © 2017 by Ray A. Young Bear. “Our Bird Aegis” and “One Chip of Human Bone” from Manifestation Wolverine: The Collected Poetry of Ray Young Bear. Copyright © 1996 by Ray A. Young Bear. All reprinted with the permission of the author.
Ofelia Zepeda, “Bury Me with a Band” and “Ocean Power” from Ocean Power, Poems from the Desert. Copyright © 1995 by Ofelia Zepeda. Reprinted by permission of The University of Arizona Press.
INDEX
Page numbers listed correspond to the print edition of this book. You can use your device’s search function to locate particular terms in the text.
A couple miles down this iron-locked road 416
Across the meadow flecks 139
Advice to Myself 134
After Self-Help 247
Agony of Place, An 213
Ah! When thought reverts to my country so dear, 23
Alexie, Sherman 231
Allen, Paula Gunn 280
All is experienced 156
All my rooms are alien 247
A LONG TIME AGO 197
A mark across the body. The morning I watched my beloved uncle 71
among trees 31
An atlas 413
Anatomy of a Wave 256
Angle of Geese 108
An immature black eagle walks assuredly 53
Anniversary Poem for Cheyennes Who Died at Sand Creek 120
Anonymous Carlisle Student 29
Another season centers on this place. 109
Anumpa Bok Lukfi Hilha 391
Apache, Crisosto 328
Apprenticed to Justice 68
A recording of her voice, an old woman’s voice 236
Aronhiótas 86
Aroniawenrate 33
Art of Clay, The 200
A shadow of smoke passed 308
As it would for a prow, the basin parts with your foot. 86
Assignment 44 324
As the ‘ape shoot, whose delicate shoots 242
As the old woman touches me it is like air holding smoke. I am something 77
Asthmatic and wheezing I tromped 381
At Dawn, Sitting at My Father’s House 107
At half past two in the afternoon 30
A thin wet sky, that yellows at the rim, 25
Atsitty, Tacey M. 344
At the Door of the Native Studies Director 228
At the time that turned the heat of the earth, 182
A woman sits on a porch of weathered boards, 82
A woman was sitting 63
Ax Tl’aa 226
Back when I used to be Indian 136, 137
Balaz, Joe 224
Bamewawage Zhikaquay 20
Battlefield 137
Battle Won Is Lost 203
bearhart, b: william 95
Because she died where the ravine falls into water. 138
Before her birth, she moved and pushed inside her mother. 309
Before this, I would not do or say what impulse 60
Belin, Esther G. 323
Bending, I bow my head 386
Benedict, Salli M. Kawennotakie 63
Benson, Diane L’xeis´ 226
Big Fun 79
Bigjim, Fred 201
Bind Tie Bind Tie Bind Tie Small Bind-ed 324
Bird, Gloria 220
Bitsui, Sherwin 331
Blaeser, Kimberly M. 66
Blanca Peak is adorned with white shell. 312
Blassi, Lincoln 184
Blessed 388
Blessings 388
Blizzard, South Dakota 164
Blonde 165
Blue Cloud, Peter (Aroniawenrate) 33
Blue Horses Rush In 309
Bonnin, Gertrude Simmons
(Zitkála-Šá) 104
Brings Plenty, Trevino L. 163
Brolaski, Julian Talamantez 339
Bronson, Ruth Margaret Muskrat 377
Broyles, Marianne Aweagon 407
Build a wall of saguaros, 303
Burn 136
Burns, Diane 77
Bury Me with a Band 305
Bush-Banks, Olivia Ward 28
But I flip on my back, ears below the surface, listen 85
But no one can 234
Cahoon, Heather 164
Canoe Launching into the Gaslit Sea 252
Captivity 71
Caravan 333
Cardiff, Gladys 385
Carlisle Student, Anonymous 29
Carnival, The 411
Carter, Stella LeFlore 375
Casualties 161
Center Moon’s Little Brother 200
Ceremony for Completing a Poetry Reading 45
Chabitnoy, Abigail 255
Chaleco, Arsenius 270
Charlene 224
Charlene 224
Charlo, Victor 112
Chibinesi 40
Chickens dismantle, like pit crews can 344
Chief Leschi of the Nisqually 199
Chief Totopotamoi, 1654 81
Chrystos 44
Cities of snow melt, blurred in liquid between wiper blades. We are waiting 76
Clouds, Trees & Ocean, North Kauai 207
Colleen, 289
Colleps, Donovan Kūhiō 249
Combing 386
come mierda para el desayuno 344
cooking class 128
Cook-Lynn, Elizabeth 106
cosmo mag came out with a list 126
Cousin, how useless now 92
Creation stories 330
Creek Woman Beside Lake Ontario, A 408
Crosscurrent 160
Da’, Laura 93
Dance, The 110
Dancing, 110
Dark night at last has taken its flight, 364
Dauenhauer, Nora Marks 191
Delight Song of Tsoai-Talee, The 111
Diablo Canyon 123
Diaz, Natalie 346
Dilate 155
Dissolve 333
Dolphin Walking Stick, The 276
Don’t fret now. 283
Doors of the Sea, The 223
Dream, The 109
Dream of Rebirth 46
Dreams of Water Bodies 67
Drunktown 352
Duncan, J. C. 368
Dust swims in sunlight of an open door as dreams evaporate in the face 76
Early training holds fast. 406
Earthboy: so simple his name 116
Earthquake Weather 301
Ecology of Subsistence, The 248
Edmo, Ed 202
Eel 83
‘ekahi 240
Eleazar 19
Eleazar’s Elegy for Thomas Thacher 19
Emerged from the everlasting clay at the bottom
324
Empty Set 336
Endrezze, Anita 302
Erdrich, Heid E. 140
Erdrich, Louise 131
Evening Song 93 361
Even your name 191
Everything I write requires this: Alphabet. 335
Everything You Need to Know in Life You’ll Learn in Boarding School 51
Excerpts from a Speech by Chief Seattle, 1854 183
Fallen Leaves 383
Family Photograph 31
Family Tree or Comanches and Cars Don’t Mix 157
Farewell to dear class, to friends and to strangers, 374
Fate of Inupiaq-like Kingfisher, The 234
fat green flies 33
Fat Green Flies 33
Fifth Saint, Sixth & Seventh 254
First Woman 324
flock of Seagals 343
Flood Song 332
Foerster, Jennifer Elise 412
Forgotten Coyote Stories 197
Frazier, Santee 409
Frog Creek Circle 112
From Sand Creek 283
Fuller, Elsie 103
Gabriel, sing great-grandpa’s song, 254
Gansworth, Eric 83
Geget indabooniisaandaagoog Binesiwag akwaa-ayaayaan 18
Gegwejiwebinan 18
George, Phillip William 203
get this old man 204
“Get up, I said. It’s raining. It’s raining and you, lying there. Get up, old man, 76
Ghost River 163
ginen the micronesian kingfisher [i sihek] 251
Giveaway, The 110
Give me something from 189
Good Grease 187
Good-smelling are these flowers. 53
Gould, Janice 301
Gourd Dancer, The 109
Gramma says it’s so depressing—280
Gravitt, Winnie Lewis 376
Grief’s Anguish 227
Grover, Linda LeGarde 51
Guy, James Harris 366
Had this body been made 260
Häh-Shäh-Rêhs 24
Hall, Dana Naone 210
Hard Times 82
Harjo, Joy 400
Harjo, Suzan Shown 120