Incorporating AI Lit into all facets of Lit

So, this question really got me thinking. How can we, as future educators, change the perception of American Indian literature? I know that I was not exposed to much, if any, American Indian literature in my high school or grade school. I remember reading Indian in the Cupboard, but that was on my own in grade school so I'm sure I wasn't reading critically or thinking about the book after I finished it.
I don't think that literature/poems written by American Indians should be put in their own separate category...i.e. we only teach them when talking about Early American History. This makes the Indians appear as though they don't exist anymore, that they aren't producing literature today. I think that the exposure that we have gotten in this class will definitely be useful to me in the future. I would love to be able to talk about e.e. cummings and then use Quo-Li Driskill in the same unit. I think that acknowledging the background of the author is important but separating the authors into White/African American/American Indian, etc. is more damaging than anything. It is saying that these authors can't be read together...that we can't find commonalities among all the works. I think that we can and should and need to interweave the authors of all backgrounds into major themes not timelines.
I hope to be able to use something from this course next year when I student teach. I am challenging myself to somehow incorporate a modern poem or story written by an American Indian into my students' lives. I know this movement, if one wants to call it that, needs to start small in a single classroom and then it will hopefully multiply and change views of other people.

Favorite Poem of Joy Harjo

I actually liked a lot of Harjo's poems in her book How We Became Human, but one poem really stuck with me.

If All Events Are Related

If all events are related, then what story does a volcano erupting in
Hawai'i, the birth of a woman's second son near Gallup, and this
shoulderbone of earth made of a mythic monster's anger construct?
Nearby a meteor crashes. Someone invents aerodynamics, makes
wings. The answer is like rushing wind: simple faith.

I often think that certain things happen for a reason, because something else happened somewhere that now causes this thing to happen to me or people I know. Some times I am angry when things don't go the way I want them to, but I try to remember that everything happens in its own time. I sometimes laugh when I am driving down to school and I am late (which is often). Usually I am angry at myself and then I see a cop whose pulled over someone a few miles up the road. It makes me think that I am late for a reason. Had I left my house 10 minutes earlier it probably would have been me pulled over on the road.

Maybe this isn't even what she is trying to say but I had these thoughts go through me when I read this poem. It makes me think of chaos theory -- that if a butterfly flaps its wings in one part of the world, a hurricane/tornado/blizzard (insert any natural disaster) will occur in another part of the world.

Qwo-Li Driskill

I really enjoyed reading Qwo-Li's Walking with Ghosts. I'd like to talk about some lines that struck me and why.

"For Matthew", the poem about Matthew Shepard.
"We have no more time for symbols.
We have no more time for vigils.
We have no more time"
I love these phrases. It shows that people need to stop reacting to events and start steppin up to the issues. It is a call for action, NOW, not after the fact. I think these lines are so powerful in really driving home the issue of acting instead of reacting.

I love the visual aspect in "Map of the Americas". I really like seeing the time and effort taken not only in the words chosen but also the placement of each of those letters. It truly shows a dedication to hir work.

Simple words, simple phrases. The fact that Qwo-Li can choose such words honestly and directly is very powerful. In "To Your Rude Question, What's Your Pedigree? A Response", his words are short and to the point. They create a powerful image and tell a story. It proves that you don't need to say a lot to have a great impact.

F.C. Martinez

This week we read poems by Qwo-Li Driskill. Hir poems are very well-written, thoughtful, powerful, imaginative, creative and thought-provoking. Driskill ends hir book with a series of poems written in memoriam for FC Martinez, Jr. Our professor provided us with a newsarticle of the horrific tragedy that took place in Colorado. This event took Martinez's life and Shaun Murphy pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. FC was a two-spirit, just like Qwo-Li is, and was the victim of an apparent hate-crime against transgendered, gay individuals.
I was curious to find out the result of the sentencing and I can report that Murphy received 40 years and must serve 25 before being eligible for parole. More on the story can be found here. There is a nice statement from FC's mother that really shows her character. I can not begin to imagine what it must feel like to lose a child to such a terrible crime. My heart goes out to FC's family and friends.
I think what I take away from all of this is that it seems to me that the Indian community is much more tolerable of differences than other communities. Accepting people for their differences - actually, embracing people for their differences is what is going to make this world keep going. If we don't start now, it will be too late in the future.

Feminism...

This week we have been talking about Indigenous Feminism. For the most part, I liked the articles that we read. I will admit that I have never thought of myself as a Feminist. I think because when I picture a Feminist I see a woman who is not very feminine, bra-burning, man-hating, insert word that rhymes with witch. That is the negative connotation that has come across to me most strongly when I think of feminism. Now, if you ask me if I think women deserve equal pay, equal vote, equal rights...Absolutely. If that makes me a feminist then I guess I am. I really enjoyed reading about the connection between feminism and the earth and environment especially when it was illustrated that women are the first environment. I feel sorry for the women who have had miscarriages, not due to a hereditary element but to an environmental element that could have easily been prevented if the big companies had been more responsible. Women who go through the pain of miscarriage have a big enough burden than having to worry about trying to battle big companies. I think that it is amazing what some of these Native communities are trying to do and to accomplish not just for the good of their own nation and people but also for the planet.