Two Braids
Boozhoo, Mae Nindizhinikaaz. The Great Lakes nindoonjii. Gaawiin mashi ningikenimaasiin n’doodem. (Hello, my name Mae. I come from the Great Lakes. I do not yet know my clan). This is a poem describing how I live at my intersection—a woman of Indigenous a
- PDF / 153,093 Bytes
- 2 Pages / 612 x 792 pts (letter) Page_size
- 8 Downloads / 149 Views
18. Two Braids
Abstract
Boozhoo, Mae Nindizhinikaaz. The Great Lakes nindoonjii. Gaawiin mashi ningikenimaasiin n’doodem. (Hello, my name Mae. I come from the Great Lakes. I do not yet know my clan). This is a poem describing how I live at my intersection—a woman of Indigenous and European decent. It begins to explain the de-colonization of my mind so that I may re-inhabit the path I am supposed to follow. *** I am packaged in two braids Allowing me to be recognized By myself and others. It is the reflection I see in a window Through which someone else acknowledges me. But two braids are the product of traditions And the expectations of Disney. It is a decolonized stance And a colonized over-simplification But it is a choice I make every day. Grandma was not a princess Nor was grandfather a war chief. It stings being told I speak like Zhaaganaashi1 And equally when I am called Pocahontas. My riddled quantum longs to be ogichidaakwe.2 But probably gijigijigaaneshiinh3 Is my we’enh.4 Fragile in appearance, yet endures adversity As a subtle reminder that winter will not last forever. I grow where I am planted. My two braids show allegiance Like a flag I fly G. A. Tilley-Lubbs & S. B. Calva (Eds.), Re-Telling Our Stories, 243–244. © 2016 Sense Publishers. All rights reserved.
M. Hey
That reduces the need for interrogation Because that is uncomfortable For everyone. My two braids will remain. They are timelines and companions. They are comfort and ritual. They are a whispered reminder of not having cancer But I should not exploit their power as a shield. notes Zhaganaashi-white/English person in Anishinaabemowin. ogichidaakwe-woman warrior. 3 gijigijigaaneshiinh-chickadee. 4 we’enh-one who guides you. 1 2
Mae Hey Faculty of Teaching and Learning School of Education Virginia Tech Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
244
Data Loading...
