Preserving cultural identity in the face of institutionalized white supremacy: Another Home-going -- Pt. 1g: A Poem for "Veronica Brown"

(Photo courtesy of Indian Country Today Media Network)

Forget That You Are Native
by Cecelia Rose LaPointe

They want you to forget,

That is their plan,

So look in the mirror,

Your skin,

Your eyes,

Your nose,

Your lips,

Your cheek bones,

Your hair,

Look closely,

In the mirror,

They want you to forget,

And when tears fill up in your hands,

You can wipe them on your jeans,

Get in the car,

Drive 60 in a 45,

Wipe the tears on your car seat,

Your steering wheel,

When the culture says you are homogeneous,

But the land pulses through your being,

Deep rooted in the land,

Waters,

Home,

Homogeneity is destructive to the soul,

Rise up amongst it all,

Gotta climb daily,

Because homogeneity is a sickness,

That can suck you in,

Destructive majority culture sickness,

Native children are hungry,

But you call us "white,"

When inside our homes is a fire,

Ablaze,

And we want to break down the walls,

They want you to forget,

So they don't have to own up to,

The damage they do to you,

Your family,

Your community,

They want you to forget,

So we can "get along,"

So we have "community,"

They want you to forget,

So they don't have to deal,

With the injustices that bury you,

In silence,

Most often when you are alone,

They want you to forget,

Forget that you are Native,

Because they think we are gone,

They want you to forget,

Because it is about a "divine plan,"

It is about "progress,"

For them,

They want you to forget,

Because they walk an easy road,

Their being is not crippled by,

The multiple layers of oppression,

If forgetting means dislocation,

Discombobulation,

Disorientation,

Addiction,

Abuse,

Remembering,

Knowing,

Feeling,

Living,

Breathing,

Walking,

Allowing,

We do not forget,

We can stand proud,

Stand tall,

Be whole,

Healthy,

When we remember who we are.

Cecelia Rose LaPointe is an Anishinaabekwe of mixed heritage residing in Naaminitigong (Manistee, MI) but is a part of Kchiwiikwedong (Keweenaw Bay Indian Community). She is a poet and writer whose blog I've been following for some time precisely because of the beautiful and simply profound truths her words impart.  When I read this morning that Dusten Brown had lost his beautiful daughter to the child traffickers -- yet again -- I was drawn to Cecelia's blog, searching for words to share with Veronica and she did not disappoint.

I'm writing a final post of these recent events as soon as I can get my head together.

Preserving cultural identity in the face of institutionalized white supremacy: Another Home-going -- Pt. 1, Final -- State-sanctioned child-trafficking, "When animals attack"