Living in the boundaries of broken treaties
Author
Layli Long Soldier (Oglala Lakota)
Book Summary
Layli Long Soldier’s Whereas reminds us all of the devastations of broken promises and empty words of the U.S. government. She uses the enemy’s language against them by deconstructing language to make it painfully beautiful. Specifically, she uses an array of short lyrics, prose poems, and longer narrative sequences to examine Oceti Sakowin histories and landscapes.
Resources: Podcast and Discussion Guide
#NativeReads Committee member, OLWS member and poet, Joel Waters (Oglala Lakota) interviews Layli Long Soldier, poet to poet. Discussion guide was written by OLWS Executive Director Tasiyagnunpa Livermont Barondeau (Oglala Lakota).
Long Soldier’s poetry book is divided into two sections. Part I: “These Being the Concerns” examines the themes of culture and language loss, landscape, motherhood and forgiveness. Part II: “Whereas” responds to the U.S. government’s official “Apology to Native People,” which President Obama signed into obscurity in 2009. Long Soldier’s Whereas examines the U.S.’s many acts of violence against the Oceti Sakowin and other tribal people and communities. Her work is prevalent and a reminder of our perseverance as a nation.