Post by louisa on Oct 9, 2008 2:40:32 GMT 2
Marilyn Dumont
Squaw Poems
peyak
'hey squaw!'
Her ears stung and she shook, fearful of the other words like fists that would follow. For a moment, her spirit drained like water from a basin. But she breathed and drew inside her fierce face and screamed till his image disappeared like vapour.
niso
Indian women know all too well the power of the word squaw. I first heard it from my mother, who used it in anger against another Indian woman.'That black squaw,' she rasped. As a young girl, I held the image of that woman in my mind and she became the measure of what I should never be.
nisto
I learned I should never be seen drunk in public, nor should I dress provocatively, because these would be irrefutable signs. So as a teenager I avoided red lipstick, never wore my skirts too short or too tight, never chose shoes that looked the least 'hooker-like.' I never moved in ways that might be interpreted as loose. Instead, I became what Jean Rhys phrased, 'aggressively respectable.' I'd be so god-damned respectable that white people would feel slovenly in my presence.
newo
squaw is to whore
as
Indian maiden is to virgin
squaw is to whore
as
Indian Princess is to lady
niyanan
I would become the Indian princess, not the squaw dragging her soul after laundry, meals, needy kids and abusive husbands. These were my choices. I could react naturally, spontaneuosly to my puberty, my newly discovered sexuality or I could be mindful of the squaw whose presence hounded my every choice.
nikotwasik
squawman:
a man who is seen with lives and laughs with a squaw.
'squawman'
a man is a man is whiteman until
he is a squaw he is a squaw he is a squawman.
For more information on Marilyn Dumont, including publications, writing philosophy, biography see --
www.brocku.ca/canadianwomenpoets/Dumont.htm
tinyurl.com/4cqj26
youtube www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyQ6vt_0q3k
tinyurl.com/3mwdo7