Shanna 5/1/08 I Tell You Now

I Tell You Now is a book of autobiographical stories and poetry by Native American authors. This book is packed full of potential hooks for papers on wilderness, land management, or Native Americans in general. My favorite poem is by David Wishart, a professor of Native American studies at the University of California. I used one of his lines as the hook of my paper:
"In a place where / it used to be / always spring / now one tells the seasons / by smog reports." This line spoke loudly to me, poetically depicting the destruction of lands which use to be beautiful homes to so many Native Americans, not to mention sanctuaries for the expression of their religions. Another poems describes the poverty of a Native family. It takes the viewpoint of the author as a child who does not realize then how deprived his family is, and how hard his father worked to find employment so that he could support them. From the mouths of those who have experienced the impact of relocation first hand, this book really hits home. It made me realize the hellish state some Native reservations are in. This is not a history book, or a book written by a white person studying Native Americans. It is their stories written by their own hands. The most impressive part of all is that a good portion of the writers are professors or accomplished writers. The fact that they somehow rose above the treacherous conditions they describe speaks wonders of their resiliency, determination, and work ethic.