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Indigenous Literature Quotes

Browse 14 quotes about Indigenous Literature.

Indigenous Literature Quotes

“In the place Calliope had bled, a trail of corn sprouted behind her. She picked the two tallest corn shoots then sat beside two large, smooth stone metates for grinding. From within her husk rebozo, she pulled a mano, shucked the corn, laid it on the altar, and with the mano in both hands, she began moving with the weight of her whole body, the strength of her shoulders and back pressing down through her arms, back and forth, shearing, until the corn became a fine yellow powder. The Ancients sang her on as she worked. When the Earth has had enough, she will shake her troubles off. She will shake her troublemakers off. She scooped this and mashed it into the butter of her hands. Rolled it into a ball, flattened it again. Shaped and shaped until the corn grew into a child, who sprang from the stone of her hands, laughing. For she was finished, and sank into the earth, solid, hardened, at peace. And as her corn-made child ran from the mound to the grass below, the spirits intoned. The Earth has all the power she needs. When she decides to use her power, you will know.”

MythologyMagical RealismDystopian FictionLatinx LiteratureApocalyptic FictionIndigenous LiteratureSouthwestern American CultureCreation Story
Book:Trinity Sight
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“A shock of light. Unbelievable light. Blood orange swallowing the Albuquerque evening. A pulling in, taking back, reclaiming something stolen. Halfway home from her Saturday-morning lecture, Calliope Santiago drove across the river toward West Mesa and the Sleeping Sisters, ancient cinder-cone volcanoes in the distance marking the stretch of desert where she lived. Only now she could see no farther than two feet ahead of her from the blinding light, the splotches in her eyes bursting like bulbs in an antique camera. She blinked, not sure what she was seeing. She meant to cover her eyes. Meant to shield her sight.”

MythologyMagical RealismLatinx LiteratureIndigenous Literature
Book:Trinity Sight
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“The rocks pummeled her belly. Something rose in her throat and when she tried to speak, from her mouth she dislodged a rock. She was made of rocks. She couldn’t move from the fossilized casing she’d once called her body. Heat crackled nearby. A conversation wove through the fire. A child’s sweaty body curled at her lap, chest rhythms of breathing, up and down, pressing against her. 'I didn’t want to believe it was happening again.”

MythologyMagical RealismLatinx LiteratureIndigenous Literature
Book:Trinity Sight
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“We don't just passively absorb the things we read. Books change us because we engage with them, we wrestle and argue with them. The power of book clubs and reading groups lies not just in who we read but in who we read with and why.”

ReadingCommunityEducationLearningTransformationLiterary CriticismIndigenous LiteratureBook Clubs
Book:Bad Indians Book Club: Reading at the Edge of a Thousand Worlds
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“Four kids in T-shirts and jeans jam on a powwow stage. They’re grinning, bouncing, fully engaged with their music, each other, and the relaxed crowd. I’m splitting fry bread with a cousin as we cheer on the band, and across the tent, a young girl reading a paperback catches my eye. In that moment, I wish for more characters like those kids in the pages of children’s books. This anthology is a fulfillment of that wish.”

Middle GradeMiddle SchoolAnthologyChildrens BooksIndigenous PeoplesChildrens LiteratureNative American LiteratureIndigenous LiteraturePowwow
Book:Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids
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“When I left residential school, I became confused and saw life from a different perspective. I was not aware of society. I was now living in the world, seeing people other than priests and nuns. I was ashamed of who I was. After nine years of having negative messages drilled into my head at residential school, my mind was tattered by the time I was released. I had been taught that to be Native meant I had no value: that I was not human. I felt defective and did not know how to change this. I was overflowing with shame. When my relatives staggered down the streets, I would pretend I did not know them. I felt embarrassed seeing them drunk. When people saw them staggering down the street, they were not just calling them down, they were also including me. I took this so personally. I often wondered why they were like this. I did not realize they had the same pain I had, maybe more, and that was their way of coping.”

Canadian HistoryResidential SchoolsIndigenous Literature
Book:They Called Me 33: Reclaiming Ingo-Waabigwan
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