from Something I Said
Reviewed by DWIGHT HOBBES
Native Americans matter. Shouldn’t need to be said. Twin Cities black communities weren’t the only ones devastated by the George Floyd uproar. All that came to many minds was the most visible and vocal, black folk. Unconquered Nations (Wiishkoban) reflects on the thoughts and feelings of women of Little Earth (Minneapolis) who saw their neighborhood put through hell. Brilliantly. The Unconquered Nations Writing and Healing Project gathered seven prose-poets, Little Earth Protectors to convey, along with property damage, the shock, hurt, dismay and personal experiences, a glimpse inside their personal and communal realities.
Author Marcie Rendon and co-editor Diego Vazquez, Jr. shepherded the project. Rendon, who has spent a successful career looking into and looking out for Native women’s concerns, stated in an interview, “During the school year of 22-23 I, with Sigwan Rendon and Serene Eidem, met with the women who are Little Earth Protectors one time a month. During that time I encouraged them to write their story of their actions immediately following the George Floyd uprising and what they did to protect the Little Earth housing and surrounding community. In June 2023, we published a chapbook of their writing. Since non-native folks arrived here, our stories have been written by everyone else. Sigwan Rendon and Serene Eidem provided Reiki healing to the women who wanted that. This was the opportunity for these courageous women to write their story, from their perspective for future generations to read.”
Al Sharpton and other social crusading celebrities hit town for sound bytes. “It’s time for us to stand up in George’s name”, he vowed, “and say, ‘Get your knee off our necks.’ Then he hopped back on a plane. Even local so-called leaders got their 15 minutes, then went back to business as usual.
An excerpt from “Food” by Sandra Corona crystallizes in simple terms what didn’t make the media. “Went to other stores to get food for my house & my family & other communities,” she writes. “Sometimes I went to 10-15 different stores to get what we needed. Went to places that gave out free food. Shared what food I got to help others. Some people hid stuff. Everyone helped each other out when needed.”
Excerpted from Shontal LaJeunesse’s “We Need an Apology”, “I’m in disbelief about what the police officers do to our Native men or any man of color. This has been ongoing for decades and now we need to stand together and fight, so our kids and grandchildren don’t ever have to feel discriminated against by the police. I wonder about the truth of the stories of the police taking Native American men down to the river and beating them.”
The other writers are, Maricela Diaz, Margaret Percy, Jolene Roberts, Rachel Sundahl and Marcella Torrez, each a distinct voice among those whose lives matter, yet have been unheard.
Unconquered Nations was sponsored by the Minneapolis Creative Response Fund.
Dwight Hobbes is a long-time Twin Cities journalist and essayist.
