Sacheen Littlefeather and the Question of Native Identity: The Red Lake Sioux and the Legacy of the Stolen Generation
Sacheen Littlefeather and the Question of Native Identity: The Red Lake Sioux and the Legacy of the Stolen Generation
This is a work of American Indian history, the story of which is told from outside the world of white racism and, above all, through the lived experiences and voices of Native peoples. In the present day and the past, the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves, as nations, are increasingly informed by the presence and voices of Native people. We are no longer just members of nations, but leaders, as Native peoples from around the world have begun to assert their own rights. While this is happening there is a rising tide of awareness of the violence and theft that has occurred against our people, as well as an increasing realization that the story we have told is a false one. To be reminded of a truth is to have the strength to go on; to go on with dignity, and to go on without fear.
Today we have before us Sacheen Littlefeather, a leader in the Native activism and education movement, writer and activist of the indigenous people of this land. Littlefeather is an author of several books, including A Question of Identity: The Red Lake Native Family’s Struggle for Sovereignty, co-author of the award-winning book Unfinished Business: Growing Up Indian in Canada, and a poet named after the Red Lake River and Littlefeather’s own tribe of the Red Lake Sioux. He has contributed poetry and essays to a number of books and magazines, including Poetry Magazine, The Atlantic Monthly, and The New York Times Magazine. In 2005, Littlefeather’s work was honored with the first annual Canadian Literature Award from the Canadian Writers’ Guild.
Today we bring Sacheen Littlefeather before the stage during his book reading with two of his favorite poems, and one of his great novels, Red Cloud, and ask him to take us on a deep tour of his life as a writer, activist and a proud Native American.
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My Story
My life is a poem that has been
