From Resisting Canada: An Anthology of Poetry, edited by Nyla Matuk. Published by Véhicule Press in 2019.
If I change one word, I change history. What did I say today? Do I even remember one word? Writing is oral tradition. You have to practice the words on someone before writing it down. I do not intend to become the world’s greatest Indian orator. Maybe I might by accident. I might speak my mind even when running off my mouth like I’m doing. Language finds a tongue. Maybe it will be an Indian accent. Counting hostile Indians is made easier because they don’t talk much or very little. They look the part —the part in the middle with braids. You never do know if you are talking to an Indian. Frozen Indians and frozen conversations predominate. We mourn the ones at Wounded Knee. Our traditions buried in one grave. Our frozen circles of silence do no honour to them. We talk to keep our conversations from getting too dead.