I
I am the Indian
And the burden lies yet with meII
I see the spirit
The load on his back, heavy
He is unsure of himself, so very shy
The spring of the year awakens the song
He sings through his life, but
The pattern of history is in the way.
You ask why.III
I see the spirit
The unloading is done through writing
Aboriginal across the land, tell our side
Tell it as it is, and gain pride
The spring of the year awakens your song,
The one I told.
Assumed fact is not always a true tale
In my role I’m recognized.
(“Analysis of My Poem: 1”)
to be honest I'm not sure how to feel about this collection. on the whole — I liked it.
but. the politics of it are strange. it’s strange that, despite writing from one of the most obviously illegitimate parts of Canada (not that places where there are land cession treaties would be more legitimate, just that the Canadian state doesn’t even have a treaty to hide behind to claim to sovereignty over Nova Scotia), Joe still consistently writes in the spirit of the Peace and Friendship Treaties: teaching, extending goodwill, learning to live in harmony. “Oka” is explicitly saying “I feel you but also Not All Settlers! we have to let the well-meaning majority, slowly, painfully, do the right thing”, which feels really politically weird.
so...I liked it overall, but also you can see why after her somewhat more polemic early poems Joe went on to become a poet beloved by Canadians across the country, and I don’t necessarily mean that as a good thing. I understand where she’s coming from, and I don’t think she’s wrong, necessarily, about the value of educating settlers — but it seems like that’s where she stops, and that doesn’t feel like it’s quite enough, you know?
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