Rant Rave Review | Philip H. Red Eagle

AUGUST 1997
T H E RaVEN C H R O N I C L E S

`Images & Ideas of the West`

Reinventing the Enemy's Language,
Contemporary Native Women's Writings of North America

Edited by Joy Harjo and Gloria Bird
with Patricia Blanco, Beth Cuthand, and Valerie Martiniz
1997, W. W. Norton & Company, LTD
$27.50, paper; 557 pp.

Reviewed by Philip H. Red Eagle

Where are your women?

We are here.

- Amazons of Appalachia, Marilou Awiakta, Cherokee

Imagine this. You have just driven onto an Indian reservation. Doesn't matter. Any reservation; lots of them around. You have crossed over the railroad tracks, passed by a field of old wrecked cars. Yeah, a field; and it's not a junk yard either. Down the dirt road; lot's of ruts and spots of gravel. There's an old ranch house sitting there with cars parked all around. Nice hot day. Smell the fry bread. Smell the beans cooking; coffee. Hmmmm. Some mom is cooking something up. Get out of the car. Wooden screen door clacking in a light breeze. Walk up to the door. Knock, knock! Come on in. ...........Note! Note! (That's Indian for: No! No! That's not it!)

You're in a large urban setting. You have crossed over the railroad tracks, passed by a vacant lot full of old wrecked cars. Down a pothole street. That old house, there; needs a paint job; needs a front step. Smell that fry bread; beans a' cookin'; coffee. Hmmmmm. Some mom is cooking something up. Get out of the car. Wooden screen door clacking in a light breeze. Note! Note!

You're driving through the University District. Doesn't matter; lots of them around. Nice paved street. Brick houses everywhere. There, that one. Smell that fry bread; beans cooking; coffee. Get out of the car. Aluminum screen door clicking in a light breeze. Knock, knock. "Come on in, the door's open," someone says. There they are. About a hundred of them sitting around this little wooden kitchen table. They see that it's just you, a guy. Silence. "Want some fry bread," someone finally says? "Coffee? Bean's are on." On this table is this huge stack of paper; about a foot. "We've been talking. We're gonna do this book. Us; the women. We've been cookin' this up since 1986. Wanna look."

So, there they are, standing around that table: Joy Harjo, Gloria Bird, Louise Erdrich, Laura Tohe, Kimberly Blaeser, Janet Campbell Hale, Linda Hogan, Paula Gunn Allen, Leslie Marmon Silko, Gail Tremblay; just to begin with. There they are, the biggest gang of important Indian (Native, Native American, First Nations) writers, ever. Except for RTG (Returning The Gift), Oklahoma, 1992. What will you do? What will you do?

So! Here it is. Down to a mere inch and a half, 557 pages of material, 86 voices. Wonderful cover; art by Linda Lomahaftewa. Nice and heavy book.

We have been waiting for this book! It had to be done! As inevitable as sky, water, earth, fire; creation. Many of the most important and prominent Native writers north of somewhere in Mexico. Plus, the soon to be most important and prominent Native writers north of somewhere in Mexico. It even names the women that should of been in it. Joy said that Norton wanted the book cut. From the original, all cuts were considered painful and severe. Yet, with all of the cuts, it is an awesome book.

I don't like to say, "Bible," but, this is going to be the Bible of Native women writers for several years to come. Its content is strong and powerful down to the 86th person. The book has much to say about pretty much everything: Love, Native men, Native women, Native struggle, alcoholism, drugs, sex, spirituality, history, politics. It's here. All of it.

These pages are rich with humor, sadness, tragedy and victory. Especially victory. Not just for Native women, but for the men as well. Remember, Native women will pick you up and carry you through adversity and let you share their victory. That's what this book is about, shared victory.

This book is not going to be finished in one sitting. Unless, of coarse, you don't feel too much. If you have no reaction to extremes of sad, happy and joy and all the ground between, and even out to the edges and off the ground on either end, you might finish this in a day, or two. This book takes time. Just like life. Read it slow, one article at a time.

We have been invited to a special place. A chair at the table where the women, mothers, daughters, sisters, aunties, grandmas, great grandmas have come to spill themselves out, hug us, chastise us, give us a big wet kiss and send us outside to become better human beings.

Joy says it all in the final piece:

There it is. Buy it. Read it. Eat it.

Buy Reinventing the Enemy's Language from Amazon.com

© The Raven Chronicles 1997

	AUGUST 1997		T H E RaVEN C H R O N I C L E S

	`Images & Ideas of the West`		Reinventing the Enemy's Language, Contemporary Native Women's Writings of North America Edited by Joy Harjo and Gloria Bird with Patricia Blanco, Beth Cuthand, and Valerie Martiniz 1997, W. W. Norton & Company, LTD $27.50, paper; 557 pp. Reviewed by Philip H. Red Eagle Where are your women? We are here. - Amazons of Appalachia, Marilou Awiakta, Cherokee Imagine this. You have just driven onto an Indian reservation. Doesn't matter. Any reservation; lots of them around. You have crossed over the railroad tracks, passed by a field of old wrecked cars. Yeah, a field; and it's not a junk yard either. Down the dirt road; lot's of ruts and spots of gravel. There's an old ranch house sitting there with cars parked all around. Nice hot day. Smell the fry bread. Smell the beans cooking; coffee. Hmmmm. Some mom is cooking something up. Get out of the car. Wooden screen door clacking in a light breeze. Walk up to the door. Knock, knock! Come on in. ...........Note! Note! (That's Indian for: No! No! That's not it!) You're in a large urban setting. You have crossed over the railroad tracks, passed by a vacant lot full of old wrecked cars. Down a pothole street. That old house, there; needs a paint job; needs a front step. Smell that fry bread; beans a' cookin'; coffee. Hmmmmm. Some mom is cooking something up. Get out of the car. Wooden screen door clacking in a light breeze. Note! Note! You're driving through the University District. Doesn't matter; lots of them around. Nice paved street. Brick houses everywhere. There, that one. Smell that fry bread; beans cooking; coffee. Get out of the car. Aluminum screen door clicking in a light breeze. Knock, knock. "Come on in, the door's open," someone says. There they are. About a hundred of them sitting around this little wooden kitchen table. They see that it's just you, a guy. Silence. "Want some fry bread," someone finally says? "Coffee? Bean's are on." On this table is this huge stack of paper; about a foot. "We've been talking. We're gonna do this book. Us; the women. We've been cookin' this up since 1986. Wanna look." So, there they are, standing around that table: Joy Harjo, Gloria Bird, Louise Erdrich, Laura Tohe, Kimberly Blaeser, Janet Campbell Hale, Linda Hogan, Paula Gunn Allen, Leslie Marmon Silko, Gail Tremblay; just to begin with. There they are, the biggest gang of important Indian (Native, Native American, First Nations) writers, ever. Except for RTG (Returning The Gift), Oklahoma, 1992. What will you do? What will you do? So! Here it is. Down to a mere inch and a half, 557 pages of material, 86 voices. Wonderful cover; art by Linda Lomahaftewa. Nice and heavy book. We have been waiting for this book! It had to be done! As inevitable as sky, water, earth, fire; creation. Many of the most important and prominent Native writers north of somewhere in Mexico. Plus, the soon to be most important and prominent Native writers north of somewhere in Mexico. It even names the women that should of been in it. Joy said that Norton wanted the book cut. From the original, all cuts were considered painful and severe. Yet, with all of the cuts, it is an awesome book. I don't like to say, "Bible," but, this is going to be the Bible of Native women writers for several years to come. Its content is strong and powerful down to the 86th person. The book has much to say about pretty much everything: Love, Native men, Native women, Native struggle, alcoholism, drugs, sex, spirituality, history, politics. It's here. All of it. These pages are rich with humor, sadness, tragedy and victory. Especially victory. Not just for Native women, but for the men as well. Remember, Native women will pick you up and carry you through adversity and let you share their victory. That's what this book is about, shared victory. This book is not going to be finished in one sitting. Unless, of coarse, you don't feel too much. If you have no reaction to extremes of sad, happy and joy and all the ground between, and even out to the edges and off the ground on either end, you might finish this in a day, or two. This book takes time. Just like life. Read it slow, one article at a time. We have been invited to a special place. A chair at the table where the women, mothers, daughters, sisters, aunties, grandmas, great grandmas have come to spill themselves out, hug us, chastise us, give us a big wet kiss and send us outside to become better human beings. Joy says it all in the final piece: There it is. Buy it. Read it. Eat it.
			Buy Reinventing the Enemy's Language from Amazon.com
			© The Raven Chronicles 1997