re: new poem!

Oregon Jack Creek

It is early morning

And I read archeological

And historic documents

Wading through hip deep

Rivers and creeks of paper

Reading about my people

My relations

My ancestors

Hunting and fishing

On the land

For thousands

And thousands of years

Our DNA in the ground

Living in sheest-kins, pithouses

During the cold months

And thule reed tipis

During the warmer months

Moving with the seasons

Speaking our language

Nlaka pamux

To one another

Shin-gee little brother

Cha cha little sister

Skee-Zeh mother

Sqac-Zeh father

Yah yah grandmother

Spap za grandfather

Yetek shin wen wen

A good morning

It is as I reclaim

My language

Reading about Oregon Jack creek

And how 4800 years ago

My Nshayt-kin

My relatives

Were processing

And butchering elk

Deer

Salmon

Berries

Potatoes

Herbs

Medicine

And preparing for winter

And as I drive up

And down the valley

Along the Thompson river

I try to imagine

What it was like

Before contact

How bright the stars were

How clean the air was

How free our people

Must have lived

Instead of now.