One poet who writes about what it means to be a Native American is L.A.
LYNNE THOMPSON: As Poems on Air closes out the month of November, it’s important to acknowledge that this month we celebrate Native American Heritage Month. Every week, I’ll present the work of poets I admire, poets who you should know, and poets who have made a substantial and inimitable contribution to the art and craft of poetry. LYNNE THOMPSON: Hello! My name is Lynne Thompson, Poet Laureate for the City of Los Angeles, and I’m so happy to welcome listeners to this installment of Poems on Air, a podcast supported by the Los Angeles Public Library. We recommend referring to the original, published works when possible to experience the poems as intended by their authors. Layout, formatting, and typography of poems may differ from the original text. The physical, spiritual, and emotional displacement of American Indians who met and married Mixed or Black slaves and indentured servants at America's early crossroads is where this powerful journey begins.The following transcript is provided for accessibility only.
Ultimately, Buchanan's nomadic people endured a collective identity crisis after years of constantly straddling two, then three, races. Tracing the arduous migration of Mixed Bloods, or Free People of Color, from the Southeast to the Midwest, Buchanan tells the story of her Michigan tribe-a comedic yet manically depressed family of fierce women, who were everything from caretakers and cornbread makers to poets and witches, and men who were either ignored, protected, imprisoned, or maimed-and how their lives collided over love, failure, fights, and prayer despite a stacked deck of challenges, including addiction and abuse. Buchanan was raised as a Black woman, who grew up hearing cherished stories of her multi-racial heritage, while simultaneously suffering from everything she (and the rest of her family) didn't know.
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