Photo courtesy of Althea Edwards .
FRONT COVER Deborah A . Miranda ( Ohlone / Costanoan Esselen Nation ), Why Do You Follow .
“ For the poem collages in this issue , I used only materials from previous issues of News from Native California , along with archival sources like mission tourist booklets , coffee table books about the missions , and dictionaries . I imagined the words and images from / of contemporary California Indians speaking back to those racist and ignorant archival images and words . For me , a kind of transformation happens : out of destruction comes a new creation , honoring and celebrating our ancestors , and ourselves .”
Photo courtesy of Deborah A . Miranda .
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IT HAS BEEN SUCH AN HONOR TO HOST EMILY CLARKE AS OUR VERY FIRST GRATON HEYDAY BERKELEY ROUNDHOUSE
WRITING INTERN . Over the past year she has contributed many innovative ideas and helped us grow our online viewership , increase our subscribership , and make our social media presence more dynamic . For her last issue of News before heading off into a bright professional future , she has coordinated a special extended feature focusing on poetry . So I ’ ll hand off this editor ’ s note to her so she can tell you about her internship experience and about this special feature !
– Terria Smith
POETRY HAS ALWAYS BEEN CLOSE TO MY HEART . As I was growing up on the Cahuilla Reservation , storytelling was an important part of my everyday life . I remember sitting around a fire almost every weekend , listening to my dad sing traditional bird songs or my aunties share ghost stories . I think that ’ s why I feel so drawn to poetry : it ’ s a way to share important stories , lessons , and history , mimicking the oral tradition that many tribes practiced historically and still value today . Poetry helps me understand myself , and it helps me understand my people . California Native people have endured colonization , the mission system , erasure , genocide , the gold rush , and so much more . Even now , these histories affect us . Poetry not only helps me navigate these traumas , it also helps me connect to other Native people who are dealing with the same things .