Dear HCN,
Michelle Nijhuis’
“Finding the Words” (HCN, 1/21/02: Finding the words) leaves me
struggling to “find words” to convey my grief, once again, for the
injustice done to our native peoples. A well-sharpened spear to my
heart; I have not wept with that sort of compassion and anger in a
very long time, the remainders of which still haunt me today. To
strip a people of their language is to starve them of their very
soul. That this vile tactic for “control” goes on still today is
enough to make one mute indeed.
A couple of years
ago, when “A Prairie Home Companion” came to Spokane, one of
Garrison’s guests was an old Native Spokane woman, who he claimed
single-handedly was trying to preserve the Spokane’s native tongue.
The number of Spokane who still could speak fluently was 16. She
spoke of salmon in these almost sing-songy words, then translated.
A sight to see her, hand and hand, with one of our last “keepers of
the word” on that dim stage.
It was no great act
that Mr. Keillor would not or could not speak for quite some time.
Speech, words, accuracy of thought – Oh, we are so emaciated from
the lack of these days. That our spirit wavers, then rallies behind
the empty, yet time-tested, antidote of a made up “War” is no great
irony. This seems a natural enough way to express confusion since,
as a nation, we’ve lost all other means of expression. As a writer,
my hat is off to Michelle Nijhuis for this beautiful, albeit
hawkish, piece. As a man of hope, I tip to such leaders as Georgia
McKinley and the Spokane woman I was so fortunate to hear. And my
faith rides high with the children who follow.
Sam Lucy
Winthrop,
Washington
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline ‘Finding the words’ a spear to the heart.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
