“38”

This poem isn’t a poem designed to be romantic, or beautiful, but rather to tell a deep dark story that has been untold for generations. It’s about a group of people who were ridiculed and punished for rebelling in the interests of protecting and saving their people, who were unbeknownst to the government slowly dying. In the end, the pressured Dakota made their statement, but not without severe losses.

First off, the way this poem is told is very unorthodox. Layli Long Soldier describes the event of the Dakota 38 as if it were a research project, by recounting those events and trying to piece them together through the limited information she had. Normally when I read a poem, I expect to be introduced to lines of leaves rustling in the breeze, and blue lakes shining in the sun. However, this writing piece is purposely designed to be a straightforward and gritty tale with little to no play on words. Even in the beginning, Soldier’s statements about following the rules of capitalization and punctuation gives readers a sense of unambiguity.

This clarity doesn’t come without intentions, though. Combined with the fact that Soldier literally elaborates on her usage of italics and parentheses, by doing so she shifts attention away from wordplay and more on the storytelling itself. The way the narrator speaks is somber and comprehensible, devised to add emphasis on the context of the words. The finale finishes with a peculiar touch; Soldier spaces out the words more and more until they are completely separated – as if the words are “swinging”.

I thought of the meaning of the phrase “everything is in the language that we use” as in the answers are in the words. The context behind this phrase is that sota in Minnesota, which translates to turbid, accurately describes the scenario that the Dakota faced in those moments.