I thought the poem was very informative and interesting. I remember learning about the Sioux Uprising in my AP US history class, but I never knew the whole story. It was very brief in the textbook only bringing up the fact that settlers were murdered and the natives were relocated to other reservations. After listening to the poem, I now realize the textbook only told a small portion of the story.
I noticed that the poem was read as if she was holding back her sad emotions.
In the beginning of the poem, Layli Long Soldier said “Also, historical events will not be dramatized for an “interesting” read.”. She probably wants to just tell the history of a fellow Native tribe to those who genuinely want to listen, not just because they think they’ll get to hear a dramatic, Hollywood-esque story. She says her poems slowly, so it’s easy for her readers to understand. She repeated and italicized some parts in her poem, probably to show emphasis on specific parts. Such as her emphasis on the word hanged as opposed to hung, since hanged is the correct way to describe what happened to the 38 men.
I’ve read many poems and this poem is very different from most. This poem tells the story of the Dakota tribe people, it shows how certain actions from both parties, the Dakota tribe and the American government led to the Sioux uprising. It shows how the Dakota people could only accept their exile, as there was nothing else they could do. They know what happened and they hold their memorial to this day. From this poem I didn’t learn if the current Dakota tribe holds anger towards the U.S or if the Dakota from back then were angry or just wanted to survive. The only bit that tells me the Dakota from the past held some resentment was the part where she mentioned the grass as there was the ironic ending for Andrew Myrick.
The phrase “everything is in the language we use” holds a lot of meaning in this poem “38”. The phrase was first used after she gave a sort of textbook description of what happened to the Dakota tribe land. She said it was “ceded” and “allotted”, when in reality it was taken and was conveniently allotted. The language she first uses makes the land theft seem like a minor detail, something that the reader may not think too heavily about. When she uses the language she uses after it tells the true story of what happens. Long Soldier wants us to understand the true meaning of the words we’ve been hearing. Some words that have similar meanings can be used to sugar coat events that happened, so they do not sound as bad. Long Soldier wants us to look past and understand what truly happened in the historical event.
3 thoughts on ““38”-by Layli Long Soldier”
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I agree with Jose that by “everything is in the language we use” Long Soldier intend for the readers not to overlook the truth hidden behind the language we use. Also I like how it was mention in this blog that the specifics of the uprising were not taught in the us history textbooks, even if the book did mention it, the curriculum did not highlight it as an important point. The fact that the Dakota 38 were executed in a justified way and was considered a legal action is astonishing to me, we need not to forget injustice that had happened in the past and prevent it from happening again.
I agree with you that the direct use of words makes it very clear that nothing about this poem is intended to be persuasive nor emotional, but rather focusing on what is factual. I also liked that you noted when she specifically pointed out that she had no intention of dramatizing the events. My assumption is that she did this in hopes of showing that though the Dakota’s side of the story may typically be left out of history, what she is saying is not meant to persuade the reader in either direction, but rather just present the facts as they truly are.
I liked how you mentioned that in your previous history courses, the Sioux Uprising was only briefly touched upon by our history textbook. This only helps clarify why Long Solider decided to put so much emphasis on how the poem is read and written, and why this poem is so important for us to fully understand our history. Although the poem was not dramatized, she uses language in a way to help us paint the full picture of the situation the Native Americans were in. I also think that “everything is in the language we use” can mean that if these historical events are not spoken, taught, or read about (communicated about through language), then it will not hold any meaning, and the people affected will continue to remain forgotten.