CHAPTER

24
American Voices: Poems for a Diverse
Nation
PAULA GUNN ALLEN
Part Sioux-Laguna and part Lebanese-Jewish, Paula Gunn Allen was born in 1939 in Cubero, New
exi!o, into a "a#il$ that used "i%e languages& Allen, who holds a Ph&'& "ro# the (ni%ersit$ o" New
exi!o, tea!hes Nati%e A#eri!an Studies at San )ran!is!o State (ni%ersit$& She has written se%eral
boo*s o" poe#s, a no%el, a !olle!tion o" traditional tales, and a !olle!tion o" essa$s, +he Sa!red ,oop-
.e!o%ering the )e#inine in A#eri!an /ndian +raditions 019123&
Captain John S#ith 01415612313, an 7nglish !olonist in 8irginia, was !aptured in 1251 b$
Chesapea*e /ndians, who brought hi# to their !hie" or *ing, Powhatan& 9ears later, in the a!!ount he
ga%e in +he Generall ,istorie o" 8irginia, New-7ngland, and the Su##er /sles 012:;3, he sa$s he was
!onde#ned to death but sa%ed b$ Powhatan<s daughter, Po!ahontas 0=Pla$"ul >ne?3& +he "a!t that S#ith
did not report this episode in his earlier a!!ount o" the 8irginia !olon$, A +rue .elation & & & o" 8irginia
012513, has !aused #an$ historians to doubt it& @hate%er the truth o" S#ith<s report that Po!ahontas 0!&
14946121A3 res!ued hi#, it is a "a!t that in 1213 Po!ahontas was !aptured, ta*en to Ja#estown, and held
as hostage "or 7nglish prisoners held b$ Powhatan& /n Ja#estown she was !on%erted to Christianit$,
baptiBed, and in 121;, with the per#ission o" her "ather and o" the go%ernor o" the !olon$ she was
#arried to John .ol"e, a !olonist& /n 1212 Po!ahontas and se%eral other /ndians went to 7ngland, where
she was presented as a prin!ess to the *ing and Cueen, and where, dressed in the 7nglish "ashion, her
portrait was engra%ed& /n 121A she started to return "ro# 7ngland, but died be"ore she !ould e#bar*& She
is buried in the parish !hur!h$ard at Gra%esend, on the +ha#es .i%er&
Pocahontas to Her English Husband, John Rolfe [1988]
Had I not cradled you in my arms,
oh beloved perfidious one,
you ould have died!
And ho many times did I pluc" you
from certain death in the ilderness# $
my orld throu%h hich you stumbled
as thou%h blind&
Had I not set you tas"s
your masters far across the sea
ould have abandoned you# '(
did abandon you, as many times they
left you to reap the harvest of their lies)
still you survived oh my fair husband
and brou%ht them %old
run% from a harvest I tau%ht you '$
to plant: *obacco! It
is not ithout irony that by this crop
your descendants die, for other poers
than those you "no ta"e part in this!
And indeed I did rescue you 2(
not once but a thousand thousand times
and in my arms you slept, a foolish child,
and beside me you played,
chatterin% nonsense about a +od
you had not it to name) 2$
and ondered you at my silence#
simple foolish anton maid you sa,
dus"y dau%hter of heathen sires
ho "ne not the ays of %race#
no doubt, no doubt! ,(
I spo"e little, you said!
And you listened less!
-ut played ith your %audy dreams
and sent ponderous missives to the throne
strivin% thereby to curry favor ,$
ith your "in%! I sa you ell! I
understood the ploy and still protected you,
%oin% so far as to die in your "eepin%#
a astin%, putrifyin% death, and you,
deceiver, my husband, father of my son, 4(
survived, your spirit bearin% crop
sloly from my teachin%, ta"in%
certain life from the astin% of my bones!
.obert /rost
)or a biographi!al note on .obert )rost 011A;619233, see page 931&
*he Vanishin% .ed [1916]
He is said to have been the last .ed 0an
In Acton!1 And the 0iller is said to have lau%hed#
If you li"e to call such a sound a lau%h!
-ut he %ave no one else a lau%her2s license!
/or he turned suddenly %rave as if to say, $
34hose business,#if I ta"e it on myself,
4hose business#but hy tal" round the barn&#
4hen it2s 5ust that I hold ith %ettin% a thin% done ith!6
7ou can2t %et bac" and see it as he sa it!
It2s too lon% a story to %o into no! '(
7ou2d have to have been there and lived it!
*hen you ouldn2t have loo"ed on it as 5ust a matter
of ho be%an it beteen the to races!
8ome %uttural e9clamation of surprise
*he .ed 0an %ave in po"in% about the mill '$
:ver the %reat bi% thumpin% shufflin% mill;stone
Dis%usted the 0iller physically as comin%
/rom one ho had no ri%ht to be heard from!
3<ome, =ohn,2 he said, >you ant to see the heel pit&61
He too" him don belo a crampin% rafter, 2(
And shoed him, throu%h a manhole in the floor,
*he ater in desperate straits li"e frantic fish,
8almon and stur%eon, lashin% ith their tails!
*hen he shut don the trap door ith a rin% in it
*hat 5an%led even above the %eneral noise, 2$
And came up stairs alone#and %ave that lau%h,
And said somethin% to a man ith a meal;sac"
*hat the man ith the meal;sac" didn2t catch#then!
:h, yes, he shoed =ohn the heel pit all ri%ht!
AURORA LEVINS MORALES
Aurora Le%ins orales, born in Puerto .i!o in 194;, !a#e to the (nited States with her "a#il$ in 192A&
She has li%ed in Chi!ago and New ,a#pshire and now li%es in the San )ran!is!o Da$ area& Le%ins
orales has published stories, essa$s, prose poe#s, and poe#s&
<hild of the Americas [1986]
I am a child of the Americas,
a li%ht;s"inned mesti?a of the <aribbean,
a child of many diaspora,1 born into this continent at a crossroads!
I am a @!8! Puerto .ican =e,
a product of the %hettos of Ne 7or" I have never "non! $
An immi%rant and the dau%hter and %randdau%hter of immi%rants!
I spea" An%lish ith passion: it2s the ton%ue of my consciousness,
a flashin% "nife blade of crystal, my tool, my craft!
I am <aribeBa,1 island %ron! 8panish is in my flesh,
ripples from my ton%ue, lod%es in my hips: '(
the lan%ua%e of %arlic and man%oes,
the sin%in% in my poetry, the flyin% %estures of my hands!
I am of Catinoamerica, rooted in the history of my continent:
I spea" from that body!
I am not african! Africa is in me, but I cannot return! '$
I am not taDna!1 *aDno is in me, but there is no ay bac"!
I am not european! Aurope lives in me, but I have no home there!
I am ne! History made me! 0y first lan%ua%e as span%lish!1
I as born at the crossroads
and I am hole! 2(
JOSEPH BRUCHAC III
Joseph Dru!ha! /// 0the na#e is pronoun!ed =Drewsha!*?3 was born in Saratoga Springs, New 9or*, in
19;:, and edu!ated at Cornell (ni%ersit$, S$ra!use (ni%ersit$, and (nion Graduate S!hool& Li*e #an$
other A#eri!ans, he has a #ulti!ultural ethni! heritage, and he in!ludes Nati%e A#eri!ans as well as
Slo%a*s a#ong his an!estors& Dru!ha!, who has taught in Ghana and in the (nited States, has !hie"l$
wor*ed as an editor&
=u!h o" #$ writing and #$ li"e,? Dru!ha! sa$s, =relates to the proble# o" being an A#eri!an& & & &
@hile in !ollege / was a!ti%e in Ci%il .ights wor* and in the anti-war #o%e#ent& & & & / went to A"ri!a to
tea!hEbut #ore than that to be taught& /t showed #e #an$ things& ,ow #u!h we ha%e as A#eri!ans and
ta*e "or granted& ,ow #u!h our e$es re"use to see be!ause the$ are blinded to e%er$thing in a #an<s "a!e
ex!ept his !olor&?
Allis Island [1978]
-eyond the red bric" of Allis Island
here the to 8lova" children
ho became my %randparents
aited the lon% days of Euarantine,
after leavin% the sic"ness, $
the old Ampires of Aurope,
a <ircle Cine ship slips easily
on its ay to the island
of the tall oman, %reen
as dreams of forests and meados '(
aitin% for those ho2d or"ed
a thousand years
yet never oned their on!
Ci"e millions of others,
I too come to this island, '$
nine decades the anserer
of dreams!
7et only one part of my blood loves that memory!
Another voice spea"s
of native lands 2(
ithin this nation!
Cands invaded
hen the earth became oned!
Cands of those ho folloed
the chan%in% 0oon, 2$
"noled%e of the seasons
in their veins!
MITSUYE YAMADA
itsu$e 9a#ada, the daughter o" Japanese i##igrants to the (nited States, was born in Japan in 19:3,
during her #other<s return %isit to her nati%e land& 9a#ada was raised in SeattleF but in 19;: she and her
"a#il$ were in!ar!erated and then relo!ated in a !a#p in /daho, when 7xe!uti%e >rder 9522 ga%e
#ilitar$ authorities the right to re#o%e an$ and all persons "ro# =#ilitar$ areas&? /n 194; she be!a#e
an A#eri!an !itiBen& She has taught in the Asian A#eri!an Studies Progra# at the (ni%ersit$ o"
Cali"ornia at /r%ine, and she is the author o" poe#s and stories&
*o the Cady [1976]
*he one in 8an /rancisco ho as"ed:
4hy did the =apanese Americans let
the %overnment put them in
those camps ithout protest&
<ome to thin" of it I $
should2ve run off to <anada
should2ve hi5ac"ed a plane to Al%eria
should2ve pulled myself up from my
bra straps
and "ic"ed2m in the %roin '(
should2ve bombed a ban"
should2ve tried self;immolation
should2ve holed myself up in a
oodframe house
and let you atch me '$
burn up on the si9 o2cloc" nes
should2ve run holin% don the street
na"ed and assaulted you at brea"fast
by AP irephoto
should2ve screamed bloody murder 2(
li"e Fitty +enovese1
*hen
7:@ ould2ve
come to my aid in shinin% armor
laid yourself across the railroad trac" 2$
marched on 4ashin%ton
tatooed a 8tar of David on your arm
ritten si9 million enra%ed
letters to <on%ress!
-ut e didn2t dra the line ,(
anyhere
la and order A9ecutive :rder G(HH1
social order moral order internal order
7:@ let2m
I let2m ,$
All are punished!
YUSEF KOMUNYAKAA
9use" Go#un$a*aa was born in 19;A in Dogalusa, Louisiana& A"ter graduating "ro# high s!hool he
entered the ar#$ and ser%ed in 8ietna#, where he was awarded the DronBe Star& >n his return to the
(nited States he earned a ba!helor<s degree at the (ni%ersit$ o" Colorado, and then earned an &A& at
Colorado State (ni%ersit$ and an &)&A& in !reati%e writing at the (ni%ersit$ o" Cali"ornia, /r%ine& +he
author o" se%eral boo*s o" poetr$, he has been tea!hing at /ndiana (ni%ersit$ in Dloo#ington sin!e 1914&
=)a!ing /t? is the last poe# in a boo* o" poe#s about 8ietna#, 'ien Cai 'au 019113& +he title o" the
boo* is a slang word "or !raB$&
/acin% It [1988]
0y blac" face fades,
hidin% inside the blac" %ranite!
I said I ouldn2t,
dammit: No tears!
I2m stone! I2m flesh! $
0y clouded reflection eyes me
li"e a bird of prey, the profile of ni%ht
slanted a%ainst mornin%! I turn
this ay#the stone lets me %o!
I turn that ay#I2m inside '(
the Vietnam Veterans 0emorial
a%ain, dependin% on the li%ht
to ma"e a difference!
I %o don the $I,(22 names,
half;e9pectin% to find '$
my on in letters li"e smo"e!
I touch the name Andre =ohnson)
I see the booby trap2s hite flash!
Names shimmer on a oman2s blouse
but hen she al"s aay 2(
the names stay on the all!
-rushstro"es flash, a red bird2s
in%s cuttin% across my stare!
*he s"y! A plane in the s"y!
A hite vet2s ima%e floats 2$
closer to me, then his pale eyes
loo" throu%h mine! I2m a indo!
He2s lost his ri%ht arm
inside the stone! In the blac" mirror
a oman2s tryin% to erase names: ,(
No, she2s brushin% a boy2s hair!
<laude 0<Fay
Claude !Ga$ 01195619;13, born in Ja#ai!a, !a#e to the (nited States when he was :3& !Ga$ is
*nown !hie"l$ "or his #ilitant le"t-wing writingsEno%els and essa$s as well as poe#sEbut he wrote a
wide range o" l$ri! poetr$, and despite his radi!alis# he "a%ored 0li*e his "riend Countee Cullen3
traditional poeti! "or#s su!h as the sonnet&
America [1921]
Althou%h she feeds me bread of bitterness,
And sin"s into my throat her ti%er2s tooth,
8tealin% my breath of life, I ill confess
I love this cultured hell that tests my youthJ
Her vi%or flos li"e tides into my blood, $
+ivin% me stren%th a%ainst her hate!
Her bi%ness seeps my bein% li"e a flood!
7et as a rebel fronts a "in% in state,
I stand ithin her alls ith not a shred
:f terror, malice, not a ord of 5eer! '(
Dar"ly I %a?e into the days ahead,
And see her mi%ht and %ranite onders there,
-eneath the touch of *ime2s unerrin% hand,
Ci"e priceless treasures sin"in% in the sand!
DUDLEY RANDALL
Dorn in @ashington, '&C&, in 191;, .andall graduated "ro# @a$ne State (ni%ersit$ and the (ni%ersit$
o" i!higan, and wor*ed as a re"eren!e librarian and as poet in residen!e at the (ni%ersit$ o" 'etroit& /n
1924 he "ounded the Droadside Press, widel$ re!ogniBed as in"luential "ar be$ond its siBe& Droadside
Press issues ex!ellent s#all boo*s and single sheets with poe#s b$ A"ri!an-A#eri!ans&
*he 0eltin% Pot [1968]
*here is a ma%ic meltin% pot
here any %irl or man
can step in <?ech or +ree" or 8cot,
step out American! 4
Johann and Jan and Jean and Juan,
Gio%anni and /%an
step in and then step out a%ain
all freshly christened John& I
8am, atchin%, said, 34hy, I as here
even before they came,6
and stepped in too, but as tossed out
before he passed the brim! '2
And every time 8am tried that pot
they thre him out a%ain!
3Feep out! *his is our private pot
4e don2t ant your blac" stain!6 'H
At last, thron out a thousand times,
8am said, 3I don2t %ive a damn!
8hove your old pot! 7ou can li"e it or not,
but I2ll be 5ust hat I am!6 2(
MARTN ESPADA
artHn 7spada was born in Droo*l$n in 194A& ,e re!ei%ed a ba!helor<s degree "ro# the (ni%ersit$ o"
@is!onsin and a law degree "ro# Northeastern (ni%ersit$& A poet who publishes regularl$, 7spada is
also >utrea!h Coordinator and Super%isor o" Law$ers o" the Arts at the Artists< )oundation in Doston&
Bully [1990]
Doston, assa!husetts, 191A
In the school auditorium,
the *heodore .oosevelt statue
is nostal%ic
for the 8panish;American 4ar,
each fist lonely for a saber $
or the reins of an%uish;eyed horses,
or a podium to clatter ith speeches
%loryin% in the malaria of conEuest!
-ut no the .oosevelt school
is pronounced ,ernIndeB& '(
Puerto .ico has invaded .oosevelt
ith its army of 8panish;sin%in% children
in the hallays,
bron children devourin%
the stoc"piles of the cafeteria, '$
children paintin% +aHno ancestors
that leap na"ed across murals!
.oosevelt is surrounded
by all the faces
he ever shoved in eu%enic spite 2(
and cursed as mon%rels, s"in of one race,
hair and chee"bones of another!
:nce 0arines tramped
from the nesreel of his ima%ination)
no children plot to spray %raffiti 2$
in parrot;brilliant colors across the Victorian mustache
and monocle!
=immy 8antia%o -aca
Ji##$ Santiago Da!a, o" !hi!ano and Apa!he des!ent, was born in 194:& @hen he was : his parents
di%or!ed, and a grandparent brought hi# up until he was 4, when he was pla!ed in an orphanage in New
exi!o& ,e ran awa$ when he was 11, li%ed on the streets, too* drugs, and at the age o" :5 was !on%i!ted
o" drug possession& /n prison he taught hi#sel" to read and write, and he began to !o#pose poetr$& A
"ellow in#ate urged hi# to send so#e poe#s to other Jones #agaBine, and the wor* was a!!epted& /n
19A9 Louisiana State (ni%ersit$ Press published a boo* o" his poe#s, /##igrants in >ur >wn Land& ,e
has sin!e published se%eral other boo*s&
8o 0e9icans Are *a"in% =obs from Americans [1979]
: 7es& Do they come on horses
ith rifles, and say,
Ase %rin%o,1 %immee your 5ob&
And do you, %rin%o, ta"e off your rin%,
drop your allet into a blan"et $
spread over the %round, and al" aay&
I hear 0e9icans are ta"in% your 5obs aay!
Do they snea" into ton at ni%ht,
and as you2re al"in% home ith a hore,
do they mu% you, a "nife at your throat, '(
sayin%, I ant your 5ob&
Aven on *V, an asthmatic leader
crals turtle heavy, leanin% on an assistant,
and from a nest of rin"les on his face,
a ton%ue paddles throu%h flashin% aves '$
of li%htbulbs, of cameramen, raspin%
3*hey2re ta"in% our 5obs aay!6
4ell, I2ve %one about tryin% to find them,
as"in% 5ust here the hell are these fi%hters!
*he rifles I hear sound in the ni%ht 2(
are hite farmers shootin% blac"s and brons
hose ribs I see 5uttin% out
and starvin% children,
I see the poor marchin% for a little or",
I see small hite farmers sellin% out 2$
to clean;suited farmers livin% in Ne 7or",
ho2ve never been on a farm,
don2t "no the loo" of a hoof or the smell
of a oman2s body bendin% all day lon% in fields!
I see this, and I hear only a fe people ,(
%ot all the money in this orld, the rest
count their pennies to buy bread and butter!
-elo that cool %reen sea of money,
millions and millions of people fi%ht to live,
search for pearls in the dar"est depths ,$
of their dreams, hold their breath for years
tryin% to cross poverty to 5ust havin% somethin%!
*he children are dead already! 4e are "illin% them,
that is hat America should be sayin%)
on *V, in the streets, in offices, should be sayin%, 4(
34e aren2t %ivin% the children a chance to live!6
0e9icans are ta"in% our 5obs, they say instead!
4hat they really say is, let them die,
and the children too!
8herman Ale9ie
Sher#an Alexie, born in 1922 in Spo*ane, @ashington, holds a D&A& "ro# @ashington State (ni%ersit$&
Author o" no%els, stories, and poe#s, Alexie has been awarded a grant "ro# the National 7ndow#ent "or
the Arts& >" his li"e and his wor* he sa$s, =/ a# a Spo*ane Coeur d<Alene /ndian& & & & / li%e on the
Spo*ane /ndian .eser%ation& 7%er$thing / do now, writing and otherwise, has its origin in that&?
:n the Amtra" from -oston to Ne 7or" <ity [1993]
*he hite oman across the aisle from me says, 3Coo",
loo" at all the history, that house
on the hill there is over to hundred years old,6
as she points out the indo past me 4
into hat she has been tau%ht! I have learned
little more about American history durin% my fe days
bac" Aast than hat I e9pected and far less
of hat e should all "no of the tribal stories I
hose architecture is '$,((( years older
than the corners of the house that sits
museumed on the hill! 34alden Pond,61
the oman on the train as"s, 3Did you see 4alden Pond&6 '2
and I don2t have a cruel enou%h heart to brea"
her on by tellin% her there are five 4alden Ponds
on my little reservation out 4est
and at least a hundred more surroundin% 8po"ane, 'H
the city I pretend to call my home! 3Cisten,6
I could have told her! 3I don2t %ive a shit
about 4alden! I "no the Indians ere livin% stories
around that pond before 4alden2s %randparents ere born 2(
and before his %randparents2 %randparents ere born!
I2m tired of hearin% about Don;fuc"in%;Henley1 savin% it, too,
because that2s redundant! If Don Henley2s brothers and sisters
and mothers and fathers hadn2t come here in the first place 24
then nothin% ould need to be saved!6
-ut I didn2t say a ord to the oman about 4alden
Pond because she smiled so much and seemed deli%hted
that I thou%ht to brin% her an oran%e 5uice 2I
bac" from the food car! I respect elders
of every color! All I really did as eat
my tasteless sandich, drin" my Diet Pepsi
and nod my head henever the oman pointed out ,2
another little piece of her country2s history
hile I, as all Indians have done
since this ar be%an, made plans
for hat I ould do and say the ne9t time ,H
somebody from the enemy thou%ht I as one of their on!
NILA NORTHSUN
Nila northSun was born in 1941 in S!hurB, Ne%ada, o" Shoshone-Chippewa sto!*& She studied at the
Cali"ornia State (ni%ersit$ !a#puses at ,a$ward and ,u#boldt and the (ni%ersit$ o" ontana at
issoula, beginning as a ps$!holog$ #aJor but swit!hing to art histor$, spe!ialiBing in Nati%e A#eri!an
art& She is the author o" three boo*s o" poetr$ and is dire!tor o" an e#ergen!$ $outh shelter in )allon,
Ne%ada&
0ovin% <amp *oo /ar [1977]
i can2t spea" of
many moons
movin% camp on travois1
i can2t tell of
the last %reat battle $
countin% coup1 or
ta"in% scalp
i don2t "no hat it
as to hunt buffalo
or do the %host dance '(
but
i can see an ea%le
almost e9tinct
on slurpee plastic cups
i can travel to poos '$
in campers K inneba%os
i can eat buffalo meat
at the tourist bur%er stand
i can dance to indian music
roc";n;roll hey;a;hey;o 2(
i can
K unfortunately
i do
LAUREEN MAR
Laureen ar, a Chinese-A#eri!an born in Seattle in 1943, studied !reati%e writing at Colu#bia
(ni%ersit$& She has published poe#s in se%eral national #agaBines&
0y 0other, 4ho <ame from <hina, 4here 8he Never 8a 8no [1977]
In the hu%e, rectan%ular room, the ceilin%
a machinery of pipes and fluorescent li%hts,
ten ros of omen hunch over machines,
their "nees pressin% a%ainst pedals
and hands pushin% the shiny fabric thic" as ton%ues $
throu%h metal and thread!
0y mother bends her head to one of these machines!
Her hair is coarse and iry, blac" as burnt scrub!
8he ears %lasses to shield her intense eyes!
A cone of oran%e thread spins! Around her, '(
tal" flutters harshly in *oisan ah!1
<hemical stin%s! 8he pushes cloth
throu%h a poundin% needle, under, around, and out,
brea"s thread ith a snap a%ainst fin%erbone, tooth!
8leeve after sleeve, sleeve! '$
It is easy! *he same piece!
/or ei%ht or nine hours, si9teen bundles maybe,
2$( sleeves to s"i coats, all the same!
It is easy, only once she2s run the needle
throu%h her hand! 8he earns money 2(
by each piece, on a %ood day,
thirty dollars! *enty;four years!
It is fri%htenin% ho fast she or"s!
8he and the omen ho ere tau%ht sein%
terms in An%lish as 8econd Can%ua%e! 2$
Dull thunder passes throu%h their fin%ers!
<hapter 24 L American Voices: Poems for a Diverse Nation
Victor Nehli%, Po!ahontas and John S#ith, 'IM(! N<ourtesy 0useum of Art, -ri%ham 7oun% @niversity,
@tah!O
.obert /rost
2 Acton a ton in 0assachusetts, not far from here /rost spent part of his childhood!
<hapter 24 L American Voices: Poems for a Diverse Nation
19 !""# $%t the pit containin% the heel that, a%itated by the ater, drives the mill!
& '%()$o*( literally, 3scatterin%6) the term is used especially to refer to the dispersion of the =es outside
of Israel from the si9th century -<A, hen they ere e9iled to -abylonia, to the present time! 9 C(*%+",(
<aribbean oman!
=oseph -ruchac III
1- t(.n( the *aDnos ere the Indian tribe native to Puerto .ico! 1/ )$(n0#%)! a mi9ture of 8panish and
An%lish!

<hapter 24 L American Voices: Poems for a Diverse Nation
8lavic omen arrive at Allis Island in the inter of 'G'(!
0itsuye 7amada
21 K%tt1 G"no2")" In 'GH4 Fitty +enovese of Fe +ardens, Ne 7or", as stabbed to death hen she
left her car and al"ed toard her home! *hirty;ei%ht persons heard her screams, but no one came to her
assistance!
Dorothea Can%e, 3+randfather and +randchildren Aaitin% Avacuation -us!6
<hapter 24 L American Voices: Poems for a Diverse Nation
&2 E3"c4t%2" O*'"* 95-- an authori?ation, si%ned in 'G4' by President /ran"lin D! .oosevelt, alloin%
military authorities to relocate =apanese and =apanese;Americans ho resided on the Pacific <oast of the
@nited 8tates!
7usef Fomunya"aa
Vietnam Veterans 0emorial!
<hapter 24 L American Voices: Poems for a Diverse Nation
0artDn Aspada
<hapter 24 L American Voices: Poems for a Diverse Nation
& E)" 0*%n0o Hey, hitey!
8herman Ale9ie
11 6(#'"n Pon' site in 0assachusetts here Henry David *horeau N'I'MP'IH2O lived from 4 =uly 'I4$
to H 8eptember 'I4M, and about hich he rote in his most famous boo", @alden N'I$4O!
<hapter 24 L American Voices: Poems for a Diverse Nation
22 Don H"n#"1 roc" sin%er ho as active in preservin% 4alden!
& t*(2o%) a frame slun% beteen trailin% poles that are pulled by a horse! Plains Indians used the device to
transport their %oods! - co4nt%n0 co4$ recountin% one2s e9ploits in battle!
Caureen 0ar
Adard 8! <urtis, Dla!*"oot tra%ois! N<ourtesy 0useum of Indian Arts K <ulture, Caboratory of
Anthropolo%y, 8anta /e!O
<hapter 24 L American Voices: Poems for a Diverse Nation
11 To%)(n (! a <hinese dialect!