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A MASK OF RAZORBLADES & THE VOICE OF THE RAIN FOR ANNA MAE PICTOU-AQUASH Sara Littlecroiu-Russell Indian Country knows your story: February 24th 1976, yet another aim warrior Found crumpled in the Dakota snow Like the body ofa reservation dog Used for target practice. The deliberate myopia ofthe coroner Ignored the slippery dampness ofbrain Oozing from the hole at the back ofyour skullInstead , ruling drunkenness and exposure. For identification purposes, Your hands were severed And sent to Washington— Where the tips were peeled offyour fingers Like the skins from ten ripe grapes And dropped into plastic bags. The man with eyes like a red tailed hawk Did not come to your funeral Instead he spent his 6V2 years in prison Panning for truth In the hemorrhage ofrumors Until FBI spelled Full Blooded Indian, Spent 3V2 years in freedom Smelting nuggets ofwhispered testimony And soldering facts Until FBI spelled aim. [Meridians:feminism, race, transnationalism 2002, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 98-9]©2002 by Wesleyan University Press. All rights reserved. 98 When he was done, He held a mask made ofrazorblades And when he wore it, the truth on his breath Burst the bloated, decomposing belly ofdeath— The names ofcertain aim leaders Seeped like the thawing semen Dripping from her body in the morgue Snitch rumors, Cointelpro, orders to execute, Dripping Dripping Dripping Like the voice ofthe rain, Whispering into the tape recorder strapped to his chest. That December night, as he drove home He found, spread out on the road The slowly stiffening shape Ofan unnaturally big owl And, kneeling on the icy gravel He spread his hands across Your feathered blessing. A MASK OF RAZORBLADES & THE VOICE OF THE RAIN 99 MY FAVORITE BOATPERSON Sara Littlecrouj-Russell I like her because she knows how much space she takes up and she never takes my space either. I like her because She understands that weapons which kill Indians are not allowed in my house and when she visits, she leaves her six pack and her white privilege outside the door. I like her because we can argue over lipstick and politics with equal fervor. I like her because she studies Indian law and history and argues with her white family until they walk away in disgust then sweeps her Indian family's floor and helps butcher their dinner. I like her because we can go to Mystic, Connecticut where 750 Indians were burned alive and I don't feel weird about making tobacco offerings in front ofher because I know ifshe got offthe boat in 1492 none ofthis shit would have happened in the first place. [Meridians:feminism, race, transnationalism 2002, vol. 2, no. 2, p. 100]©2002 by Wesleyan University Press. All rights reserved. ...

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