In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

167 Wiisah kote: The Burnt Wood People They roll from the flames shedding, emerge clean as wood leapt from its bark and handsomely smooth as carvings. This explains their knobby knees, their knotty eyes and long-limbed ladies. This explains their buried hearts, their whispers in winter, their warmth. We oaks, we old mitigozhiig, rattle another season’s last leaves, hang them red against the north wind, hold them as long as we can— the last-leaved shelter on this savannah. One hundred years ago, one hundred years from now, we would stand over them, stand hard. Let them remember their need for fire. Fire that breaks the shell, that engenders the seed. Fire that makes them, makes them over. Wiisah kote or Burnt Wood is the Ojibwe name for Metis. ...

Share