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423 Sarah “She Paints Horses” Stedtler (b. 1997) Sarah Stedtler, a high school sophomore in New Jersey, is the daughter of Cheryl Watching Crow Stedtler (above). Stedtler is active in the Nipmuc youth community. In her free time, she enjoys drawing, horseback riding, and Native fancy shawl dancing. She hopes to have a career working with animals. These are her first published poems, written when she was in the fifth grade. The Fresh Water People Nipmuc is what I am Interesting to other people Powwows almost every month Means “fresh water people” Unknown to most of the world Care for all the creatures Kind to Mother Earth Shares knowledge An Indian Gathering Powwow Traditional, fun Singing, dancing, drumming Lots of Indian heritage Honoring, laughing, talking Loud, amazing Gathering 424 Indians What are Indians? An ancient American A person of a certain tribe A people almost destroyed by Englishmen The first farmers Mistreated by others Victims of harsh stereotypes My heritage An honoring people The creators of many inventions A people who have hope Nipmucs, Wampanoags, Cherokee That is what Indians are! The Dancer’s Foot If I were a foot And you were the ground I’d touch you so lightly There would be no sound . . . Notes 1. Because Great Britain and the colonies did not switch from the Julian calendar (with the year beginning on March 25) to the Gregorian calendar until 1752, some older documents use double dating. 2. For a full accounting of the note and its history, see Jill Lepore, The Name of War: King Philip’s War and the Origins of American Identity (New York: Random House, 1999), 96. 3. The Dudley Band uses the variant spelling “Nipmuck.” Tribal members with affiliations in both communities (like Larry Spotted Crow Mann, also a contributor to this section) sometimes use the spellings interchangeably as a gesture of unity. 4. A roach is a traditional headdress. 5. Worcester Sunday Telegram, May 18, 1919. 6. The Fifty-Fourth and the Fifty-Fifth Regiments were “colored” regiments. ...

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