#beth brant

[sootandchai]

“The word lesbian. Lesbian. The word makes them panic, makes them afraid, makes them destroy children. The word dares them. Lesbian. I am one.”

-from Mohawk Trail by Beth Brant (Degonwadonti, or Kaieneke’hak)

[yourdailyqueer]

Beth Brant (deceased)

Gender: Two spirit (she/her)

Sexuality: Lesbian

DOB: 6 April 1941  

RIP: 6 August 2015

Ethnicity: Native American (Mohawk)

Occupation: Writer, poet, lecturer, editor, speaker, activist 

[wocinsolidarity]

15 Indigenous Feminists You Should Know

Native American stories and voices have been long ignored by mainstream social culture. (April 19 2017)

“I think it’s in all of our best interests to take on gender violence as a core resurgence project, a core decolonization project, a core of any Indigenous mobilization…This begins for me by looking at how gender is conceptualized and actualized within Indigenous thought because it is colonialism that has imposed an artificial gender binary in my nation.” —Leanne Betasamosake Simpson

Despite our profound contributions to our own communities and the nation as a whole, Native American stories and voices have been long ignored by mainstream social culture. Native Americans—and Native American women, trans, and nonbinary folks in particular—face a unique set of oppressions, including the ongoing impacts of settler colonialism. Settler colonialism works to erase Indigenous people, both literally and culturally: from physical war and violence, to removal from lands, to forced assimilation. These histories continue to render Native Americans and Native issues nearly invisible to the national eye. Even within intersectional feminist discussions and organizing, I find myself thinking, where are the radical Indigenous feminists? Why are our stories not valued and our voices not more amplified?

This erasure may lull us into believing that there simply aren’t Indigenous feminists who are as prolific as Audre Lorde or Gloria Anzaldúa. But this is far from the truth. From Sydney Freeland, a Navajo filmmaker who focuses on stories about trans communities, to Sarah Deer, a Muscogee (Creek) lawyer fighting violence against Native women, these activists, writers, creators, and scholars fight for justice for Indigenous people and for the voices of their communities.

[femlib]

A Gathering of Spirit: Writing and Art by North American Indian Women Beth Brant, 1989

In A Gathering of Spirit, Beth Brant has collected poetry, short stories, letters, and essays written by Native American women, relating their experiences of life in Canada and in the United States. The participating women come from all walks of life. Included are such established authors and scholars as Paula Gunn Allen, Joy Harjo, and Bea Medicine as well as women in prisons, lesbians, and those who live their everyday life on reservations or in urban centers.

Amazon OpenLibrary

[postmodernismruinedme]

We made the fires. We are the fire tenders. We are the ones who do not allow anyone to speak for us but us.

Beth Brant

[spoke9]

Ride the Turtle's Back | Beth Brant

– Mohawk poet A woman grows hard and skinny. She squeezes into small corners. Her quick eyes uncover dust and cobwebs. She reaches out for flint and sparks fly in the air. Flames turned loose on fields burn down to bare seeds we planted deep. The corn is white and sweet. Under is pale, perfect kernels. a rotting cob is betrayal it lies in our bloated stomachs. I lie in Grandmother's bed and…

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[thestarswillwhisper]

I lie in Grandmother's bed and dream the earth into a turtle. She carries us slowly across the universe. The sun warms us. At night the stars do tricks. The moon caresses us. We are listening for the sounds of food. Mother is giving birth, Grandmother says.

Beth Brant, ‘Ride the Turtle’s Back’

[diabeticlesbian]

"The word lesbian. Lesbian. The word that makes them panic, makes them afraid, makes them destroy children. The word that dares them. Lesbian. I am one. Even for Patricia, even for her, I will not cease to be! As I kneel amidst the colourful scraps, Raggedy Anns smiling up at me, my chest gives a sign. My heart slows to its normal speech. I feel the blood pumping outward to my veins, carrying nourishment and life. I strip the room naked. I close the door."

Beth Brant (Degonwadonti) in Mohawk Trail (1985)