Marilou
wiakta
Cherokee/Appalachian Poet, Storyteller and Essayist
Appearance
at Ferrum College: Marilou Awiakta was the featured speaker at the
Women's Leadership Conference, Ferrum College, March 24-25, 2003. The 2003
theme was Women in Appalachia. Because of circumstances related to the start
of the war against
Iraq, Awiakta's lecture was delivered through videotape and teleconference.
See
http://www2.ferrum.edu/wlc
for details on Ferrum's Women's Leadership Conference.
"Wounds and shadows
are still deep in America. The use and consume attitude is still strong,
and many Americans feel that they are considered expendable by the society,
the marketplace, the government. The things that divide us are many—race,
religion, gender, sexual preference, education, on and on. But unity
in diversity is the Corn-Mother's cardinal survival wisdom. In the grain,
genetic diversity is the key to an immune system that enables adaptation
and survival. Unity in diversity is also the basic principle of the
Constitution, one that we should consider carefully as America becomes
ever more culturally diverse."
From Selu:
Seeking the Corn-Mother's Wisdom, 1993, pp. 320-21 |
Poems by Marilou Awiakta
Reprinted with the author's permission
from Selu: Seeking the Corn-Mothers Wisdom.
For responses by a college student,
go to
Marilou
Awiakta's Poems by Thomas Fast.
Smoky
Mountain-Woman
I rise in silence, steadfast
in the elements
with thought a smoke-blue veil drawn round me.
Seasons clothe me in laurel and bittersweet, in ice
but my heart is constant. ... Fires scar and torrents
erode my shape ... but strength wells within me
to bear new life and sustain what lives already. ...
For streams of wit relieve my heavy mind
smoothing boulders cast up raw-edged. ... And the
raven's lonesome cry reminds me that the soul is
as it has ever been. ...
Time cannot thwart my stubborn thrust toward Heaven.
|
Song
of the Grandmothers
I am Cherokee.
My people believe in the Spirit that unites all things.
I am woman. I am life
force. My word has great value.
The man reveres me as he reveres Mother Earth and his own spirit.
The Beloved Woman is
one of our principal chiefs.
Through her the Spirit often speaks to the people. In the Great
Council at the capital, she is a powerful voice.
Concerning the fate of hostages, her word is absolute.
Women share in all of
life. We lead sacred dances. In
the Council we debate freely with men until an
agreement is reached. When the nation considers war,
we have a say, for we bear the survivors.
Sometimes I go into
battle. I also plant and harvest.
I carry my own name
and the name of my clan. If I
accept a mate, he and our children take the name of my
clan. If there is deep trouble between us, I am as free to
tell him to go as he is to leave. Our children and our
dwelling stay with me. As long as I am Treated with
dignity, I am steadfast.
I love and work and
sing.
I listen to the Spirit.
In all things I speak my mind.
I walk without fear.
I am Cherokee.
|
When
Earth Becomes an "It"
When the people call
Earth "Mother,"
they take with love
and with love give back
so that all may live.
When the people call
Earth "it,"
they use her
consume her strength.
Then the people die.
Already the sun is
hot
out of season.
Our Mother's breast
is going dry.
She is taking all green
into her heart
and will not turn back
until we call her
by her name.
|
Out
of Ashes Peace Will Rise
Our courage
is our memory.
Out of ashes
peace will rise,
if the people
are resolute.
If we are not
resolute,
we will vanish.
And out of ashes
peace will rise.
In the Four Directions
. . .
Out of ashes peace will rise.
Out of ashes peace will rise.
Out of ashes peace will rise.
Out of ashes peace will rise.
Our courage
is our memory.
By Marilou
Awiakta
|
Biography
Born January 24, 1936. Knoxville,
Tennessee
Early Life:
Lived in Oak Ridge, Tennessee
University of Tennessee, B. A.
in English and French, 1958
Civilian liaison officer and translator
for U.S. Air Force, Laon Air Force Base, France, 1964-67
Residence: Memphis, Tennessee
Family: Awiakta and her husband
Paul have two daughters, one son, and four grandchildren.
Awards
Jesse Hill Ford Award for Poetry,
1972
Person of Quality Award, National
Organization for Women, 1983
United States Information Agency,
Abiding Appalachia and Rising Fawn & The Fire Mystery
chosen for Global Tour of American Writers, 1986
Woman of Vision Award, Memphis Women
of Achievement, 1988
Distinguished Tennessee Writer Award,
1989
Outstanding Contributions to Appalachian
Literature, Appalachian Writers' Association, 1991
Audio version of Selu:
Seeking the Corn-Mother's Wisdom, with music by Joy Harjo, nominated for
a Grammy Award, 1995
Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters,
Albion College, Albion, Michigan, 1999
Award for Service to American Indian
Peoples, American Indian Symposium, Northeastern University, Oklahoma, 1999
Award for Educational Service to
Appalachia, Carson-Newman College, 1999
Appalachian Heritage Writer's Award,
Shepherd College, 2000
Excerpt from Selu engraved
in the River Wall at Nashville's Bicentennial Capitol Mall
Poem "Motheroot" from
Abiding Appalachia selected to be inlaid in the walkway of Fine Arts
Mall, UCLA Riverside
 |
Books
by Marilou Awiakta |
Abiding Appalachia: Where Mountain and Atom Meet.
Memphis: Saint Luke's Press, 1978. Rpt. Bell Buckle, TN: Iris Press,
1995. 71 pp. Poetry that weaves together Cherokee history, the
legend of
Little
Deer, memories of growing up in Oak Ridge (where the atom was split
in the 1940s), and thoughts on family, society, and the land.
Rising Fawn
and the Fire Mystery: A Child's Christmas in Memphis, 1833.
Memphis: Saint Luke's Press, 1983. Rpt. Golden, CO: Fulcrum, 2007.
Selu: Seeking the Corn-Mothers
Wisdom. Golden, CO: Fulcrum, 1993. A blend of story, essay,
and poetry. Cherokee legends and images from the double weave of Cherokee
baskets point us toward preserving a nurturing relationship between
humanity and Mother Earth, by instilling appreciation for the earth
and applying Native American philosophies to modern problems.
Go to
Bibliography
with additional writings by and about Awiakta.
|
This page
created 3/2/03. Last update:
03/17/2008
Send questions or suggestions for this page to
Tina
L. Hanlon
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