“The Powwow at the End of the World”
• Coeur d’Alene
• Salmon
o Major staple of NW Native Americans
o Symbolic figure in Native American oral traditions; god-like
o Swim upstream to restore life
• 1996 – formal apology to Native Americans has not been made
• Dystopia
o Reference to technology and its negative effects on the environment
o POV of European, world seems fine, but not in POV of Native Americans
Dystopia for Native Americans (from POV of the poem)
• Personal connection to the poem – local references
“Long Time Ago”
• White people are the creation of the witches
o Undermines the power of the white people
o Exonerates Europeans from guilt?
“Lucky” – nature is on their side; sophisticated technology
Humans all make mistakes; human folly
• Just because you have power, shouldn’t mean you should use it to create evil
o “With great power comes great responsibility.”
• Metaphor for human behavior; competition
• References to nuclear energy and atomic weaponry in both poems
o Test atomic weaponry near Native American lands (in deserts)
o Use of lands for resources
o Arms race – try to one up each other (could have led to dystopia)
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