This Land

Land of the free, unless you’re Indigenous,

Land passed from generations suddenly taken from us,
1897 kill the Indian save the man,
1883 Indian ceremonies and dancing are banned,
1885 BIA became a surrogate assimilationist governance,
1887 no more native language on your lands, your rez’s,
1891 Compulsory attendance,
Give us your children or we’ll starve you and them,
1902 you’re still here, so now we’re going to pretendian,
We’re adding ourselves to your rolls and giving ourselves guardianship of your land again,
Fast forward in time, now let’s look at 2005,
There’s been a ban on Indians in Boston since 1675,
Sixteen seventy-five,
That’s not even how long we’ve been fighting just for the right to be alive.

Courtney Akbar, 2024