ForewordPoetry can change the world. Words, language, all the ways to communicate with and listen to each other can transform the world, as we know it. There is so much to learn from the way an individual, a community, or language group uses words.For example, the words for peace and war are very similar odriyohdeda oh (war) and odriyohsreda oh (peace) in Cayuga, a Native American language spoken in Canada. The government is trying to preserve the language and culture but there are less than 80 fluent speakers left. Peace Odriyohsreda oh literally means the war has laid down or finished. For native speakers the words create an image, perhaps of men laying weapons down or a symbolic war laying down in a field where crops can once again be planted and children can grow. Each of the world’s seven or eight thousand languages creates different images, evokes diverse emotions, and carries a unique cultural significance. In 2019 the Poets of the Inner Child Poetry Posse will breathe life into words creating a kind of visual poetry, arranging the letters to reflect each poet’s inner voice manifested on the page while honoring the languages and cultures of many people around the world as well as our own diverse ancestry. Each month we will visit a different region of the world, finding what is often stunningly beautiful, sometimes tragic and emotion-laden but always insightful and thought provoking. This year as our words journey across the pages and into the world we honor the United Nations which has declared 2019 the International Year of Indigenous Languages.This month let your eyes … anuhtunyu (rejoice or adopt peace of mind) in Oneida spoken in the Great Lakes region iliha lon (awaken, opening one’s eyes from sleep) in Kosati spoken in Louisiana and Texas, US dseekshyaaksh (strut or walk with a flair) in Shm'algyack spoken in Alaska, US dladaal (stroll or walk slowly) in Haida spoken in British Columbia, Canada mani (travel or journey) in Ioway-Otoe-Missouria spoken in Kansas, US ji-k'ein (jump around) in Tlingit spoken in the Pacific Northwest of North America tc'igago (run) in Jacarilla Apache or Eastern Apache spoken in the North America napa mkaw
(walk or travel) in Abenaki-Penobscot spoken in Maine, US and Quebec, Canada zdocumb (dance) in the Nanticoke Dialect of Massachusetts, US… across the pages of this book, a tribute to Native American languages and cultures.Kimberly Burnham, Ph.D.
