Surviving the War by Singing the Blues: The Contemporary Ethos of American Indian Political Poetry

American Indian Culture & Research Journal, Vol. 10, p. 25, 1986

28 Pages Posted: 9 May 2009

See all articles by Rebecca A. Tsosie

Rebecca A. Tsosie

University of Arizona - James E. Rogers College of Law

Date Written: 1986

Abstract

In this paper I hope to explore the ethos of "survival" through song, language and cultural resistance. The first section will focus on world view, both Western and "Indian," and its relation to historical as well as contemporary political and social conflict. I will explore how art becomes the agent of criticism and the exponent of change. Next, I will discuss major themes in contemporary Indian poetry that comprise the Native ethos of cultural resistance and survival. In keeping with the broad artistic fusion of the Grafitti Band's music, I will correlate certain themes in Indian poetry to the spirituals and blues of the black American people. Because I concentrate on a specific form of cultural resistance, artistically expressed primarily through the themes which comprise "the blues," I have structured the poetic selections accordingly.

Keywords: Native American culture, Poetry, Artistic expression

Suggested Citation

Tsosie, Rebecca A., Surviving the War by Singing the Blues: The Contemporary Ethos of American Indian Political Poetry (1986). American Indian Culture & Research Journal, Vol. 10, p. 25, 1986, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1401532

Rebecca A. Tsosie (Contact Author)

University of Arizona - James E. Rogers College of Law ( email )

P.O. Box 210176
Tucson, AZ 85721-0176
United States

HOME PAGE: https://law.arizona.edu/rebecca-tsosie

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