As an English and Theater educator from South Dakota, I appreciated the focus on Indigenous Studies. Recently, I re-read Adam Fortunate Eagle’s novel Pipestone: My Life at an Indian Boarding School. Here are a few more great quotes:
“That is the most painful part, and the boy shouts, ‘Ow-wah-high!'”
Adam fortunate Eagle, Pipestone: My Life at An Indian Boarding School
“One thing you can say about Indian boarding school—you don’t get picked on because you’re Indian. We’re all in the same boat. If anything, it’s the mixed ones, the blue eyes, or the short noses like me that get ribbed.”
Adam fortunate Eagle, Pipestone: My Life at An Indian Boarding School
Adam fortunate Eagle, Pipestone: My Life at An Indian Boarding School
“I’ve been to some of their wakes and their funerals, and they’re as religious as anything. They treat the dead person with such love and respect. They put sacred colors on the face: red on one side, and blue on the other. And, after the wake, they put them in a shallow grave, right near their old home. They put food at their feet for the journey of their soul to the beyond. And, they build a spirit house over the grave, a long low house, as long as the body. That spirit house has a pitched roof, just like a real house, and there’s a hole in the front for gifts and food, and for the relatives to talk to the soul or the spirit. Sometimes the relatives of those people come there and sit by the graves for a while just to keep them company. I guess they tell them how much they’re missed.””