Description
Moving between Lafond’s own Cree language and her adopted English language, these poems create a kind of cultural dialogue that invests heavily in the close relationship she had with her grandmother and the teachings that were offered to her. Employing the transformation rituals of her Cree culture, Lafond seeks out the universal love of “all people, all animals, all things/my heartbeat slows, my spirit breathes/ in a circle of women I find myself/with my ancestors.” The tone of such adaptation is reflected time and again in the elements of nature that form the life source for understanding her grandmother’s words and for understanding how she can be one with her Cree past. The descriptions of the natural world – the rain and snow, the sage and sweetgrass, and the wind and clouds serve her poems as do the memories of her grandmother’s life and the day-to-day rituals that shaped it. Stylistically emotive but never maudlin, Lafond recreates those energies that now give her strength.
nipê wânîn: my way back is a poetic journey of one woman discovering her Cree heritage and how it has shaped her. The poems are written in both Cree and English, on facing pages. Her pathway for the poems was paved by her grandmother’s life and teachings.
I am my grandmother’s thought. I was in her tears. I have shared dreams with her. I am a sprig of present produced by the past, cultivating the future. (from “I am”)
I come back to find solace in my history, to see the depth of the sky once more, to fall away to peacefulness with the stars. (from “homebound”)
About the author
Mika Lafond is a member of the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation. She took a great interest in creative writing while she attended ITEP at the University of Saskatchewan through a mentorship with author Bill Robertson. Lafond and her cousin Joi Arcand started Kimiwan Zine in 2012 as an outlet for Indigenous visual artists and creative writers. Lafond has worked in education for ten years, has written resources for teachers, and began teaching at the U of S in 2015. Her writing is influenced by her love for her culture, language, and the importance of education. This is her first book. Lafond lives in Saskatoon.
Excerpt: nipê wânîn: my way back (by (author) Mika Lafond)
my way back
they came before me
their blood is my blood
sitting under a black sky sprinkled with stars
my eyes are called to the ones who have gone before
my ancestors love to dance
late at night they join hands
brilliant serpentine belt
in the northern sky
purple splashes on green
shawl upon skirt
great grandmothers
my ancestors love to dance
I didn’t know I could still hear them
swishing in the wind
in the solitude of dark
great grandmothers who danced
to a drum only they could hear
until I sit in silence
thoughts tangled like red willow branches
confusion settled in the roots
curling, struggling to reach the glow of life
with nurture and warmth
mind will find a way
through barricades of branches
I didn’t know I could still hear them
until I fell away from chaos
and my spirit listened
remembered
to view a crimson sunrise
wonder at clouds etched with gold
swim in the deep blues of sky
dance with grass in the wind
I find my way back to the arms of nôhkom
my grandmother, my teacher
silence is a sign of respect
tobacco burns in the ashtray
smoke rises
thick at the flame
slowly dissipating
until it is scent in the air
words spoken in hushed voices
their sacredness not to be shouted
do not be afraid
in a circle of women I see myself
their blood is my blood
my ancestors
silence a sign of respect
attitudes can be changed
doing
saying
all can be forgiven
kisêwâtotatowin
one love
all people, all animals, all things
my heartbeat slows, my spirit breathes
in a circle of women I find myself
with my ancestors
