WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.680 align:middle line:84% So I was just for four days in Norman, Oklahoma 00:00:04.680 --> 00:00:08.310 align:middle line:84% at the university there for an incredible conference 00:00:08.310 --> 00:00:13.500 align:middle line:84% called Returning the Gift, a 25 year anniversary literary-- 00:00:13.500 --> 00:00:17.670 align:middle line:84% it was an Indigenous and Native literary conference. 00:00:17.670 --> 00:00:19.770 align:middle line:84% And there were some incredible people 00:00:19.770 --> 00:00:25.770 align:middle line:84% that had been at the first one in 1992, Joseph Bruchac, Joy 00:00:25.770 --> 00:00:31.200 align:middle line:84% Harjo, Roberta Hill, just incredible, Simon Ortiz, just 00:00:31.200 --> 00:00:31.960 align:middle line:90% incredible. 00:00:31.960 --> 00:00:35.310 align:middle line:84% And so I felt really at home in Indian country, 00:00:35.310 --> 00:00:39.690 align:middle line:90% home to over 39 Native nations. 00:00:39.690 --> 00:00:42.540 align:middle line:84% And the thing about it is that it 00:00:42.540 --> 00:00:47.130 align:middle line:84% was only home to five Native nations until the Removal Act. 00:00:47.130 --> 00:00:48.510 align:middle line:84% And those, again, are things that 00:00:48.510 --> 00:00:52.830 align:middle line:84% are not thought about unless you study history 00:00:52.830 --> 00:00:58.110 align:middle line:84% or unless you are relatives with the people of that area. 00:00:58.110 --> 00:01:00.270 align:middle line:84% And this, too, is Indian country. 00:01:00.270 --> 00:01:03.870 align:middle line:84% It's home to over 22 Native nations. 00:01:03.870 --> 00:01:08.040 align:middle line:84% And I look out into the audience and I say, wow, 00:01:08.040 --> 00:01:10.230 align:middle line:84% it would be so amazing if more of them 00:01:10.230 --> 00:01:14.430 align:middle line:84% were here to hear me talk about them 00:01:14.430 --> 00:01:18.390 align:middle line:84% and about being really so excited about being 00:01:18.390 --> 00:01:20.670 align:middle line:84% at this conference, and that we need more 00:01:20.670 --> 00:01:21.840 align:middle line:90% of those kind of gatherings. 00:01:21.840 --> 00:01:26.400 align:middle line:84% Like Martín said, we need gatherings so that we can be 00:01:26.400 --> 00:01:28.350 align:middle line:90% part of each other's lives. 00:01:28.350 --> 00:01:30.458 align:middle line:84% So I'm going to read-- the next one I'm 00:01:30.458 --> 00:01:32.250 align:middle line:84% going to read after I take a drink of water 00:01:32.250 --> 00:01:33.450 align:middle line:90% is called "Borders." 00:01:33.450 --> 00:01:37.620 align:middle line:90% 00:01:37.620 --> 00:01:41.370 align:middle line:84% "The crops are all rotting, the restaurants are bare. 00:01:41.370 --> 00:01:46.680 align:middle line:84% No one to cook or clean, the babies without care. 00:01:46.680 --> 00:01:53.730 align:middle line:84% Cultures mingle en una mezcla, a clash of the in-between. 00:01:53.730 --> 00:01:58.740 align:middle line:84% Borders of empires we inherit, new skins to walk around in. 00:01:58.740 --> 00:02:03.660 align:middle line:84% Between shifting, borders of class, borders of gender, 00:02:03.660 --> 00:02:07.440 align:middle line:84% borders of skin color, borders of only one pair 00:02:07.440 --> 00:02:11.160 align:middle line:84% of shoes and socks to wear to school all year. 00:02:11.160 --> 00:02:13.830 align:middle line:84% Borders of no or little food to eat, 00:02:13.830 --> 00:02:17.940 align:middle line:84% borders of no jobs this week, borders of gang wars, 00:02:17.940 --> 00:02:21.990 align:middle line:84% borders of drug lords hanging right outside your door. 00:02:21.990 --> 00:02:27.900 align:middle line:84% Borders we don't see, borders we don't choose, borders we cross. 00:02:27.900 --> 00:02:33.600 align:middle line:84% Borders where we lose, borders that leave us dead or dying, 00:02:33.600 --> 00:02:38.060 align:middle line:84% borders that cannot hurt us anymore."