WEBVTT

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Layli Long Soldier, Layli
[SPEAKING IN LAKOTA]..

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I'm very happy to be here, and
thank you for the invitation.

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I'm looking for all my hosts.

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Thank you.

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[LAUGHS] Thank you.

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Yes, it's been a
beautiful visit.

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And I also want to thank
all of the students

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that I've had the
opportunity to spend time

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with the last few days for
making this such a joyful time.

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Maybe with a few bumps
in the road, but--

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Tonight, I'm actually--
I'm going to read--

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primarily, I'm going to
read from the second part

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of my book, which is the
title of the book, Whereas.

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And this is-- this
section is comprised

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of 28 poems that are a response
to the National Apology

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to Native Americans.

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I don't know how many of
you are aware of that?

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Do you--

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OK.

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OK, well, that's nice.

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There's a good number of people
who've heard of the Apology.

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But if you haven't, I'm going to
read just a little introduction

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as background.

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"On Saturday, December 19,
2009, US President Barack Obama

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signed the Congressional
Resolution of Apology

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to Native Americans.

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No tribal leaders or
official representatives

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were invited to witness
and receive the Apology

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on behalf of tribal nations.

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President Obama never read
the Apology aloud publicly,

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although, for the record,
Senator Brownback,

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five months later,
read the Apology

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to a gathering of
five tribal leaders,

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though there are more than 560
federally-recognized tribes

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in the US."

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So five out of 560, I think,
is a little less than 1%.

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"The Apology was then folded
into a larger, unrelated piece

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of legislation called the 2010
Defense Appropriations Act.

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My response is directed
to the Apology's delivery

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as well as the language,
crafting, and arrangement

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of the written document.

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I am a citizen of
the United States

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and an enrolled member of
the Oglala Sioux Tribe,

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meaning I am a citizen of
the Oglala Lakota Nation.

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And in this dual citizenship,
I must work, I must eat,

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I must art, I must mother, I
must friend, I must listen,

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I must observe,
constantly, I must live."

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