Layli Long Soldier, Layli [SPEAKING IN LAKOTA]..
I'm very happy to be here, and thank you for the invitation.
I'm looking for all my hosts.
Thank you.
[LAUGHS] Thank you.
Yes, it's been a beautiful visit.
And I also want to thank all of the students
that I've had the opportunity to spend time
with the last few days for making this such a joyful time.
Maybe with a few bumps in the road, but--
Tonight, I'm actually-- I'm going to read--
primarily, I'm going to read from the second part
of my book, which is the title of the book, Whereas.
And this is-- this section is comprised
of 28 poems that are a response to the National Apology
to Native Americans.
I don't know how many of you are aware of that?
Do you--
OK.
OK, well, that's nice.
There's a good number of people who've heard of the Apology.
But if you haven't, I'm going to read just a little introduction
as background.
"On Saturday, December 19, 2009, US President Barack Obama
signed the Congressional Resolution of Apology
to Native Americans.
No tribal leaders or official representatives
were invited to witness and receive the Apology
on behalf of tribal nations.
President Obama never read the Apology aloud publicly,
although, for the record, Senator Brownback,
five months later, read the Apology
to a gathering of five tribal leaders,
though there are more than 560 federally-recognized tribes
in the US."
So five out of 560, I think, is a little less than 1%.
"The Apology was then folded into a larger, unrelated piece
of legislation called the 2010 Defense Appropriations Act.
My response is directed to the Apology's delivery
as well as the language, crafting, and arrangement
of the written document.
I am a citizen of the United States
and an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe,
meaning I am a citizen of the Oglala Lakota Nation.
And in this dual citizenship, I must work, I must eat,
I must art, I must mother, I must friend, I must listen,
I must observe, constantly, I must live."