Speaking of moons, my father, when I went to go
visit him one time, he was talking about the moon
and what it meant, and it was apparent the way
he was talking about the moon, and what
I had experienced a few days earlier in the Midwest
and outside my home.
And so there's these two perspectives about the moon.
This was during an eclipse, and it's called "When The Moon
Died."
Peter MacDonald, former President of the Diné nation,
was convicted of various illegal activities
and is now serving a prison sentence.
He's out now.
"When the moon died
We watched in silent awe
The closing of her light above the treetops.
My father's voice comes back to me:
It's a bad sign for us when it happens at night.
It hasn't rained here,
And we look eastward at the thirsty earth,
The sun bearing down on the cracks in the ground.
We must not be living right.
The neighbor brought out a camera and aimed it at the moon.
Minutes later, only a blurred image emerged.
If it happens during the day,
It's bad for the white people.
Years ago, the flu killed a lot of them.
It was bad.
I returned to the typewriter while the moon hid herself
As if in shame.
They say you're not supposed to do anything:
Don't go to bed, don't eat.
Pregnant women shouldn't see it.
Three people shot because of MacDonald.
We're not living right.
When the moon died,
She reminded us of the earth ripping apart:
Violent tremors, greasy oceans,
The panic of steel winds, whipping shorelines
and thirsty fields.
Grandfather trees pulled for profit.
The earth is angry at the people.
We're not living right."
[APPLAUSE]