38 by Layli Long Soldier
38 Dakota men Layli Long Soldier introduces us to the poem 38 with a brief introduction on what to expect from the poem. The poem is not a creative pice nor is it an accurate telling of history. However, this poem is dedicated and represents the 38 men that were hanged by president Lincoln in 1862. For fighting for their rights to land, fighting for equality and fighting against colonization. However, even though this poem speaks of acts that happened centuries ago, one needs to remember that these acts were not at all in any way wiped out with time or space. These acts were direct cases of genocide, that still continue to permeate our western colonized polices today. Living in South Africa, a country whereby the fight for land and the ongoing struggle for reinstatement is continuous, it is evident that the fires of land and native genocide are still furiously burning around us. Not only was land taken from the natives that once found these spaces their homes, but with it t
