- teaching the public to read and appreciate multicultural works;
- introducing the public to multicultural works; and
- ensuring that more multicultural works will be written and published in the future.
I must admit that after being out-of-the-loop for several years there was, of course, fear that phati’tude was past its prime. However, in this day and age, and in light of recent current events, I believe that cultural tolerance is even more important than ever before. While there are those who often misinterpret multiculturalism to solely represent the “minority” and immigrant population, I never believed multiculturalism to be solely a brown versus white issue; rather, it is myriad ethnic groups, social classes, genders, sexual orientations, immigrant statuses, time periods and political beliefs that reflect the emotional highs and lows associated with living in such a diverse country as America. Thus, the premise of phati’tude remains the same: to continually represent artists/poets/writers on the cutting edge of the multicultural revolution, beyond mainstream marginalization.
In addition to phati’tude, which will be published quarterly, the IAAS intends to develop phati’tude’s monthly counterpart, phati’tude Online , and expects its debut by year’s end. We also plan to develop the IAAS’s website into something special – a place where artists and scholars can meet to exchange ideas and develop literary programs across the country. We have also established under the IAAS a small publishing house called 2Leaf Press. Certainly, as these and other projects develop, I will keep you informed.
While phati’tude’s flame burns bright, it is important that I acknowledge some of the many people who have helped – past and present – to get the magazine off the ground. Special thanks to: Regie Cabico, Tony Medina, Sonia Sanchez, Steve Cannon, Andrew Jackson, Linda Bannerman-Martin, and many others too numerous to mention, for initially helping out when phati’tude first appeared on the scene. Special thanks goes to Shirley Bradley LeFlore for pushing me; Sal Vitiello for re-inspiring me and resurrecting this project; the IAAS Board for their commitment and support; Pamela Bruzesse and Rose Auslander for their extraordinary care and attention to the IAAS’s corporate structure and intellectual property issues; Jerine Watson for superb on-the-spot copy editing, and coworkers Dallas Logan, Fred Mazelis, Carla Sheinkopf and Albert Valentin who, at my insistence, critiqued many aspects of this project. I would also like to thank my family and in particular, my mom, whose eternal spirit provides me strength and guides me daily. Most importantly, I want to thank you – the contributors and subscribers – for your patience, kind words and faith in phati’tude and for not giving up hope.
Now that the dust has cleared, I hope that I can now finally live up to the task at hand, which is to publish works of significant merit crafted by writers from a broad range of styles and experiences. Our pledge is to labor diligently to select and promote works of significant merit crafted by writers from a broad range of styles and experiences.
Below is my original “Editor’s Note,” which was written upon the completion of Indian Summer, back in 1997. It is amazing to me that even now, the work presented in this issue remains classic and is timeless. As you flip through these pages, I hope will agree that the voices contained herein are an important part of our American literature and cultural landscape.
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As I have read books devoted to “American Literature,” in anthologies where hundreds of writers are cited as “American” writers, I have often pondered what the term “American Literature” means. Too few of these “American” collections include ethnic-minority writers. I believe that the term “American Literature” should not be limited to one solitary voice – those Americans of European descent – rather, it should encompass the “voice” of all Americans, in particular, those of indigenous and ethnic-minorities. Going beyond this ethnocentrism and presenting writers from the multicultural spectrum of America is the primary goal of phati’tude.
From time to time, phati’tude will devote an issue to highlight writers from a segment of that cultural spectrum. As the first of these special issues, I thought it only appropriate that we first focus on Native Americans who, after all, are the first creative people of America. And in order for this issue to be successful, it was important to present an honest and accurate overview of Native literature and its key components, namely: history, ceremony and song, storytelling and insight into Native authorship. Too often, our understanding of the history and culture of Native Americans has been distorted by unsympathetic, culturally-biased and inaccurate characterizations. As editor, I believe that it is my responsibility to present to the general public and fellow writers an issue that circumvents stereotypical ideas, gives insight to Native people, and sheds light on what it means to be “Indian” in today’s modern world. An issue of this nature would offer readers a well-rounded, thought-provoking examination of Native culture and literature. Thus, the birth of Indian Summer.
With that goal in mind, I began the long journey of finding Native writers. I was afraid that it would not be an easy task because I personally knew so few Native writers. Two months later, after making numerous telephone calls and mailing out dozens of letters, I still did not have an ample amount of Native writers for “Indian Summer,” and dropping the theme concept became inevitable. As I was quickly approaching the deadline, I went to my local bookstore, bought a shopping bag full of books on Native American literature and a number of anthologies, wrote to some of the individuals listed in the credits of those books and held my breath. Four days later, I began receiving telephone calls and mail. One of the first persons I heard from was Geary Hobson, who happened to be a member of Native Writers’ Circle of the Americas, and he turned me onto its membership. In five short days, I received a deluge of submissions. I’ve been in Indian heaven ever since!
My new problem was how to begin the process of selecting pieces from the many excellent submissions I received. While the intent of special theme issues such as Indian Summer was to devote only a portion of the magazine to that theme, the overwhelming response and fine works received from Native people across the continent caused me to double the initial number of pages devoted to Native works. There were so many good submissions, I simply did not have the space to publish all of the works and was faced with the difficult decision to pick and choose. As a result, many of these works will be seen in future issues of phati’tude.
Sam with his horse
My next problem was to frame the written works in appropriate artwork. Rather than using stereotypical images of horse-mounted warriors wearing war bonnets, or using designs that represent a particular tribe, I used the petroglyphs or symbolic characters that were universally used by Natives many centuries ago to tell the stories of their people and culture. The cover, painted by Chippewa artist Sam English of New Mexico (see p. 148), features the Coyote – a character that figures in virtually all Native American cultures. Known as the “Trickster,” the coyote can take on both human and animal form. Depending on tribal custom, the Trickster may appear as raven, hare, wolverine or even as spider, but its more frequent guise is as the Coyote. I am thrilled with Sam’s choice of subject because the ubiquity of the coyote among tribes paired with its different manifestations reflects so well the differences and similarities that characterize the writings in this issue.
I was then faced with the question of how to handle submissions received from non-Natives. Members of the Native community expressed to me their varied political viewpoints regarding non-Native experts of Native culture. That, together with the emergence of well-respected Native critics and my belief that it is important that the Natives should speak for themselves led me to the decision that Native-written works would be kept in a unified section. At the same time, I felt it equally important to publish some of the many tributes submitted by non-Natives – after all, the essence of phati’tude is about establishing a cross-cultural connection – therefore these works have been included in a separate section.
Within these pages you will find work by some of the most widely read and respected Native writers as well as emerging writers on the scene, each pushing American art and literature into new directions. Together, these authors constitute a powerful force on the American literature tradition. Beginning with Janice Gould’s prolific “We Exist,” Indian Summer unfolds to tell the stories of Native life, moving on to interviews with Simon Ortiz and Joy Harjo which set the stage for the poems and essays that follows and finishing with Vee Browne’s “Whisper Soft, Indian Summer Wind.” This collection of writings includes works from some of the major tribes across the continent – the Eastern Woodlands, the Southeast, the Great Plains, the Southwest, California, the Northwest Coast and the Far North (Alaska and Canada). Throughout Indian Summer there pulsates a common kinship and mutual concern about the energy of nature, the act of dispossession, the power and poignancy of everyday life, songs of suffering, ascent from the ashes of battle, death and despair, the celebration of being, to the soul’s search for the great mystery – themes which have been shaped and reshaped for thousands of years. And I think you will agree that the juxtaposition of Native writers expressing Native thoughts in a language that has been forced upon them ever since the incursion of the first European colonists is quite striking. As the first theme issue of phati’tude, I believe that Indian Summer contains an outstanding volume of work written by important writers of our day.
In my research and in my conversations with the writers published within, I have come to realize that the publication of Native literature is somewhat scarce, despite the occasional publication by major publishing houses of Native books and anthologies. Native writers rely upon a limited number of publishing resources, including the Native-owned Akwesasne Notes, The Greenfield Review Press, Wicazo Sa Review, Four Directions, Wordtrails, and such University presses in Arizona, Nebraska, New Mexico and Oklahoma. As I have told many of our Native contributors, Native writers and artists do not “disappear” from the pages of phati’tude after this issue. We do not take lightly the fact that phati’tude offers writers from every cultural background the opportunity to publish when such opportunities are sometimes hard to come by. “Indian Summer” was not produced as a token effort – I believe these poets are a very important part of American literature and their voices should be heard and celebrated by the larger culture. Given the growing acceptance of Native culture and literature as a legitimate field, and the influx of Native writers on the scene, I sincerely hope that by example of phati’tude, literary journals and publishers alike will seek Native writers for inclusion with the same rigor as they do for non-Native writers in all literary projects.
Towards that end, phati’tude will continuously strive to publish the works of Native writers. The heartfelt support and thanks I have received has reinforced my belief that phati’tude fills a void by offering a forum where writers can meet and exchange literary ideas and viewpoints. It is our editorial objective to get the word out not only on a particular culture, but to learn about each other’s culture through literature. Working on this issue has opened a doorway to a wonderful group of people whose good works I am committed to showcase and publish in future issues of phati’tude.
Pulling together this body of work was as fascinating as it has been challenging. I found myself questioning the accessibility of Native culture; the perceptions and stereotypes we all have of Native people; the validity of so-called non-Native experts who inject their own Euro-values in their assessment of an indigenous people and their culture; and my own family ties to Native tribes, both in North and South America. Most importantly, friendships have been forged during the production of Indian Summer, which I hope will last for years to come.
This issue would have been impossible without the help of Geary Hobson and Carter Revard who not only helped get the word out, but also guided me through the journey. I’d also like to thank Joy Harjo taking time from her hectic schedule to grant an interview, and for Simon Ortiz’ many talks about Native culture, customs and Third World issues. I would also like to thank Juanita Espinosa from the Native Arts Circle in Minnesota, whose guidance initially laid the groundwork for my search of Native writers.
Finally, many people have asked why this issue is called Indian Summer, a commonly used phrase which describes a “warm autumn.” Some thought the title to be pejorative because the misperception of Native people in this country is a stinging reality. To the contrary, summertime is the season when many tribes celebrate cultural renewal and it is in that spirit that the Indian Summer issue was conceived. I think once you review the fine works in this issue, you’ll agree that this is, in fact, a wonderful Indian Summer.
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In the midst of reorganizing phati’tude, when I contacted Geary Hobson to invite him to join the Board of the IAAS, a wonderful opportunity presented itself to get Indian Summer published in time for the Native Writers’ Circle of the Americas, and Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers’ tenth festival of Returning The Gift this October in Oklahoma. As I put the finishing touches on the magazine to send it to press, all I can think about is how fitting it is to present in-person this debut issue of phati’tude to Native writers who are, in fact, our first and true Americans. For me, this is such an honored privilege.
Everything is as it should be. Stay tuned for more!
—Gabrielle David, Editor
