Multinational forces were attempting to contact the tribes to begin programs of assimilation. The tribal leaders told me they would resist and they recognized the danger of imperialism that was thrust upon my Cheyenne nation 500 years ago. They were knowledgeable of our 500 year war of resistance. These tribal leaders, headsmen, poets told me they were willing to fight for their lifeways against the forces of multinational destruction. As a member of an indigenous nation and an activist for tribal rights, it became clear to me that an effort must be raised to tell the stories of these tribal people.
Land is lost illegally by most tribes.
This is not a legal issue, it is an issue of ethics. Martinez further states that most tribes must negotiate with treaty agreements and laws they did not create. Lastly and most important is Martinez' finding that treaties are to be recognized as valid instruments of international law, which has been neglected due to racism and eurocentric values. We, Lance Henson and Lisa Schnorf propose a poetry tour involving indigenous poets whose tribal brothers and sisters are presently imperiled by multinational forces and Governments who disregard their lifeways. Poetry is an integral force in the metaphysical and political lives of indigenous peoples.