I Am From
By: Lance Tubinaghtewa
Tribal Affiliation: Hopi
Major: Anthropology
I am from a place where the world is hushed into silence by the wind as it rushes through the limbs of juniper trees
Where the still summer mornings are a blessing and where the painted and feathered beings sing their hymns to bless the people
Where pot-bellied halflings, young and old, cruise with the same agility as the slendered runners, both groups bruised and ashy
Where the matriarchs, who smell of buckskin and cedar, wipe away the tears of silver-teeth children who then go on to cry again
Where time is kept by the passing of the cars on the highway and the growing of corn, which will turn beige from age and harsh dryness
Where the old markings on the sandstone boulders are still referenced to hunt the cottontail — the dry lichen having overgrown some surfaces
Where on the radio love songs are most prevalent with laments of a neon moon or Tennessee whisky — love birds singing in an old Chevy
Where after the heavy rains batter our pueblo homes, later the windows are opened to welcome the cool breeze — the croak of the frogs can be heard in the near springs
Where after the same rain the same children run off to jump and play in their new puddles — splashes as sudden as a distant thunder crack
Where ancient tongue is spoken 3,000 years on and from the same voices, deep and loud laughs echo through the village allies and kivas
Where I call home for now and an eternity.
Writer bio
Lance, 25, is a member of the Hopi Tribe. Most of his writings are inspired from experiences he’s had as a conservationist, community advocate, and regular dude. He currently serves as a member of the Rising Leaders Advisory Council with the Grand Canyon Trust and has goals of making land-based federal agencies more accessible to and eventually run by Indigenous peoples.
