Evolution Poem by Sherman Alexie.
Evolution
Buffalo Bill opens a pawn shop on the reservation
right across the border from the liquor store
and he stays open 24 hours a day,7 days a week
and the Indians come running in with jewelry
television sets, a VCR, a full-lenght beaded buckskin outfit
it took Inez Muse 12 years to finish. Buffalo Bill
takes everything the Indians have to offer, keeps it
all catalogues and filed in a storage room. The Indians
pawn their hands, saving the thumbs for last, they pawn
their skeletons, falling endlessly from the skin
and when the last Indian has pawned everything
but his heart, Buffalo Bill takes that for twenty bucks
closes up the pawn shop, paints a new sign over the old
calls his venture THE MUSEUM OF NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURES
charges the Indians five bucks a head to enter.
Amen, brother. It's not culture if you can buy it for less than you spent on a tank of gas.
WHY? ! Why would you have a robot read poetry? I am in shock you would damage this poem in this way. Neve have I heard anything and thought, " Wow! This need to be removed from the internet! "
A poem giving Extraordinary insight into the "Evolution", the cruel, grotesque invasion of the native territory, culture and lives of the native Americans.
Sherman Alexie is a preeminent Native American poet, novelist, performer and filmmaker. He has garnered high praise for his poems and short stories of contemporary Native American reservation life,
and an 'Indian'/'Native American' could well be the owner, AND the museum patrons could be anyone.
I don't call this 'racism' as RW calls it. I will call it 'dark humor' and entreuneurship,
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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4/19/2024 1:21:43 PM # 1.0.0.1119
This is poignant. Right on the head. A sure-fire expression of America and how it has delt with Native Americans, as well as everyone else to this day.