2. As we are reading the poem try to figure out who the speaker of the poem is. The speaker is “the voice that talks to the reader in a poem, as the narrator does in a work of fiction. The speaker in the poem is not necessarily the poet.”
3. Back in the past we, the ancestors, ruled the quiet lands. We would sit around camp fires and sing with harmony. Is the poet talking about her personal experiences?
4. The beating of the drums sounded like the heart of an Indian. The cry of a wolf, the howl of an owl, put us into the secrets of ourselves. Canyou tell who the speaker is? What could the quiet lands be referring to?
5. Then we woke in the early mist of May and found ourselves in front of our enemies, who had come to fight. Why do you think the speaker specifically refers to May? Who do you think their enemies were?
6. The children hid and the women ran and hid. The men who were brave stood up for us. What is the mood of this poem? So far what has happened in the poem?
7. We fought, but many of us died. our spirits now haunt the lands we walked on. What lands do you think they walked on? Is the author talking about herself here?
8. Now we sing, laugh, dance, and lie under the bright blue sky. We are waiting for our enemies who killed us to pass by. How do the speakers feel in this poem? What is the topic of this poem? How would you summarize this poem? Why would the author choose the speaker of the poem to be someone other then herself?
9. Extra Information This poem was written by a Hualapai Indian. The Hualapai War took place in May of 1865, the war is estimated to have killed 1/3 of the Hualapai Indians.
