Poetry still has place among the youth
6th Annual Poetry Slam
By Richie Richards
Native Sun News Today Correspondent
nativesunnews.today
RAPID CITY - While the student athletes dazzled crowds during the Lakota Nation Invitational, a small group of poets gathered to express themselves in a safe space provided by organizers.
Some youth are gifted with a great athletic ability, while others harness the talents of their emotional and spiritual selves by creating poetry and connecting words which explain the world around them. Often times, these young writers are the victims in their community and words are the expression which keeps them on a level playing field with their peers.
The LNI 6th Annual Youth Poetry Slam was held at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center on Thursday, December 13, along with the many other competitions, both sporting and cultural. The poetry slam was presented by the First Peoples Fund’s Dances with Words program. Emcee for the event was former slam participant, Marcus Red Shirt and DJ Micah Prairie Chicken provided the music for the afternoon.
Rules for the poetry slam were simple and basically asked for poems to be original, no used in other competitions and free of hate.
First Peoples Fund CEO and President, Lori Pourier, was in attendance and welcomed all to the event. A key to the success of an event like the LNI poetry slam is the experience of the leadership, who feel it is important for the poets to have a safe space for expression. Many of the poems are personal, emotional, tragic and triumphant. FPF has provided this space for young poets, who often seem like the just want to get things off their chest and out into the universe.
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Youth poets stood before one of two microphones at the front of the room, holding on to cell phones which held their poems. Their voices were often times shaky but confident. These poems turned victims to victors as one by one they made their declarations before the audience.
Reservation youth are exposed to extreme social conditions and survive days many will not understand. The poets spoke about anger, depression, sarcasm, emotions and deep topics which left many in the audience stunned yet understanding. This poetry slam gave the youth an opportunity to let it out. And they did.
Here is an excerpt from one anonymous poet:
“Often, sometimes I bet some of us in here have done drugs to feel numb, to ease the pain, to build a tolerance so when the daily aches come you can't feel that weight on your chest or the uneasy feeling in your heart, or the voice in your head, sometimes the drugs won't work...”
The poet from the excerpt goes on to discuss contemplation of suicide, self-mutilation (cutting), and the emotions of a young person dealing with life’s deepest degrees. Even in this darkest moment, there was a light in the poem which let the audience know things will be alright.
As emcee and host of the poetry slam Marcus Red Shirt, 20, is a former participant in the poetry slam and understands all-to-well what the youth are trying to convey, needing to say.
“My role was just to make sure that everyone felt safe and protected. I wanted to make sure that no one feels that they can't be in this space,” said Red Shirt.
Many of the youth who presented their poems are victims of bullying in their communities. They are chosen as victims for one reason or another but together at the poetry slam, they form a circle of support and understanding. They are free to be themselves.
“I was in charge of the emotional health of everybody. A lot of the spaces that these youth are in on the reservation, they don’t get to be in a space where people are being held accountable to their actions and to their words,” said Red Shirt, referring to the social environments these poets endure and are recorded in their poems.
The poets gave testimony about many things in their lives, including loss of life, loss of relationships, loss of grandparents, loss of friends to suicide, and loss of confidence over the years of their young lives. These poems were a way of taking back of their spirits from other places.
Contact Native Sun News Today Correspondent Richie Richards at richie4175@gmail.com
Copyright permission Native Sun News Today
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