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"Did you ever say no Eden."

"I couldn't speak, he covered my mouth immediately."

"Did you ever say the word no?"

"No but-"

"Thankyou, no further questions."

"I'm looking at him now. Kevin. And he's looking at me. He has me pinned like a dead insect mounted on a foam block, with only his eyes, like he did that night." (266)

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"When I go to bed with you
It lies between us keeping us apart.
I try to scrub it from my skin
In the shower but it won’t come off."

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PTSD

*The war followed me home.
It penetrated my skin like nerve gas
Nobody could see it but it was there.
It sits by my feet like a dog.
When I go to bed with you
It lies between us keeping us apart.
I try to scrub it from my skin
In the shower but it won't come off.
Like a heavy breathing crank call
It pants in my ear as I sleep.
Sometimes it shows me how strong it is
And holds the front door shut
and I cannot open it to go out.
At night just before bedtime
It passes me a handful of meds
I take them and swallow them
But I never ever look
straight into its eyes.

may your memories heal
and peace find you all
jude

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PTSD / The war followed me home. / It penetrated my skin like nerve gas / Nobody could see it but it was there. ...

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"In each text, all of them went through different types of trauma. It didn’t matter what color their skin was or what culture they came from, all that mattered was that they all were going through something hard and needed each other to get through it."

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"I rush to the window bombs are falling, planes are circling... look, Mr. Ibrahim. Look carefully, they are birds." (161)

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"In cultural trauma settings, wounds are still fresh and fear is ever-present, with little hope for any immediate improvement. In these settings, one frequently meets people who have been exposed to recent traumatizing incidents that fall squarely into the medical and therapeutic definition of trauma." (108)

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"Subject positions are our relations to the finite world of human history- what we might call politics. Subjectivity on the other hand is experienced as the sense of agency and responsibility that are constituted with the infinite encounter with otherness." (2500)

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"Whereas the federal judge wanted to make sure he was pronouncing the defendants name correctly and said he had read all the exhibits... Whereas today we celebrate things like his transfer to a detention center closer to home. Whereas his son moved across the country. Whereas I made nothing happen."

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"Would I have dared to face the crowd to demand justice for these ridiculous barbarian prisoners with their backsides in the air? Justice: once that word is uttered, where will it all end?" (124)

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"Testifying in court would be very stressful. I couldn’t imagine having to put all of this work in and not know if I was going to win. Lawyers will berate people for so long, which would be exhausting."

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Fringe, Rebecca Belmore ^ Minneapolis Institute of Art

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Rebecca Belmore often uses the body to address violence and injustice against First Nations people, especially women. A member of the Anishinaabe nation, she affirms, "My body is a place from which to address the whole notion of history and what has happened to us as Aboriginal people."

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"Settler colonial injustice occurs when one society undermines the conditions that make up the fabric of a society's collective continuance, denying the dimensions of our existence based on constant motion, diversity, and reciprocal responsibility." (57)

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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

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"I hope and prayed that they would someday forgive me for leaving them. I hoped and prayed that I would someday forgive myself for leaving them." (230)

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"Junior accepted himself for who he was and what he needed to do. He forgave himself for wanting a better life and in a way reconciled. After everything he went through Junior was able to realize this is what he needed and that it’s ok to leave the reservation."