mihko kiskisiwin
Blood Memory - an Anthology
by Indigenous Poets Society

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Thomas King said, “The truth about stories is . . . stories are all that we are.” Colonization has tried to erase and eradicate Indigenous narratives for centuries. Even mainstream literature features the same kinds of stories told by the same voices. It fails to recognize the diversity of voices across Turtle Island. Stories exist and persist in diverse and divergent forms. mihko kiskisiwin is a collection of Indigenous North American voices, from incarcerated and diversified Indigenous community members, elders, and youth to people with dis/abilities and 2SLGBTTQQIA+ people. This anthology by the Indigenous Poets Society (Saskatchewan–Ontario) showcases spoken and written poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction from emerging and established artists, writers, and performers. Testimony is at the heart of this collection. With vulnerability and urgency, these writers illuminate the complexities of trauma, identity, and healing. By empowering diverse and divergent Indigenous voices, intersectional awareness and diversity flourish. We see how one story can’t possibly encapsulate the breadth of Indigenous North American cultures and experiences. In Cree, “mihko kiskisiwin” means “blood memory.” It’s the idea that our ancestral knowledge is in our blood’s memory, and calls for right relationship - cultural restoration and resilience, inter-related respectfulness, and interconnected reciprocity. This anthology is our stories in our own words - as a revolutionary act of remembering, reclamation & resurgence for future generations to come.

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Indigenous Poets Society (IPS) is an Indigenous collective nurturing culture, literature, and spoken word. IPS (SK–ON) was inspired to create mihko kiskisiwin from the “Write Relations” Indigenous creative writers’ Zoom circle that met during COVID. This anthology was made possible by the Region of Waterloo Upstream Fund. Kevin Wesaquate and Hope Engel help make IPS possible. Kevin (he/him), Cree from the Piapot First Nation, founded Indigenous Poets Society, and lives with his family in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Hope (she/they) is the IPS’s admin. They are a multiple-disabled, Two Spirit Indigenous “Femme-inist”, Turtle Clan, Oklahoma Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Cherokee ancestry. They live in Kitchener, Ontario. Their first book River Bundles (2006) is an anthology from the work of the former Indigenous artists and writers collective, Plume Writers Circle.

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Contributors

Author

Indigenous Poets Society

Editor

Hope Engel

Editor

Kevin Wesaquate

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