"Not until they have it all," said Fishtail. "All of our lands. Our wild-rice beds, hunting grounds, fishing streams, gardens. Not even when we are gone and they have the bones of our loved ones will they be pleased ... Before they were born, before they came into this world, the [white people] must have been starved as ghosts. They are infinitely hungry."

From "The Birchbark House" by Louise Erdrich, which should be required reading for everyone in this country right now. I post this as I'sanei'tche, informally adopted into the Burnt-Lip clan of the Absaroka Nation, who once danced at the Crow Fair in moccasins and a red velvet dress decorated with elk teeth, wearing a beaded medallion necklace and matching ties for her long braided hair. fishtail evening dress