Indios: A Poem . . . A Performance

by Linda Hogan, Lois Beardslee (Foreword)

Filled with powerful imagery, this poem relates the tragic story of Indios, a native woman falsely accused of the death of her children. As it echoes the plight of other women like Indios—including Malinche, Pocahontas, La Llorona, and Medea—this narrative conveys the truth of a history twisted to suit the needs of a conquering power. Weaving Native American history with contemporary situations, this evocative poem focuses on the concept and consequences of the oppression of women.

Genres: Poetry, Indigenous

80 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Linda K. Hogan (born 1947 Denver) is a Native American poet, storyteller, academic, playwright, novelist, environmentalist and writer of short stories. She is currently the Chickasaw Nation's Writer in Residence.

Linda Hogan is Chickasaw. Her father is a Chickasaw from a recognized historical family and Linda's uncle, Wesley Henderson, helped form the White Buffalo Council in Denver during the 1950s. It was to help other Indian people coming to the city because of The Relocation Act, which encouraged migration for work and other opportunities. He had a strong influence on her and she grew up relating strongly to both her Chickasaw family in Indian Territory (Oklahoma) and to a mixed Indian community in the Denver area. At other times, her family traveled because of the military.

Her first university teaching position was in American Indian Studies and American Studies at the University of Minnesota. After writing her first book, Calling Myself Home, she continued to write poetry. Her work has both a historical and political focus, but is lyrical. Her most recent books are The Book of Medicines (1993) and Rounding the Human Corners. (2008) She is also a novelist and essayist. Her work centers on the world of Native peoples, from both her own indigenous perspective and that of others. She was a full professor of Creative Writing at the University of Colorado and then taught the last two years in the University's Ethnic Studies Department. She currently is the Writer in Residence for her own Chickasaw Nation.

Essayist, novelist, and poet, Hogan has published works in many different backgrounds and forms. Her concentration is on environmental themes. She has acted as a consultant in bringing together Native tribal representatives and feminist themes, particularly allying them to her Native ancestry. Her work, whether fiction or non-fiction, expresses an indigenous understanding of the world.

She has written essays and poems on a variety of subjects, both fictional and nonfictional, biographical and from research. Hogan has also written historical novels. Her work studies the historical wrongs done to Native Americans and the American environment since the European colonization of North America.

Hogan was a professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder and the University of Oklahoma. She is the (inaugural) Writer-in-Residence for the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma. In October 2011, she instructed a writing workshop through the Abiquiu Workshops in Abiquiu, New Mexico.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Margo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Linda Hogan's Indios is riveting and powerful "retelling" of the Medea legend
from an indigenous, women-centered viewpoint. I found the work fascinating both as a written work and as a performance piece.
Indios proves once again why Linda Hogan should be considered one of our national treasures.

[Samantha 🤍 · Rating 5 out of 5]

such a powerful, tragic look at the extortion of Indigenous women

[Michelle Hoyt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Indios

This was a wonderful poem. I have read many of linda Hogan's books and they are really. A great poem.

[HadiDee]

An interesting, rather than inspiring, poem with some beautiful images and thoughts. Written as a performance piece so perhaps reading it to oneself doesn't do it full justice.

[Cody · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear and poignant.

[Sonja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Indios by Linda Hogan is about an indigenous woman falsely accused of killing her children. She speaks this beautiful narrative poem from prison, the “aftershock” of history. She married a white man and then “wore robes and stood straight as trees.” Her move to the white world she regrets. “ Now I try to undress a five hundred year old wound.”
The poem and story which was also a performance piece was “based loosely on Medea,” says Linda Hogan, “who fell in love with Jason and promised to help him. [It was] said to be honest and true about the Corinthians killing Medea’s children, not the mother herself.”
The story is complex but Linda Hogan tells it beautifully. She is one of our great indigenous writers, from the Chickasaw Nation. If you haven’t read any of Linda Hogan’s works, I recommend them highly.

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is such a lovely idea, a consonance of lives, written by a poet I enjoy and admire. And yet, the writing, the tone, didn't really work for me. That's ok, I have other poems of hers I love, and I hope it works for other readers.

[Sashanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was something I randomly found on Libby. Never heard of it before. It was a lovely surprise and definitely something I need to reread. The thing about the game animals really hooked me.