Something Small of How to See a River

by Teresa Dzieglewicz

Through the weaving of documentary poetics, first-hand accounts, dialogue, and lyric, these poems tell the story of co-running a school at the Ocethi Sakowin Camp at Standing Rock. 

Something Small of How to See a River interrogates the idea of narrative. Who gets to tell a story and what does it mean when the official story, the story told by the governor, the police, or the local media, is a fundamentally dishonest one? The poems collected here meditate on how systems fail us and our environment, how whiteness fails to hold itself accountable, how future generations and the land are being failed—and how, in the face of all this, the Standing Rock movement was not a failure. At the heart of this collection is the strength, care, and radical joy of the movement, which shines through and against the violence.

Genres: Poetry

92 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 2025

Reviews

[Wisconsin Alumni]

Teresa Dzieglewicz ’05
Author

From the author:
Through the weaving of documentary poetics, first-hand accounts, dialogue, and lyric, these poems tell the story of co-running a school at the Ocethi Sakowin Camp at Standing Rock.

Something Small of How to See a River interrogates the idea of narrative. Who gets to tell a story and what does it mean when the official story, the story told by the governor, the police, or the local media, is a fundamentally dishonest one? The poems collected here meditate on failure: how systems fail us and our environment, how whiteness fails to hold itself accountable, how future generations and the land are being failed — and how, in the face of all this, the Standing Rock movement was not a failure. At the heart of this collection is the strength, care, and radical joy of the movement, which shines through and against the violence.

[Ally P · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this poetry book. Although I read it in a day, I would love to go back and really dive into each section a little more deeply. I got the chance to meet the author of this book and one of the students she taught at Standing Rock. Emotions poured through these poems like none I had ever read before. 10/10 but be ready to become an activist when you’re done!

[Cheryl Walsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciated the passion and humility in these poems, as well as the constructive redirection of anger--a continual iterative process that seems the essence of resilience. Resilience does not require winning all the battles, nor even winning the war, but rather recognizing the importance and meaning of fighting the good fight, bearing witness, and living one's values in community. Poetry is well suited to expressing the personal and communal pain, joy, healing, growth, and awareness of the Standing Rock water protectors, and they are all evident in Dzieglewicz's work.