Indianland

by Lesley Belleau

Indianland is a rich and varied poetry collection. The poems are written from a female and Indigenous point of view and incorporate Anishinaabemowin throughout. Time is cyclical in this collection, moving from present day back to first contact and forward again. Themes of sexuality, birth, memory, and longing are explored. Images of blood, plants (milkweed, yarrow, cattails), and petroglyphs recur, and touchstone issues in Indigenous politics are addressed, including Elijah Harper, Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women, forced sterilizations, and Kanesatake.

Genres: Poetry, Indigenous

131 pages, Paperback

Published November 14, 2017

Reviews

[Maggie Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Indianland is a beautiful, lyrical collection of poems. From sex to land to language, the poems are an often haunting and powerful exploration of Indigenity.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

Indianland features some incredibly powerful poems about the Oka crisis, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, residential schools, and forced sterilizations that make it a hard but necessary read. She also touches on equally powerful and important stories about family and community. I did struggle a bit with the form, which was definitely not my preferred style, but it was worth working through for the content. I expect that those who prefer poetry in these forms will find the content has even more power and meaning than I found.

Recommended.