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Contents Jessica Buettner: Autumn 2

Eric Gansworth: Visit to CMN 3

Sadie White: Wolves Tower 4

Schyler Martin: The Call 5

Wapananahukiw: Indian Mamas 7

Madona Wilber: Me 8

Six Short Word Stories 9

Jessica Buettner: Think Globally, Act Responsibly 10

Feather Chronicles Fall 2010 edition celebrates author/artist Eric Gansworth's visit to CMN. His book, Extra Indians, was the text for CMN's fall literary discussion series. In addition, we welcome several new student contributors including Schyler Martin, Sadie White, Wapananahukiw, Lee Stoehr, Luis Kakkak, Nicole Parker, Elyssa Hawk, and Lonnie Von Guntun, as well as previous contributors Madona Wilber and Jessica Buettner.

Feather Chronicles is produced twice each year by College of Menominee Nation students and includes contributed work from students and communities served by the college. Submissions are welcome and should be sent to DVickers@menominee.edu. Cover image and logo by Michael Gomeyosh. The content of Feather Chronicles is protected by copyright controlled usually by the original author and in all other cases by Feather Chronicles. U.S. and international copyright laws apply and visitors may not reproduce any content except for personal use.

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Autumn by Jessica Buettner 

 

Freezing moon hangs low,

Changes grow long, dark, silent,

Delay life anew.

   

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Eric Gansworth 

Visit to CMN 

PEN Oakland Literary Award winning writer, poet, and visual artist Eric Gansworth (Onondaga) spoke at CMN’s Green Bay campus the evening of Wednesday, December 1 and Keshena campus the following evening. While on the Keshena campus he visited with students informally at the Campus Grind Coffee Shop. All events were open to the community.

Eric Gansworth is Professor of English and Lowery Writer-in-Residence at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York. He is the author several books: Indian Summers; Nickel Eclipse: Iroquois Moon; Smoke Dancing; Mending Skins; Breathing the Monster Alive; A Half-Life of Cardio-Pulmonary Function, and Extra Indians. Extra Indians was the topic of CMN's literary discussion series this fall. His first play, Re-Creation Story, received a staged reading at The Public Theater in 2008. He also edited the anthology, Sovereign Bones, New Native American Writing, and was fiction editor for the third issue of the journal, Stone Canoe. At both locations Mr. Gansworth read the first chapter of Extra Indians, edited to short story length. The evening events also included a question-answer exchange with the audience. All events were well attended by enthusiastic readers of his work. Mr. Gansworth's visit to CMN was sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities and was the third of four author visits to campus included in the literary discussion series. In Spring 2010, the series will continue with Chippawa poet, Kim Blaeser.

   

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Wolves 

by Sadie White 

 

   

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The Call

by Skyler Martin

Beep beep beep, squeal -- my fire department pager jolted me from my peaceful slumber. I felt the adrenaline pump through my veins.

“Centercom paging Bowler Fire, Centercom paging Bowler Fire, We have a call for you in the township of Bartelme, W1276 Schoolhouse Road. This is for a house on fire. The caller is unsure if anyone is inside. Please acknowledge.”

I had raced into the bathroom by the time my fire chief responded, “Bowler Fire acknowledging your page, Centercom.”

With my contacts firmly attached to my eye balls, I could see the clock in my living room said two-thirty in the morning. Why doesn’t this shit ever happen at six at night I wondered. I rushed out through the door and jumped into my car. As I squealed the tires into action, I wished no one would be trapped in this blaze. I made it to the fire hall in thirty seconds flat.

As my car skidded to a stop, I noticed the garage doors were already open and trucks one and six were running. I grabbed my turnout gear and threw it on in seconds. I put my helmet on. The chief waved for me to jump into truck one with him.

“Centercom, Bowler Fire is en route!” I yelled into the truck’s radio, as the chief put the truck into motion.

Suddenly I heard a different but familiar voice calling back. “Bowler Fire, this is Captain Morris.”

“Go ahead Morris, I read you.” I replied.

“I am on scene. The second story is completely engulfed. We have a young child unaccounted for!” I could tell by his voice that we had no time to waste.

I looked at my fire chief. “Morris and I will take a couple of axes and do a quick search inside when we get on scene.” I said.

“Don’t you want to grab a hose instead?” the chief asked.

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“There isn’t enough time. If the upstairs is engulfed, it won’t take long for the rest of house to go up. You and the rest of the boys make sure you’re ready to start spraying when we run out.” I answered back.

As we got closer, the orange glow in the sky became more intense. I could see Morris didn’t exaggerate. Flames shot out of the upstairs windows. Sheriff’s deputies kept the father and mother from running back into the house to find their child. The screams of the mother gave me the courage to do what I had been trained to do.

“Captain, put your air tank on and come with me,” I said as I slung my air tank over my shoulders and fastened the waist strap. “We’ll do a preliminary search of the first floor and back out if it gets too hot.”

Without questioning Morris fastened his air tank and followed me in. The first floor of the house was pitch black. The thick black smoke went from ceiling to floor. Visibility was as close to zero as it could get. The only sound I could hear was the valve on my air tank as it opened and closed. We crawled into the house on our hands and knees. I prayed we’d find the child before the ceiling collapsed.

Someone must have been listening to my prayer because out of nowhere I heard a childlike voice calling out. The smoke was getting thicker and all we could do was feel our way along the wall, heading towards the voice. At last, we came to what must have been a closet door. We did it! We had found the child and it was time to get the hell out. I grabbed the child and Morris led the way out.

“Let her rip!” I yelled as I threw my face mask to the ground.

The others sprayed the house with foam and water. The EMS personnel and the parents came rushing to our sides. The EMS gave the child oxygen while the parents gave Morris and me hugs and shook our hands.

“Great job men,” the chief said as he handed us bottles of water.

“It was goddamn hot in there!” Morris exclaimed. “I couldn’t see shit. All I knew was I had a hold of Schyler’s boot and was not going to let go!”

Although we saved the child, I felt sad. This poor family lost everything. This girl lost the only house she had ever known. It was then the parents reminded me that they had not lost the most important thing in the world – each other.

   

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Indian Mammas by Wapananahukiw

They do a lot, Indian Mammas do 

They even do Magic, those Indian Mammas.  

I think that if she needed to,  

A single mamma could lure  

down the moon,  

reach up to it,  

and pull it down  

to break off a piece of cheese  

so to feed her little one.  

And I bet It would be  

%100 USDA American,  

Commodt cheese.  

- Good by the stick or by the slice  

Good for making grilled sandwiches  

Or homemade Mac & cheese.  

“Momma’s a good cook,  

Mmm...Yum.”

 

 

   

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Me

by Madona Wilber

I no longer seek security in others, only myself So much time was spent searching in others for help Now it appears to me That in my search for security I've only lead myself into a deep pit of despair Guessing, wondering which way is where I realize the lack of compromise Between myself and my significant others eyes Once I recognized the source of my discontent I reevaluated the time I spent I became aware the thoughts I was thinking Which only led me deep into the ship I was sinking There's nothing wrong with being scared and alone Tired and on your own In this time of my lowest distress I change the focus to my influence to the one thing that matters... me

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Six Word Short Stories

 Lee Stoehr  

On no, I missed the wagon 

 

Nicole Parker 

Best noise is a baby’s cry. 

Elyssa Hawk  

Crying. Black trails cheeks. Scars show. 

Luis Kakkak 

The few; the proud; the Marines 

Lonnie Von Gunten  

Go to hell...See you there  

Lee Stoehr 

While walking home,  I got lost. 

Periodically FC includes the work of students taking up Hemingway's challenge to compress the short story to six words. Hemingway's tragic piece: "For Sale: Baby Shoes; Never Worn" sets the benchmark for this literary endeavor. (Photos from the NYPL Digital Collection, Authors: Photographs from the Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature)

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Think Globally, Act Responsibly

by Jessica Buettner 

 

Woe to us! We face frightening realities like climate change, food and water shortages, loss of biodiversity, and rampant pollution. There will certainly be impacts on the future quality of life. Add to this rapid population growth, economic collapse, and threatening pandemics and the future is not looking good. History tells us that when the balances of resources and wealth are not maintained, disaster will occur. Have capitalism, convenience, and exploitation put us past the point of no return?

In the relatively short time our species, Homo sapiens, has inhabited the planet, considerable damage has been done. Some think other planets will need to support human emigration in the future. That radical idea does not seem so unbelievable with the recent expedition to the moon in search of water. In recent times, mankind has depleted resources past the point of regeneration. Among the most threatening consequences humanity has facilitated is climate change.

Rising sea levels will displace millions of people; irreversible damage to eco-systems will occur; and damaging effects on agriculture will take their toll. Climate change is a natural cycle, but human industrial development has definitely accelerated and intensified the process.

Moreover, climate change will increase the likelihood of devastating natural disasters triggering reduced production of basic food staples worldwide. Genetically modified crops can provide some benefits such as increased size and quantity, but this can also lead to consequences like making them more susceptible to disease. A good example of this is the Irish potato famine which occurred in the mid 1840's. Mass starvation was the result and many agree that humanity is headed in the same direction.

Water shortages all over the world make the situation worse. Fresh, clean water is being used faster than it is being replenished, with the wealthiest of the population using the most. The poor are forced to deal with this looming water deficit, in some places made worse by privatization. The world’s over-pumped aquifers are struggling to keep up.

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Clean air is a resource vital to life. Only green organisms can perform photosynthesis and produce the oxygen needed by animal life. According Introductory Plant Biology by Stern, Bidlack, and Jansky, without plants animal life would survive for 11 years or so, slowly suffocating to death.

It is daunting to face the truth, and it is unlikely regulations or laws will be put into action soon enough to protect the earth. So, what can we do in the face of these towering troubles?

Instead of dealing with negative effects, or ignored issues, we need to address the causes. The root issue that needs attention now is the relationship between population growth and ecological changes. It is common sense that the earth stays the same size while the human population continues to grow, leading to an increased need for a fixed supply of basic resources. Over 6.5 billion people are supported by the earth today, and that number is steadily growing. Stern, Bidlack, and Jansky estimate that the human population will swell to 7.8 billion by 2025. Our growing numbers have lead to unwise industrial and agricultural practices that poison and pollute our world and will continue to do so. Finding a sensible way to slow and maintain population growth is a vital step toward sustaining human life on the planet. This is a controversial subject, but it seems inescapable that it is time to collaborate on some answer before billions face certain hardships. Some rational solutions are to promote economic development and educate women so they are aware of their reproductive options.

Secondly, many environmental issues can be addressed by simply growing more plants. Not only do we rely on plants to give us air, food and water, medicines, fuel, and building materials; they perform several other functions necessary for the continuation of life. They can help us further by reclaiming polluted areas with bioremediation and phytoremediation tactics. Oceans could be fertilized with algae to increase photosynthesis and decrease carbon dioxide emissions. Many barren places, including roof tops and deserts can be planted. We need to better understand the practical uses of plants and their medicinal value. We need to implement more sustainable agricultural practices. Plants and people with the knowledge on how to use them will play a major part in the future health of the planet.

Thirdly, innovative ideas for resource conservation include using alternative energy sources, advancing recycling techniques, and reusing waste water. Additional steps, like composting organic waste, eating lower on the food chain, and being aware of your consumption habits are also effective. All of these measures, from population management to consumption awareness are open to every human on the planet individually and immediately.

Finally, we need proactive communications between governments, corporations, activists, and individuals. With recognition of these problems, along with increased education and management of these issues, we can work together for our future. It is time to start thinking creatively and experiment with revolutionary ideas now.