Third World Belle[1]
My Indian Princess[2]
No one has the heart to tell
You, so I[3] will
Your favorite pirate[4] uses
Your Dad’s great-chief’s skull[5]
As an ashtray
And sold your Mom’s hand-knitted
Robes to Buffalo Bill’s
Wild West Show
He buried your brother alive
In a sealed- off section of the
Metropolitan Museum[6]
To you he’s a “heavy” aesthete[7]
Born in ‘27
While I am a native mind riding
Bareback, backwards through
A wood of words and when I stumble
I get my Ibo* up and hobble
Like bloody-footed slave
Traveling from Virginia to
Ohio and if I stumble again
I get my Cherokee[8] up and smell
My way to the clearing
Your apache temper snaps at me
Even before I open my trap
But I still love you my
Mountain-climbing woman with
A rope all around your waist
My rider of Killer Whales[9]
I’m on a fox hunt[10] for you baby
Got my black cap and red coat on
I’m on a fox hunt for you baby
Got my black cap and red coat on[11]
Just like a coyote cassetting[12] amorous
Howls
In Sugar Blues
I airmail them to you
In packages of Hopi Dolls[13]
Ah ouoooooo! Ah ouooooooo!
*Ibos: a fiercely proud African tribe who’d rather cut their throats than be sold into slavery (given by author as footnote)
[1] Third world means underdeveloped nation-refers to America during colonization. Belle meaning beautiful and popular woman. In the main text, this would refer to Princess Quaw Quaw Tralaralara, a heavy satirical name meant to highlight the absurd stereotype and romanticizaton of a “Native princess”.
[2] No princesses exist in Native American history, but there are chief’s daughters who were constantly referred to as “princesses” by the colonists. Again, in this context the “princess” would be Princess Quaw Quaw.
[3] based on above, the speaker is criticizing colonists. Later is identified with Ibos, an African tribe.
[4] Pirate is used here as a synonym for colonist, as they plunder and steal.
[5] Interpretation: This is a reference to the issue of a disconnect between past and present sentiments. The political commentary here suggests that the subject “princess” has disconnected with her roots and has forgotten or is unaware of the history of colonization, which effectively eliminated numerous tribes (i.e. genocide) including the demise of her own tribe.
[6] Interpretation: This relates to the issues of disturbing burial grounds, as well as the issue of explorers stealing cultural artifacts to display them in museums to “preserve” history.
[7] An aesthete is someone who appreciates art and beauty. In this context, the speaker is suggesting that the colonist/pirate is viewed by the subject/princess to be simply “appreciating” her culture as one would appreciate art.
[8] Cherokee is an Indigenous American tribe, one of the most well known. In this context, Cherokee functions as if it is a weapon, to “get my Cherokee up”. Could also mean the speaker is of mixed heritage, and is calling on his heritage to guide him through this situation.
Kihn, William Langdon. “Head Chief of the Tingit Holds the Killer-Whale Staff of Office (Colour Litho).” n.d. EBSCOhost, hoover2.mcdaniel.edu:2443/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsbre&AN=EDSBRE.374969&site=eds-live.
[9] In many Native American tribes, the killer whale is seen as a symbol of strength and power. In this context, “rider of the killer Whale” implies a very strong hunter working to protect people. One chief of the Tingit (Northwest tribe) is depicted holding a staff of office with the killer whale carved.
[10] Referring to the white elite hunting foxes for sport, but also offers a visualization of how slave captors would hunt and track down runaway slaves with dogs- in the same manner they would for sport.
[11] The “black cap and red coat” are also in reference to the required attire for the sport of fox hunting, and possibly suggests the illusion of grandeur for slave captors, such as demonstrated by the role of Nemi in the neo-slave narrative Dessa Rose by Sherley Anne Williams
[12] Cassetting could refer to the hunting technique of using recorded animal sounds, such as with the documentation of a coyote howls, as a means to attract prey.
[13] Hopi Dolls are used by various Native American tribes to represent the Hopi spirit. This image a hopi doll from 1879 fits closest to the text’s time frame.