ASK AN OLD CROW: “My Voice Has Been Taken Away”

Dear Old Crow,

I heard your wings this morning before I knew you existed in this medium. Before I ask for your advice, I think I know what it will be.

The question is, What should I do? My voice has been taken away.

I have to talk through another. It is as though I speak a language that can only be possibly translated, like back in the day when my ancestors, the Lakotas, had their culture taken from them at the hands of translators, and the crafty representatives of their oppressors.

Will you give me back my voice, Old Crow? Old Crow, what is your advice?

OLD CROW SPEAKS

Dear One Whose Voice Has Been Lost,

I thought it was you that I saw while flying overhead on campus that brisk morning, alone in your thoughts. I felt you call me and I came to assure you that indeed I do exist.

As for the existence of your voice, however, that is a different matter altogether.   Unless your “enemy” has indeed cut out your tongue, your voice is still hidden within you somewhere, perhaps only temporarily rendered silent by the gripping complexities of this modern, Western hegemonic power structure, its respective institutions and those that are deemed “in charge.”

Sometimes, as Indians, we think we are really making progress in this world, only to realize we’ve just fallen into the same darn trap with a clever new disguise.

You stated/mentioned that you already know what my advice to you would be, OWVHBL, which means you already have the answer(s) inside you.

Old Crow can’t give you back your voice, nor can anyone else. Have you given away the power that is your voice, and if so, how will you gather the strength to retrieve it? Therein lays your true dilemma.

Old Crow

Send your letters seeking advice on any life’s issue  to [email protected].  Your identity is kept confidential.

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