Seriously, WHAT gives me the right to write what I write?

First, let's establish that I am a 51 year old white woman from Canada.

Other than that year of college in 1981, I have lived in freedom my entire life.

No one has set out to capture me because I have red hair and freckles.

No one will take my children away to make them less like me.

No one considers me less than human. 

So, why write about the Navajo?

What gives me the right?

Canyon de Chelly, author's photo

Some say that only those of  a certain culture have the right to write the history of that culture.

Or, at least should be first in line.

But in fiction, there's a slight problem.

That leaves 17th century pirates, 25th century space explorers, anyone, anywhere who finds employment as a zombie, 12th century barons, 11th century ladies masquarading as boys, talking vegetables, Hobbits, Elves, wizards, talking lions...

Need I go on? 

Actually, let me vent some historical steam...

Yes, history is written by the victors.

But...

North and South America were not devoid of people prior to the arrival of the Spanish, Portuguese, French and English. 

Nor were any of these people lacking in vibrant culture, history, education or loving families.

Education does not depend on the existance of a written language.

History is not made valid by the presence of European involvement. 

Culture does not mean teacups and lace.

Loving families do not pre-date those who can write about them.

The sky of  21st century Arizona is the same as the sky of 15th century Arizona. 

What that 15th century sky didn't have was the smoke of  Spaniard's fires as they trekked across the desert, looking for land, slaves and gold.

Jesus did not come to Earth to seek and save the wealth of those who had it, but to seek and save the lost. 

Jesus did not send people to condemn and conquer those with dark skin as slaves, but there were a whole lot of people who used His name ot justify their actions.

And when those people came, much was done to make those who lived here first into"good Christians".

I wonder, quite often, if the Anglos had lost in their campaigns to "make the world England"?

Or Spain? Or France? 

If they'd lost, and the "hosts" won, what would be said now of those who made our non-victorious ancestors into "good Hurons" or "good Kiowas"?

How would we feel, if we were told, on a daily basis, "to just get over it"? 

Bad attitudes are things to "get over".

500 years of being told that one's entire culture is made up of savages who should be wiped from the Earth, the pages of history, but maybe if you cut your hair and recite a Bible verse here and there, we won't hate you...

...as much?

That, my friends, is beyond what one should have to "get over".

  

So, back to what gives me the right?

Would it matter if I wrote whatever I wanted about faeries, cats or spaceships?

No.

But the Navajo matter.  

And if I tell their story with my words, I am a storyteller bringing light to the shadows.

But if I add glamour to what happened, or take away the truth from what did ?

I would be a thief and a liar.

Owned.

It's joint blog time! Last week, I asked my friend Kiersti Plog when she realized the story owned her?  So here is my part on our blog duet...




People often ask this very white girl from Canada WHY I write about Navajo history, specifically The Long Walk.

(That's Ted Charles and I, at Canyon de Chelly)

Good question.

The answer?

Well...

I can't NOT tell this story.

Imagine that people who never set foot in your province or state showed up, day after day, and built homes where people already had homes. Or they stole your daughters or wives and you never saw them again. They shot your husbands and sons for simply being male.
Your leadership sent envoys to make peace and for a few years it worked, but only if you did what they said. But then you got sick and tired of their bullying.

Then one day, a whole bunch of them arrived, we'll call that an army, and said "This is ours."

That's called an invasion.

That scenario has happened all through time, to almost every people group on this planet.


But one story in particular hit me like a tonne of bricks. 

In late 1863, the US Army began rounding up Navajo Indians, as well as 500 Mescalero Apaches, and marched them all across the Southwest, to a hell hole in New Mexico called Bosque Redondo. A total of 52 different marches brought 9500 Navajo Indians to this place the people named "Hweeldi", pronounced "wheel-tih". 

And by "rounding up" I mean inviting them to surrender after all their crops were destroyed, their livestock were shot, their homes burned, you get the picture.

Many say 'Hweeldi' is a variation of the Spanish word "fuerte" (fware-tay). 

For the Navajo, it basically means Hell on Earth. It is their Holocaust.

Hundreds died on the way there, and thousands more died once they got there.

But what was it that knocked me sideways? What made me suck in my breathe and stop breathing altogether?

In doing some internet research on New Mexico, I came upon an article and started reading it. I read the following phrase and that was it, I was done.

"...women in labor were shot because they slowed down the march."

I've been in labor 4 times. I know what agony is. I do not know what I would do if I was walking across a barren desert, in winter, while trying to hide the fact that I was about to give birth.

Navajo women were either pulled from their spot in the line and shot on the spot, or taken behind a rock or tree and shot.

Now, look at that photo of the landscape.

See any rocks big enough to hide an execution?

Now, imagine you're the husband of that woman, or one of her children. 

www.navajopeople.org

Where was God in all this? Many, many, MANY Native Americans have zero, or less, respect for people who call themselves Christians. 

And if you dare say something about how they were "savages" before white people found them and saved them I will personally discuss it with you. In person.

Ahem.

Go ahead and ask me why they loathe Christians, and I will flat out tell you that our history of violence and hatred toward people of colour is astonishing and utterly shameful. 

There was a mindset among 19th Century believers that we must "kill the Indian to save the man".

Ummm, where, exactly, is that in the Bible?




So, we come back to a line of people, walking away from losing everything, and toward the complete unknown.

They were not greeted by the Salvation Army with hot food and blankets.
Or by Samaritan's Purse with a shelter and fresh water.

The Pecos River water was undrinkable, they had to dig holes in the ground for shelter and there was little to no food. The men who ran the camp tried to secure supplies, but when they did, it was never enough.

From 1864 to 1868, people died of starvation, disease, and most likely despair. The prison camp was closed in 1868, and the survivors were escorted home.




My first book is the story one a man who escapes the carnage and given sanctuary by an Anglo family. The second is about his brother, who ends up in Hweeldi. The third will be about how they reconcile what happened to them both, about the unfairness of it all.



Maybe, just maybe, if I tell the story well enough, I can go back change things. I know I can't, but I have to try.



And now? Go read Kiersti's story...

http://www.kierstiplogblog.com/2014/06/when-story-begins-to-own-you-special.html

I think I'm done...for now...plus Snowiccane 2014.

Annnnnnd.....

I finished Round One of the re-Write to take my first book from the category of historical romance to the more applicable historical fiction. In a hist/rom, the focus is the romance, in historical fiction, the story is the focus and the romance is secondary.

I want to do justice to a time in history that is simply shameful. I do not care what the 'why' was. There is no reason ANYONE should gather up one group of people and march them 450 miles to where they can be controlled and "trained" to be subservient to their captors.

Back in 1864, that was official government policy. 

In 2014, that's called ethnic cleansing. Or, genocide.

Therefore, NOT romance novel material.



Sooooo, yeah, I re-worked it.
My editorial superhero,
Amy Drown http://www.amydrown.com
is going over the re-write, so when she's done, I'll crack open the file and see what magic she has wrought.

Seriously, if you're a writer and prepping your work to pitch or query? You NEED to hire her, she is BRILLIANT!!!

My agent suggested I have my manuscript edited by a professional, and I've read Amy's work, and frankly, I trust her 200%.    

I'm nearly giddy waiting to see what she thinks.

But don't quote me, I may change my mind and want to hurl. It's a mood thing.







And then there's....


this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We're almost at the top of the L in 'blizzard'.

180 kph /100 mph winds.
White outs.
And it's March 26th???


Seriously though, pray that no one dies in this.



And on that perky note!

Take care, and have a calm, snow-free day !





That's just the good manners talking...I HATE WINTER!!!!

I open my sunscreen to smell the beach smell, then go shovel my sidewalk.