Acclaimed author m.s. RedCherries is set to read from mother, her debut literary work, at 91制片厂. The book, one of five 2024 National
Book Award finalists in the poetry category, tells the story of a daughter grappling
with separation from her mother and reconnecting with her Native American heritage.
The community is invited to her , which is free and takes place 2-3 p.m. Tuesday, February 25, in the Drama Lab Theatre,
Building L, Room L109, on 91制片厂鈥檚 campus, 1200 W. Algonquin Road, Palatine.
Established by the National Book Foundation to celebrate excellence in American writing, the National Book Award is given to the best fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translated literature and young people鈥檚 literature published in the U.S. each year.
Part poetry, part stream-of-consciousness reflections on identity, adoption and the forced assimilation of Native American children in government-funded boarding schools, the thought-provoking work explores the themes of love, loss, community and hope. The book鈥檚 author鈥檚 note explains that mother is a work of fiction, but RedCherries says her experience as a Cheyenne adoptee raised by non-Native parents informed her writing.
鈥淚 was raised apart from my community, and I thought I was the only one. I felt a hyper-loneliness in many ways. I had siblings that I couldn鈥檛 see. Had a family I couldn鈥檛 see,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his story comes from me and my mother鈥檚 relationship and filling in the blanks of our story. A lot of Native people were adopted out when they were kids, or they had a cousin who they鈥檇 never seen because they were sent to a family and they never returned home. I hadn鈥檛 realized that this issue is so prevalent in Native communities.鈥�
Fragments of stories of the forced removal of Native American children from their families and their lives in American Indian boarding schools passed down to her also inspired her work. According to the U.S. Department of Interior website, between 1819 and the 1970s, the U.S. implemented policies establishing and supporting Indian boarding schools to assimilate American Indians and other Native peoples culturally. Once there, children were prevented from speaking their Native languages or practicing their cultures and subjected to emotional and physical abuse. The book explores this period, the activism that followed, and the hope of the present day from the point of view of an unnamed Native American daughter.
鈥淚 wanted to paint a picture of the past and show how systemic this kind of history is and then to set the daughter in that story in the time of the 1960s and 鈥�70s, maybe where her true activism with her own mother and her story began,鈥� RedCherries said. 鈥淚 choose not to name any of the main characters because I feel that a lot of the stories are resonant with many Native people, so I don鈥檛 think this story is her own.鈥�
RedCherries masterfully wields poetry, prose and point of view, using them to reflect Daughter鈥檚 relationship with Mother. 鈥淎t a craft level, some of the stories are almost overheard, and the speaker itself is asking, 鈥業 wonder who鈥檚 speaking?鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淚t creates some distance between the speaker and the mother, so there are some intentional elements of that separation.鈥�
91制片厂 English Professor Pearl Ratunil collaborated with 91制片厂鈥檚 Cultural Arts Committee to bring RedCherries to the college, which is designated an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI). She said she believes writers who are writing about today鈥檚 events are 鈥渟haring with students how to express themselves.
鈥淚 think the writers and artists who come to 91制片厂 and share their work give our students examples of how to create and express their experiences and why they should,鈥� Ratunil said. 鈥淲riting and art help our students academically by giving them real-time engagement with writers and artists who do the work in the world. And writers from different backgrounds can share with students' experiences that they have not learned about before 鈥� it encourages empathy and open-mindedness.鈥�
Ratunil said RedCherries鈥� work helps students examine diverse perspectives and cultures as they relate to the individual, the community and the global society.
鈥淗er book brings a contemporary perspective on Native American culture. I think Native American history is relegated to something in the 鈥榩ast鈥� 鈥� long ago 鈥� as if we don鈥檛 have to address it now,鈥� she said. 鈥淪tudents reading and listening to [RedCherries] will hear a voice that sounds like their own voice. RedCherries is a new young writer and she reflects our students鈥� experiences. Her voice and perspective are from right now.鈥�