Map Of The Americas, By Qwo Li-Driskell

Qwo Li-Driskell, a professor of Gender and indigenous studies, is an activist for LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transsexual) and queer rights. His patriotism propelled him to be an activist for aboriginal people. The Cherokee people have been natives of North America, well before the Europeans expedited into the Americas. Driskell’s work also focuses on the need to spread awareness about the Cherokee culture and, subsequently, the need to provide them with equal rights in the United States.
Driskell’s poem “Map of the Americas” was also written to highlight the plight of these minority groups. He uses Two-spirit, certain spiritual people, to address two problems simultaneously. In Map of the Americas, he talks about being on the American …show more content…
The poem instigates by reminiscing about the past and the destruction of the Indigenous culture and land. The speaker describes their body as in the shape of the Americas and the poem itself even takes shape of the two continents. Each part of the body is described as a different part of the landscape and we are taking a journey through the country and body alike. The speaker also describes very intimate moments in relation to the invasion of the English onto the Natives’ land. The lines “When your hands travel across my hemispheres know these lands have been invaded before and though I may quiver from your touch there is still a war” are very powerful because they both depict the invasion and betrayal of the English on Indian land while also portraying a very intimate moment. This comparison leads into the final line, “Honor this/ I walk out of genocide to touch you”. The speaker wants their lover to honor not only their body but also their heritage and culture as they have survived a ghastly genocide and want their survival to be an example of what they once …show more content…
This relationship Driskill has with the land is interdependent, “Look: my body curled and asleep becomes a map of the Americas” Driskill shares that the pain and suffering that the earth has seen and bore witness herself this creates a unified rendition of her, her people, and the land. The part where it says, “Children who didn’t live long enough to cradle a lover arms around waist lips gently skimming nape legs twined together like a river cane basket” reflects on those that died that were too young to have had the chance to know what it is to be in love. He also calls them children to further emphasize the youth of the ones that have gone before