Abstract
In pre-colonial time, most Native American tribes, communities ,and cultures were mainly matriarchal. Five centuries of colonization have led to the disempowerment of Native American women because of the impact of the Western patriarchal thought. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the poetry of two Native American women poets, Paula Gunn Allen and Joy Harjo, who try through their poetry to empower those contemporary Native American women who find a great difficulty in fulfilling their traditional matrilineal roles. Both poets believe in the power of poetry as the most valuable means of carrying on this empowerment.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Native American Women, Empowerment, Native American Poetry, Paula Gunn Allen, Joy Harjo
