The following is an excerpt from Lost Worlds of 1863: Relocation and Removal of American Indians in the Central Rockies and the Greater Southwest, recently published by Wiley-Blackwell by W. Dirk Raat, a retired professor of history who has taught at SUNY Fredonia, the University of Utah, Moorhead State University (Minnesota), and Arizona State University.
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Unnatural By Kelly Hayes-RaittHayesRaitt@aol.com Last week, a friend of mine lost her son. “Lost” is such a ridiculous word. He died. “Lost” implies she somehow misplaced him in the deli section in Wal-Mart, when, in fact, he will never be found. I don’t fully understand this loss, this unspeakable, irrevocable loss. While I’ve been
Tongue-Tied By Kelly Hayes-Raitt The one I want to wrap in my arms and bring home is Nebras. I didn’t even know her name when I returned to Iraq, shortly after the assault on Baghdad. I am armed with only a photo of a beggar touching her nose with her tongue. I had met her
Not That Kind Of Buzzed By Kelly Hayes-Raitt HOUSESITTING IN MEXICO provides all kinds of opportunities to increase my vocabulary. A recent palabra du jour, for example, was: avispa. Meaning “wasp” – and not the non-Jewish type – the word buzzed into my vocabulary when I saw several of the furry flyers building a
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Todos Somos Migrantes (We Are All Immigrants) By Kelly Hayes-Raitt I expected to be in tears; instead I was in awe. For years, I’ve written about refugees’ struggles, pains, and losses, so I thought I knew what to expect when I visited FM4 Paso Libre, a shelter in Guadalajara for Central American refugees seeking
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The Theft Of History By Kelly Hayes-Raitt Few places in the world have endured the carnage that Palmyra, Syria, has during its 5,000-year history. The ancient city’s towering gate and 375-columned colonnade have withstood massacres, marauders, an earthquake and centuries of sandstorms. Now the ruins of this former caravan trading hub are funding history’s
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Is Revenge Ever Justified? A Preview of Lakeside Little Theater’s Next Play By Kelly Hayes-Raitt When Argentine-Chilean playwright Ariel Dorfman penned Death and the Maiden nearly 30 years ago, little did he dream that the play would today still be a timely reflection on revenge, reconciliation and restoration. Set in an unnamed country, but
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Living Large In Limbo: Joyce Carol Oates on Writing about Grief and Loss By Kelly Hayes-Raitt “Joyce!” I exclaimed in the empty lobby of the Mexican hotel. “My dad was in high school with you!” The startled Joyce Carol Oates sized me up: “Oh, who was your dad?” This could cut either way, I
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Refugee Fatigue By Kelly Hayes-Raitt “Why do they have such high expectations?” my friend Anna complains about the Syrian refugees who’ve flooded Europe. “Why are they so ungrateful?” In the wake of German Chancellor Angela Merkel embracing 800,000 Syrian refugees and newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau taking in 35,000 of them, 31
