”If I Were an Ewok My Sister Would Take Me and Name Me Sunshine” is a poem published in Poetry magazine in March of 2025 and written by Rowie Shondeen Shebala, who is from Fort Defiance, Arizona, out of the Navajo Nation and part of the Cliff Dweller Clan.

The poem has a complex structure, that repeats a conversation of sorts between the narrator and her sister. The lenght of stanzas varies, and what starts quite softly, almost as a story, turns much more intense and shorter in verses. The rhytmn of the poem follows a similar structure, it is slower in the beginning and heats up towards the end, but with a softer, sorrowful ending

The name of the poem is tied to the poem itself in a clever yet straightforward way, and it almost seems like a first line of the poem. The name is childlike and light, which reflects beautifully with the heavier emotions of the poem itself, hidden in the beginning in the soft musings of a child.

The writer uses repetition in a smart way in this poem, as she compares the plight of the fictional Ewoks from the Star Wars universe, as their planet was taken over by evil forces, with that of the Native peoples of America and the reality they faced when European settlers moved across the Americas. With the Ewok comparison Shebala paints a picture of the pain and destruction faced by their real world counterparts, and even as she does not state it outright that the poem is about Native Americans it is loud and clear to read between the lines; she writes of a treaty, being forced to march, being run off cliffs  and being ”saved”. As well as the text, the personal and cultural history of the writer makes her characters nationality even clearer.

The subject of this poem is the oppression of the original inhabitants of a land, and the pain that stays with the people into far posterity. The writer sheds light on the experience of a nation that is losing, or has lost their home to others and faced immesurable horrors. The poem shows vulnerable characters that are powerless against their enemies and does not give any respite from the agony of the oppressed. The powerlessness of the characters is an interesting choice, as both the Ewoks and Native Americans did fight back, but maybe this artistic decision has been made to focus on the long term consequences of what had happened to them.

The poem forms layers of childlike expressions and ideals, harsh, cruel actions and the love between the narrator and her sister, as they navigate through their anguish. The writer uses metaphors to describe things such as guns: ”lightning sticks”, and paints a clear picture of the relationship between the sisters, as well as both fictional and real life events.

This poem was very intriguing to read, and awakened thoughts of the modern day conflicts that share many of the horrors the writer has described. It reflects on the human nature, and provokes wondering: will we ever change? Will this always be the sorrow of oppressed people to face, as each age brings on new rulers and ideals? Will strangers always come, or will they actually one day, instead of just with their thoughts, leave to a galaxy far, far away? The love of the sisters depicted by their deep caring for each other sheds a sliver of hope for humanity and to that that even if many do suffer, we are made to survive.

The poem ”Silent Partner”, written by Frank X Walker, was published in his book ”Load in Nine Times: Poems”(Liveright Publishing Corporation, 2024). The author was born in Danville, Kentucky and is now an associate professor in English at the University of Kentucky. Walker focuses his artistic work on social justice issues as well as themes of family, identity and place and is a loud promoter of artists of color in the Appalachian region of the United States. He finds it his responsibility to exist as a teaching artist and is committed to the development of the next generation of artists and writers. (Source: https://www.frankxwalker.com/)

The poem has a simple, clear structure, with stanzas between two to four verses in lenght and a similar rhytm in all the verses. Each stanza forms a full sentence, and together they take the reader on a short journey through the personal story and sorrow of the narrator, who can be read between the lines to be a young enslaved person in the United States during the times when slavery was widely accepted.

The name of the poem that also serves as the first verse, ”Silent Partner”, forms a wordplay together with other verses of the poem to reflect on the reality of trading people as property, as many big trading companies have silent partners. The narrator’s mother is property and an investment, and she can create interest for her enslaver by producing more property, as in the narrator. In this trade the enslaved are the silent partners, as their words are not heard or cared about. Naturally actual silent partners of companies benefit from their position, but this creates an interesting thought process of who chooses to be silent, whose voice is not heard and who gets to benefit in the end.

The subject of Walker’s poem is the dehumanization of enslaved people and the  unfairness of their treatment. The narrator learns of their and their mother’s position as property, and that they are born from their enslaver, ”massa”, master, raping their mother. Only consequence of this crime is that their mother gets sold away as the enslaver’s wife sees what has happened when the narrator has the master’s eyes.

The writer uses language in a beautiful way to convey their meaning in a simple yet effective manner. The language used is such which African American enslaved people would have used; ”massa”, ”mama”, ”be” instead of ”are”. Even though these linguistic choices, as well as the work and cultural history of the artist make this poem about the plight of an enslaved person in the United States, this could also be about any other enslaved person in the history of the world or even today, as slavery is still very much a reality to millions of people across the globe.

These two poems by themselves and also together shed light on big pieces of the history of the United States as well as some of the political issues the country still faces today. Even as the oppression, enslavement and widespread sorrow of native peoples, minorities and war torn communities is a problem for all of humankind all around the world, so much of the art and entertainment we consume in Finland comes from the US that I find it important to understand their history as well as possible.

These poems made me remind myself of other media I have consumed of similar subjects, including what I have seen from American news providers. Many modern books, tv-shows and movies showcase the complex history of America and give a voice to the once silenced groups. Yet I have read on the news of their current government’s efforts to change what museum’s showcase on their exhibitions and that they shouldn’t show their history on a negative light. These poems seem like a perfect example on why that would be wrong to do, and how it would further continue the pain and oppression of the people who have suffered for generations.

Yet I also wonder, would our own native people write a very similar poem as the one by Shebala? What would have a person of some minority told of their conditions a couple hundred years ago if they could write or were allowed to express their opinion? And do our own museums bring these things to light enough? Do we truly showcase even our recent history in a honest way or do we also make an effort to make ourselves seem better, seem good and on the right side of history? Maybe this is also the nature of humankind. We oppress, take advantage of others and hide it afterwards, but maybe one day we will finally truly learn from history, and actually do better.