Before the empires, before the wars, before the migrations, back to the source, the motherland, that unnamed place from whence we all came–I came.
We, I existed in their seed–long, long ago–and I am, we are here. We, I existed in the bodies of the ages. Am I not then native to this land? Are not you, also?
Like you, I had no choice, no voice in any of the migrations, wars, empires that brought me here nor the circumstances whether conqueror, indentured, slave, warrior, merchant. And although these people carried our future selves in their bodies, we did not participate in their actions, we do not bear their guilt.
We, I belong here. It is your birthright. It is my birthright. We are American–native. We can not change the past. We can only be in the present. That is the task at hand
(c) Glenda Kotchish
October, 2020