Poem-a-Day - "The Indians’ Spirits" by Wa Wa Chaw

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November 13, 2021 

The Indians’ Spirits

Wa Wa Chaw

Down in the deep my spirit will creep
    Out of the window into the air
No one knows where.
     Deathless and lifeless, sleepless of fears
Indians will keep their spirits near—
    Creeping about in the open air
No one knows where.

Down in the deep my spirit will creep,
    Fearless of sorrow and fearless of time,
Indian will seek a spirit to help his creed.
     Out of the window into the air
No one knows where.
    Indian spirit shall share
Deathless and lifeless, sleepless of fear
     The noise of my spirit shall speak very clear.

Out of the window into the air
     No one knows where
When far into the darkened night a change in the air
    The Indian spirit shall creep out of no where.

This poem is in the public domain. Published in Poem-a-Day on November 13, 2021, by the Academy of American Poets.

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“The Indians’ Spirits” appeared in the May 1922 issue of The Indian.

Bonita Wa Wa Calachaw Nuñez, known also as Wa Wa Chaw, was a Native American poet, artist, and activist. Part of the Pan-Indian movement, she was a close associate of the writer and activist Carlos Montezuma. Although she is considered to most likely have been of Payomkowishum descent, her true lineage was unknown to her. She died on May 12, 1972.

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