Layli Long Solider’s Whereas is probably my favorite text that I’ve read for this course so far. Her personal stories of being from Lakota tribe ancestry were made so much more vivid, complex, and were completely turned around by her addition and elimination of certain words. The addition of the single word “whereas,” to which she derives the title of the entire book from, has this effect. Each whereas statement seems to be a response to the apology to Native Americans that was signed in 2009. In the introduction to her whereas statements, Long Solider writes, “I am a citizen of the United States and an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, meaning I am a citizen of the Oglala Lakota Nation–and in this citizenship, I must work, I must eat, I must art, I must mother, I must friend, I must listen, I must observe, constantly I must live” (Long Soldier, 57). While the apology issued by the government seems to act as a way to clear their conscience and demonstrate a pro-Native American stance, Long Solider’s whereas statements interject this, exposing the many difficulties she faced and still faces as a Native American woman. To me, this really orchestrated the power one word can have when transmitting language.

Additionally, I found the way she structured and formatted her poetry was very fascinating. For example, in poem 3 of “Resolutions,” she includes the official text in the forefront of the poem, while the more specific, more honest text is presented in footnotes. Therefore, the specific text is hidden and less regarded as the most important, but is still present and absolutely crucial. I found her formatting particularly interesting in poem 7 of this same chapter in which she discusses boundaries. She places “boundaries, their boundaries, etc.” (Long Soldier, 97) in a box, providing a literal visual aid of physical boundaries juxtaposed with the non-physical ones.