By Writing I Can Live In Ways

When Women Age Into Their Power, No Wind Can Upset Them, No Hand Turn Aside Their Knowledge, No Fact Can Deflect Their Point Of View.

Her Clothes Were Filled With Safety Pins And Hidden Tears.

You Really Need To Approach Each Book As If You Have Been A Failure. . . . If You Start To Believe Your Flap-copy, You're Finished As A Writer.

To Sew Is To Pray. Men Don't Understand This. They See The Whole But They Don't See The Stitches. They Don't See The Speech Of The Creator In The Work Of The Needle. We Mend. We Women Turn Things Inside Out And Set Things Right. We Salvage What We Can Of Human Garments And Piece The Rest Into Blankets. Sometimes Our Stitches Stutter And Slow. Only A Woman's Eyes Can Tell. Other Times, The Tension In The Stitches Might Be Too Tight Because Of Tears, But Only We Know What Emotion Went Into The Making. Only Women Can Hear The Prayer.

There Is A Legacy Of Violence Against Native Women That Has Gotten Worse And Worse Over Time.