Two Tribes, Three Sisters

Two Tribes, Three Sisters 

by Charis Nwaozuzu

Two lands lost

One reclaimed

Both called “savages”

Both argued “lost”

Yet here we stand;

Stepping through the flames

Still here, still strong

The heartbeat of the land still beating in our hearts

The sun still smiling on our faces

For we will not be blamed

Not for the pull of the lands on our feet,

nor our cries for sovereignty

We will dance, we will rejoice

For our hearts will never be tamed.

The “two tribes” refers to Charis’s dual indigenous heritage as a member of both the Cherokee Tribe and the Tribes of Israel. The “three sisters” refers to the three main crops of indigenous Americans — squash, corn, and beans — which are grown together symbiotically in order to support the others and replenish the soil. The knot in the middle of the illustration is a compass, symbolizing the cardinal directions, and the sacred number four. According to Cherokee tradition, four cords connect the land to the sky: when they break, the world will fall back into the primordial waters.