Aaniin.

Boozhoo indinawemaaganag. Ambegish sa go da-mino-ayaayan. An indizhinikaaz zhaaganaashiimong. Asabookone Zaaga’igan indoonjibaa. Iminiziska indoondaadiz. Hello relatives. I hope you are well. My name is An. I am from Nett Lake where my mom, grandmas, and aunties are enrolled in the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa. I was raised on Dakota Land in Imnizaska Othunwe (St. Paul, Mni Sota).

As a mixed-race Anishinaabekwe, my blending of poetry, research, and activism is a reflection of my lived experiences as an Indigenous Turtle Islander. For me, poetry, storytelling, and art are tools needed to (re)imagine postcolonial Indigenous futurisms. Trained in creative writing and policy analysis, my work is interdisciplinary, rooted in Indigenous Feminisms and in the belief that healing happens in relationality with ourselves, others, and the land. Broadly, I use Indigenous research methods/analyses and modes of communication via cultural literary production to interrogate how colonial policies and ideologies construct, control, and suppress histories, voices, and knowledges.

Links:

Curriculum Vitae Community-Driven Research Poetry as Policy Framework Selected Writings

Contact me: garag006@umn.edu