Finding Out About Cultures:
A Native American Poem

Look at a Native American poem to help you learn about a culture.

Let's Find It
Here is an English version of a Tewa poem. The Tewa people lived in the southwest region of the United States.

Weave us clothing of great brightness
That we may walk where birds sing and grass grows green,
Oh, our mother the earth,
Oh, our father the sky.

1. Who is the speaker in the poem talking to?

2. Where does he or she want to walk?

3. How does the speaker feel about nature?

4. What do you think the word clothing in the first line of the poem refers to?

Let's Show It
Copy and illustrate a Native American poem that you like. Try looking in The Trees Stand Shining: Poetry of the North American Indians or in books your librarian may suggest. Talk about what the poems express about Native American culture.