Those with deep ties to the American Southwest and South Texas often lose their Indigenous connections to the land and their ancestors.
The new children’s book Of the Sun: A Poem for the Land’s First Peoples celebrates the ties that Indigenous peoples still hold to the land.
Author Xelena González wrote the book based on a poem she first shared with Texas Public Radio in 2020.
She said she wrote the poem in response to family separations at the border, and as a way to make a connection to her mestiza heritage.
“It was out of wanting to alchemize this anger, this frustration that I was feeling about Brown people, of Indigenous people, being treated in this way,” she said. “I envisioned sharing it, or spitting it if you will, on a stage.”
The poem later turned into the book, which is accompanied by art from Canadian indigenous artist, Emily Kewageshig.
González, a poet and activist in Native and Latinx communities, said the book’s words and imagery speak to more than just children.
“All of the books that I have published are meant to mean something to an adult and to the child,” she said. “Because if a child loves a book, they're going to be a little obsessed with it. They're going to have you read it over and over and over again. And so, for me, there better be something for adults as well.”
