Tear By Linda Hogan

Various minority groups have long histories of oppression, including Native Americans, and the brutality that they endured in the past has shaped their race today. In an attempt to advocate for better conditions, Native Americans are spreading awareness for a greater future. Linda Hogan is a writer of Chickasaw Native descent and often incorporates “Southeastern tribal histories and [native] spirits and culture” (Wikipedia contributors) in her work. “Tear” takes on the perspective of a Chickasaw Native, first in the past recounting hardships, then to the present to reflect on the speaker’s connection to others in her tribe. The poem also describes the environment that surrounds natives and the neglection of their lives. The culmination of personal

The poet embraced the role as an advocator for native culture after her uncle. He was the co-founder of the White Buffalo Council, helping Native Americans who migrated after The Relocation Act of the 1950s (Wikipedia contributors). Today, Linda Hogan continues the effort as the Writer-In-Residence for the Chickasaw Nation. Hogan’s writing reflects on the upbringing of her culture as she features elements of the Chickasaw community in her poem: “Tear dresses they were called…but when the cotton was torn / it was like tears” (Hogan 13, 18-19). She uses tear dresses, a traditional article of clothing for Native Americans, to provide an example of the sadness that results after an element of Chickasaw culture is ruined. This hints at the identity lost of the tribe as white colonizers frequently imposed their ideas on natives in the past. Linda Hogan’s personal background as a member of the Chickasaw Nation helps her convey this disharmony in her poem as well as the hope to improve their

The Chickasaw Nation’s history involves domination by the white population as the tribe did not have any power of their own: “Chickasaw economic and political life [became] increasingly under the influence of the U.S. economy, cattle ranchers, railroads, and white immigrants” (Pate). Once the United States was colonized, Europeans took control over the country and Native Americans had to submit to their rule. The Chickasaw Nation “faced the loss of national identity and external threats” (Pate) as a result. Natives were driven out of their homes, forced to take on white religious and political ideals, and limited in educational opportunities. The race as a whole was neglected and discouraged to embrace their own culture. Linda Hogan expresses this in “Tear” as she remembers when the women of her tribe were hidden in the shadows (24-26). Instead of Chickasaw Natives expressing themselves and being proud of their culture, the community was unseen. Hogan recognizes and brings light to this element of their past, emphazing the previous ruin of their