“How did he choke you? How did he break your wrist? Did you try calling anyone? When did he start getting violent? Why don’t you move?”

“Within this cage, the killing of her spirit was daily from being forced to speak a language that was not her own and to learn of a culture she was not born into.”

“Unfortunately, it was not long before Samantha learned that the foster home was just as bad, or maybe even worse, than her home with her mother Karen.”

“A man walked into an El Paso Wal-Mart, training his aim on families gearing up for back-to-school. Mothers were armed with carts with new backpacks, markers, glue, and notebooks.”

“It wasn’t just the coma. I couldn’t feel her spirit in the room with us. I knew she was gone, and she wasn’t coming back.”

“In languages, we encapsulate the individual and communal mental and spiritual contemplative efforts of a people—each unique.”

“Shí’ee’ ’éí łeezh bee łíbá sílį́į́’ lá. My clothes became adorned with dust and dirt. ’Áko t’óó nízhónígo shí ’éé’ bík’ídíídláád. The Sun ribbons beautifully adorned my clothes.”

“Your hollow rib cage echoes in silence as you float into the endless digital stream.”

“In the beginning, she gifted us life-giving waters. Swelling from underneath, she gave birth to the water panthers and horned serpents.”