Following the recent Indian Child Welfare Act victory in the Supreme Court, NCRP curated a poem from poet, organizer, and Indigenous Mexika dancer, Briana Muñoz. In the continued commitment to tribal sovereignty, Briana’s poem showcases a uniquely humanized reflection on parenting an Indigenous child and the importance of continuing Indigenous practices, even as early as in the womb.
You have been accompanying me
since conception
to ceremony
dancing in my belly
surrounded by fire-keepers
and elders
surrounded by Indigenous song 
You have been prayed for
by your momma
and your grandparents
and your great grandparents:
an unbreakable chain link
I have offered tobacco
for your spirit arrival
and in community
have been gifted
rosemary, rosehips,
eucalyptus, and lavender
to welcome you,
future leader 
You have been sitting quiet
as if in meditation
in the pond of my being
already knowing that water is life
You, warrior child,
are the DNA
of sun and moon
and a thousand ancestors
All of the answers –
you already carry
within you
Briana Muñoz is a poet and traditional indigenous Mexika dancer from Southern California. She is the author of two books of poetry including Loose Lips (Prickly Pear Publishing) and Everything is Returned to the Soil (FlowerSong Press). Her work has been published in the anthology How to Reimagine America, Cultural Daily, the Beat Not Beat Anthology, the Oakland Arts Review, Dryland Literary Journal, and several other publications.
More About the Poem:
As someone immersed in indigenous practices who is currently pregnant, I was reflecting on all of the ways this baby in my belly is already connected to community. I am a traditional indigenous Mexika dancer and continued to dance my first and second trimesters. When my lower back pain began, I moved to drumming which is easier on my body.
I think of how the baby has been feeling movement and hearing/ feeling the huehuetl (Aztec drum) throughout my pregnancy and how important it is to introduce these practices early on, yes, even before they leave the womb.
Feature banner photo credit: Azzedine Rouichi
Additional photos: Briana Muñoz
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