Tyrone Ross Thompson

Washani Tales Tyrone Ross Thompson

This book is the experience of a Wyampum and Nez Perce of the Columbia River. It's how I see the world and the impact from colonization to tribal policies that destroyed the homeland of Celilo Falls. In this book it details the tremendous pain of an array of issues. This struggle of identity, lost love, anger, family loss, and despair but writing has led me to save my self from the issues of indigenous identity but also helped me search for self-truth and personal power. The medium of poetry has saved my life and by detailing this considerable pain has allowed me to express pain and love. It is my intent to use this medium to build for the long term for the collective of indigenous nations by starting the process of self-healing. This will be the first book for this edition and connecting to a number of poetry books so that this medium continually helps us build with not only indigenous people within our community but others of the western hemisphere and potentially elsewhere.