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Selu: Seeking the Corn-Mother's Wisdom

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Selu: Seeking the Corn-Mother's Wisdom
AuthorMarilou Awiakta
PublisherFulcrum
Publication date
1993
Publication placeUnited States
ISBN9781555911447

Selu: Seeking the Corn-Mother's Wisdom is a 1993 book by Marilou Awiakta. It uses poems, essays, and drawings to explore themes of unity and diversity.[1] Awiakta uses the Cherokee story of corn as a "compass-story" to keep readers oriented throughout her lessons.

The book draws on Cherokee storytelling traditions, the Appalachian landscape, and observations of contemporary society to provide "tribal-specific, decolonizing lessons".[2] She also uses the book to explore connections between her claimed Celtic, Scots-Irish, and Cherokee descent.[3] Despite self-identifying as having Eastern Band Cherokee heritage, Awiakta is not a citizen of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.[4]

Basketweaving

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Awiakta draws on Cherokee basket double-weaving traditions throughout the book.[5]

Adaptations

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Selu was later adapted into a Grammy-nominated audio recording.[6]

References

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  1. ^ Basinger, James David (2001). Weaving Accessibility and Art in Marilou Awiakta's Selu: Seeking the Corn-Mother's Wisdom (MA Thesis). East Tennessee State University. p. 4. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  2. ^ Cornell, Caleigh (2014). Re-Weaving A Decolonized South In Contemporary Cherokee Women's Poetry (MA Thesis). San Diego State University. p. 29. hdl:10211.3/121878.
  3. ^ Shurbutt, S. Bailey (1 January 2005). "Where Mountain Meets Atom, Within the Healing Circle: The Writing of Marilou Awiakta". Journal of Appalachian Studies. 11 (1/2): 196.
  4. ^ "THE CHEROKEES & INDIGENOUS PEOPLES". Appalachian Mountain Books. Retrieved 2023-08-02.
  5. ^ Cornell, Caleigh (2014). Re-Weaving A Decolonized South In Contemporary Cherokee Women's Poetry. p. 27. hdl:10211.3/121878.
  6. ^ Olson, Ted (2006). "Marilou Awiakta". In Flora, Joseph; Vogel, Amber (eds.). Southern writers: a new biographical dictionary. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State Univ. Press. p. 12. ISBN 0807131237.