Selu: Seeking the Corn-Mother's Wisdom

Selu: Seeking the Corn-Mother's Wisdom

Author	Marilou Awiakta
Publisher	Fulcrum
Publication date	1993
Publication place	United States
ISBN	9781555911447

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

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

Adaptations

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

References

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.