Palhata/Itamoma by Sunnie Ishtimonabi'

Ishkoshi’ brought the word down

Tricked Aba’ Binni’ li’ with doughy hands that looked like rain clouds 

sprinkled it throughout time and lineage like chuahla prayers 

and called us home to it.

Homa’losa

the red peppered people who salt the earth

From the floral polish scarves of ndn grandmothers

From the fried chicken that will pop up and fry you back

I come from a folding and tucking into

A straddling between,

and not gracefully

We are defined in the crevices and edges on the pronunciation of the tongue

We emerge from the sweet waters of our mothers

split/yakni,

itamoma

Sunnie Ishtimonabi' (She/They) is a Black Chickashihoo from the Costal Miwok and Patwin territory of Vallejo, California. She is currently a Senior at Mills College studying Sociology, and a proud Chickasaw language learner. They currently resides on Lisjan Ohlone land in Oakland and work as a careworker, as well as a Full Spectrum Birth worker on the side. Her primary focus is in Abortion and Postpartum care for BIPOC folks. A lot of Sunnie's writing centers around identity and navigating the splitness and wholeness of being Homa'Losa or a Black NDN. As a survivor who is descended from people who have survived many things she has also been exploring grief work in her writing as a form of healing. She can be found @Sunnie_with_a_chance_of_moody. Cover art, “Take Off,” by Nazrene Alsiro, is featured in THE VISUAL.