Roberta Tawlikitsanmay’ (Woman of the Forest) Paul, author of the WSU Press book Listening to the Birds: A Nez Perce Woman’s Journey of Self-Discovery and Healing, will hold a reading from 4–6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 15, in the Quiet Study Lounge on the 1st floor of Terrell Library.
Sponsored by WSU Press and the WSU Office of Native American Programs, the event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be available.
Severe emotional pain prompted the author to explore her family’s history and trauma, which culminated in writing the book. Repeatedly encountering birds, she sensed her ancestors and began listening to their messages. Then, with help from her relatives, she uncovered five generations of her family’s stories.
They start with a Nez Perce chief who met Lewis and Clark in Idaho, continue to a warrior who died fighting alongside Chief Joseph in the War of 1877 followed by three generations attending government boarding schools, and end with a 16-year-old Irish American girl who defied her parents and decided to marry a handsome young Indian boy. Listening to the Birdsis one family’s saga—told with the intimacy of a memoir, the heart of a warrior, and the intensity of a woman on a mission to heal the soul of her people.
An enrolled tribal member of the Nez Perce Tribe, Paul was born and raised on the reservation. She now gives presentations for survivors of intergenerational trauma, where she teaches that sharing stories is a Native way to heal wounds.
But, as she says, “If you don’t know the story, you can’t heal.” Unearthing that past became her own first step toward healing wounds of racism, relocation, and assimilation. In addition, she teaches workshops on healing historical trauma using a 10-step model she developed—one she describes in Listening to the Birds.
For more about Paul and her book, please read an earlier story on the libraries’ website.
