Books and Publications
Dr. Denise Lajimodiere has had 2 poetry books published-- Thunderbird and Dragonfly Dances. She is looking forward to the publication of two forthcoming books: Stringing Rosaries: the History, the Unforgivable, and the Healing of North American Indian Boarding School Survivors and a children's book entitled Josie Dances.
Dragonfly Dance
Dragonfly Dance is a collection of poems remarkable for their candor and sense of catharsis. Writing from the vantage point of an American Indian women, Denise Lajimodiere opens a door into the lives of Native girls and women. Her poems often reflect the deep tensions between Native culture and white culture.
Thunderbird
At the heart of Thunderbird is a poetic treatise on the historical, cultural, medicinal, and spiritual properties of the birch tree, which Denise Lajimodiere employs in her renowned birch bark biting art.
Assembled and printed at the Braddock Letterpress Print Museum by publishing interns, each numbered, limited edition copy of Thunderbird bears an original piece of birch bark biting art. Each copy is a unique work of art.
Stringing Rosaries: the History, the Unforgivable, and the Healing of North American Indian Boarding School Survivors
"Stringing Rosaries" is a study in boarding school history and cultural genocide, and it tells "the survivors' stories in their own words from the time they were born until present day, so the reader can get a sense of events in their lives"--lives shaped by being sent to boarding schools. Lajimodiere digs even deeper, though, imbuing their stories with the power of healing. "Stringing Rosaries" is scheduled for publication in early 2019.
Josie Dances
Josie Dances will follow the story of a young fancy shall dancer at the Little Shell Pow Wow in Dunseith, North Dakota. Publication date forthcoming.
Bitter Tears
Denise Lajimodiere spent years interviewing boarding school survivors for this poetry project of moving verse, Bitter Tears. The poems describe the experiences of children who experienced the wrenching trauma of assimilationist boarding schools.
In Bitter Tears, Denise Lajimodiere’s poetry creates a tapestry of elegies about United States Indigenous boarding school experiences. She restores histories of Ojibwa survivors, people who endured some of the darkest hours of American history. The verse informs as it distills tragedy into healing songs.
