Article by Jeannie Briones and Kim Kalliber, photo by Jeannie Briones, Tulalip News Staff
Everyone faces their own challenges, the good the bad, the ups and downs, which happen in everyday life. For one young Native American woman, writing poetry is not only a therapeutic way of coping with stress, but also a way of expressing happiness.
Stephanie Spiering, a Southern Cheyenne Tribal member and student at the Northwest Indian College Tulalip site, shared her own poetry on February 7th, as part of the Poetry Series at the Tulalip Hibulb Cultural Center.
Stephanie’s interest in poetry began in grade school and has remained a large part of her life. Her mother and fellow poet, Renee Roman Nose, read poetry to her as a child, introducing her to a world of diverse forms of poetry.
After experiencing a traumatic event in her youth, Stephanie’s mother and aunt encouraged her to write down her feelings as part of her healing process. “It became a way for me to cope with things,” said Stephanie.
By high school, Stephanie had taken a serious interest in penning her words on paper. Now, just twenty-four years-old, she is busy creating poetry, working towards an associates degree in Native Environmental Science and serving as a court clerk for the Sauk-Suiattle Tribe.
Whenever she is overwhelmed with feelings of sadness, happiness or stress, poetry is her way of dealing with them. For instance in a recently written poem about feelings of homesickness, Stephanie writes about the loneliness she feels by being apart from her family and friends living in her home state of Florida, and dealing with cultures that she enjoys but is unaccustomed to.
Stephanie was delighted and nervous about sharing her poetry at the Hibulb Cultural Center. As she began speaking, her descriptive words and theatrical tones brought her poems to life, taking the audience on a journey through one woman’s self-revelations.
“When I write a poem, I put all my feelings into that poem and I go from there,” said Stephanie. “It gets stuff off my chest.”
Her choice of poems for the evening touched on a variety of subjects such as dealing with relationships, being a student, Native cultures, and the environment, and she encourages others to take the plunge and try writing their own poetry.
For more information on Tulalip Hibulb Cultural Center events, please call 360-716-2600 or visit www.hibulbculturalcenter.org.