Culture Killer

The poem Culture Killer is about cultural appropriation and shows how it's easy to see in everyday life.

“A Trick or a Treat” says the girl,

Sugar skull paint on her face.

“Volver a mi hijo” a grandmother says,

The Day of the Dead taking place.

Her sister says with her, in unison,

Eagle feather falls from her hair.

A Native American girl trudges on

Relocation is so much to bear.

The girl, to the left, sighs when she sees

the henna peel off of her hand.

An Indian girl walks along the path

Her ritual outfit’s nothing bland

These girls have no idea what they do

The settlers’ songs’ that they take;

Ignoring them for the sake of fashion,

Costumes as peoples’ fate.