group B - Long Time Ago

First off, Leslie Marmon Silko clearly does not like white people.  But the poem is a commentary on Western culture and its effect on the Native American people.  White people coming to the Americas was the worst thing that could possible happen to the Native Americans which, in some ways, true. 

The poem is told as a prediction made by a witch.  The use of witches in the poem is important because they are used to show how horrible white people are towards the Native Americans.  Witches are viewed as horrible creatures and pure evil, but the fact that what white people are and will do scares them so much just goes to show how bad the Europeans are. 

The dystopian aspect comes from the fact that the white people will come and destroy the Native American’s world.  The poem does talk about how before there were white people, the world wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t bad.  But when the Europeans come, there will be death and disease.  But what sets this poem apart from other dystopian literature, is that other writing usually serves as a warning of things to come, this poem is clearly talking about the past.  I think the poem is really a reminder.