Summary

In “That Which Cannot Be Stilled,” Diaz recalls instances of being called a “Dirty Indian” (42), and how these incidents caused her to feel insecure, as though there was something wrong with her. She realizes now that there is nothing wrong with her. It is the racist people who employ such terms who are wrong. She describes a dream she had about standing on a sandy dune on the reservation, watching as a pile of metal rubble suddenly rises up from the ground. She mentions the horse latitudes, which are regions absent of wind located 30 degrees north and 30 degrees south of the equator. She imagines taking her “conquerors” (44) there and forcing them into the sea.

In “The First Water Is the Body,” Diaz declares that the Mojave believe that they carry the Colorado River within them. She notes that the Colorado is “the most...