The Trickster Riots: An illustrated poetry book (Abalone Mountain Press, 2022)
In this debut illustrated poetry collection, Two Spirit Lakota storyteller Taté Walker steps into the role of a contemporary trickster to continue the purposefully disruptive legacy of a cultural icon: Iktómi, the Spider. The Trickster Riots weaves through what it means to be a good relative, an obliterator of status quo, and a builder of community.
Ohíya Walker (Lakota/Ojibwe/Mvskoke) translates their mother's poems into beautifully quirky and emotionally-driven illustrations, perfectly paring with the provocative wordplay to channel Iktómi as they examine Indigeneity. Buckle up: The Trickster Riots journeys through fury and disaffection, libratic ceremony, and the lightning bolts of a struggling future ancestor.
Released June 1, 2022. Order here, from Abalone Mountain Press, the first Diné woman-owned publishing house.
Good Eats features a diverse ensemble of award-winning writers, chefs, farmers, activists, educators, and journalists. It invites readers to think about what it means to eat according to individual and collective values. These essays are not lectures about what people should eat, nor an advertisement for the latest diet. Instead, the contributors tell stories of real people—real bellies, real bodies—who seek to understand the experiences, cultures, histories, and systems that have shaped their eating and their ethics.
From factory farming and the exploitative labor practices surrounding chocolate production, to Indigenous foodways and how gender and sexuality affect eating practices and embodiment, the topics featured in this collection describe the wider context of sustenance and ethical choices. Good Eats encourages readers to become more mindful of what and how they eat—and to consider the larger systems and cultures that shape that eating.
Good Eats:
32 Writers on Eating Ethically
New York University Press, 2024
Use code NYUP30 to get 30% off list price at checkout!
Excerpt from Taté's essay, "Colonialism Ate My Body"
In this essay, I'm going to explore how ongoing settler colonialism of the United States project continues to impact the diets of Indigenous people, as well as how something like food intersects with other areas of marginalization. We'll look at these issues through several important but oft-ignored lenses: (1) precolonial Indigenous concepts of food and bodies; (2) genocidal policies of the past and present that impact diet; (3) vegan aggression and morality-based food policing; (4) the disproportionate rates of food-related health issues in Indigenous communities; and (5) how reclaiming traditional relationships with foods leads to better Indigenous health outcomes.
Read Taté's essay, "Origins," featuring Ptesáŋwiŋ (White Buffalo Calf Woman) in this award-winning anthology.
From Lisa Peet (Library Journal & Bloom): "Thirteen essays spotlight history’s heroines who have slipped under the radar, ranging from the legendary Lakota White Buffalo Calf Woman to pioneering black nightclub owner Ada 'Bricktop' Smith to cross-dressing Revolutionary War soldier Deborah Sampson, offering a glimpse into often-forgotten lives that have potent resonance for today’s activists, rebels, teachers, and dreamers. And their authors’ own interwoven stories offer an affirmation, at a time we need it most, that the boundaries between the personal and the political are always porous. FIERCE is indeed fierce, bursting with erudition, scholarship, and passion."
Welcome to the professional portfolio site of Taté Walker. Here, you'll find all sorts of projects I'm involved with, past, present, and future. You'll see my best and latest photography, video, and writing assignments, in addition to a wide range of causes that move me to action. I am always looking for the next great adventure, so contact me with your proposal today!