"New Orleans" by Joy Harjo

The phrase "tobacco brown bones" in line 3 refers to

• bones that have turned brown in the sun.

• Creeks who died in New Orleans.

• Creeks who worked on tobacco plantations.

• teeth stained with tobacco juice.

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In lines 21–24, the speaker says, “I have a memory. / It swims deep in blood, / a delta in the skin. It swims out of Oklahoma, / deep the Mississippi River.” The speaker’s memory is

• related to a bloody battle.

• about someone who drowned.

• part of his or her cultural heritage.

• too painful to talk about.

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The phrase “future children / buried beneath the currents” (lines 33–34) refers to

• children born after the Creek removal to Oklahoma.

• children who will die in future hurricanes and floods.

• Creeks who return to their childhood home to be buried.

• unborn children of Creeks who died in New Orleans.

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What did DeSoto come to New Orleans to find?

• "a blue horse"

• "golden treasure"

• "magic stones"

• "a drink on Bourbon Street"

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The speaker says that DeSoto looked for “shining streets / of beaten gold to dance on with silk ladies” (lines 40–41). These lines characterize DeSoto as

• violent

• sophisticated

• ambitious

• creative

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Which lines create a vivid sensory image for readers?

• "This is the south. I look for evidence / of other Creeks."

• “stale rooms, the sun behind thick and moist / clouds”

• "He is buried somewhere in / this river."

• “Creeks knew of him for miles / before he came into town”

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Which image describes how the Creeks lived?

• "earth towns"

• "gold cities"

• "pleasure boats"

• "silk buildings"

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“Black mammy dolls / holding white babies” (lines 66–67) represent black women who

• have no families of their own.

• rescue white children in a flood.

• have a vision of racial harmony.

• care for white people's children.

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What two things does blood most strongly symbolize in the poem?

• violence against Creeks, the memory of a culture

• the Mississippi River, fighting between cultures

• dangers faced by explorers, the speaker’s heartbeat

• nourishment for the spirit, a desire for conquest

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Which statement best expresses a theme of the poem?

• It’s better to leave the past dead and buried.

• It’s important to keep cultural memories alive.

• People of many races have memories of New Orleans.

• Remembering the past leads to personal happiness.

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