What are the themes and images in the poem, "Another Dying Chieftain" by Rayna Green?

In Rayna Green's poem, "Another Dying Chieftain," we seem
to hear the lament of what a leader of his tribe has been reduced to when he can no
longer prove himself a man, a warrior, on the battlefields of eras gone
by.

He was a "braids-and-shades dog solider." "Braids"
refer to his traditional dressing of his hair, but "shades" refers to something more
modern, father away from his roots. These examples of imagery refer to the old and the
new.

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The Dog Soldiers
or Dog Men
(Cheyenne Hotamétaneo'o) was one of
six military societies of the Cheyenne
Indians.

The next reference
is the dog soldier and AIM; AIM refers to the American Indian Movement, which is a
Native American organization whose activists work for the betterment of Native Americans
throughout the U.S. used with the more historical association, the dog soldier. Once
again, the past and the modern are shown in these images: dog soldier as opposed to the
AIM member.

So the "chieftain" that the speaker describes
seems to be a man following several paths: that of the Native American and the white
man, and a path between the old ways and the new world, or between the past and the
present.

Dictionary.com defines "coup" as it pertains to
the Native Americans:

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...(among the Plains Indians of North America) a
brave or reckless deed performed in battle by a single warrior, as touching or striking
an enemy warrior without sustaining injury
oneself.

This stanza speaks
to how this chieftain now tells stories of the past to women gathered, perhaps to hear
him speak: but they are tales of the past, not the present. The "coup" then, refers to
accomplishments in battle, part of his group of
"stories."

Those attendants are attracted by his Native
American persona; he wants some publicity from the reporters who must have been there
before, either today or another day, because he wants them "back again." These images
show a man trying to recall the Native American glory days, and women enjoying that
mysterious "Indian" persona.

Because he can no longer prove
himself in the battle, he lectures people, hoping that talk will serve in the
absence of battle. Here again, the images "talk" and "battle" not
only show a man trying to compensate when the world of his ancestors is gone, but also
hoping that his stories will be as appealing as talking about a
"warpath."

Others enter the room, they are Indian women and
other people who are not of his tribe. They, too, understand the war the chieftain is
fighting. They understand what he is feeling: his struggle to live up to the
expectations of others and his heritage, and his loss of self. The imagery deals with
the loss of the past, meeting up with the inevitability of the
present.

A member of the audience asks about his degree of
adoption; the old chieftain shakes his fist in anger or frustration. It's not what makes
headlines or brings attention: it is not easy to fade gracefully ("to die in these
wars").

The theme of this story is how difficult it is to
be a lecturer, when one's heart wants to go to battle. He no longer feels he leads a
worthy and/or colorful life, but that talking about the past may be a pale substitute,
and the imagery used supports this thematic
element.

Additional
Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Indian_Movement

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/coup

http://www.oha.doi.gov/IBIA/IbiaDecisions/27ibia/27ibia163.PDF

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_Dance

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millenarianism