Native American Poetry and Culture

A selection of poets, poems, and articles exploring the Native American experience
Joy Harjo writes, The literature of the aboriginal people of North America defines America. It is not
exotic. The concerns are particular, yet often universal. The poets and poems gathered here showcase
the universal and the particular approaches Native American authors have taken to writing about
diverse, indigenous cultures.
Poetry Foundation editors have curated this collection of Native American poets, both established and
widely read ones along with voices of a new generation, from some of the many U.S.
tribes. Their poems bear historical witness, demonstrate the strength of the Native American spirit,
argue crucial political and social issues, while illuminating a vibrant cultural heritage. This collection
is intended to be inclusive, in order to introduce new readers to a broad range of poets. To make
suggestions for additions to this sampler, please contact us.
The editors would like to thank Allison Adelle Hedge Coke, for her help in compiling our selection
and for sending us the Native American poetry bibliographies (1993-2014) that she helped to compile
with the AWP Indigenous/Aboriginal American Caucus administration. We also wish to thank those
readers who write in to help us improve this feature. (Last updated October 28, 2014.)

POETS
Adrian C. Louis, Lovelock Paiute
Allison Adelle Hedge Coke, Metis, Cherokee, and Huron
Anita Endrezze, Yaqui
Barney Bush, Shawnee/Cayuga
Beth Brant, Mohawk
Carolyn Dunn, Muskogee, Cherokee, Seminole
Carter Revard, Osage
Cathy Tagnak Rexford, Inupiaq
Cedar Sigo, Suquamish
Cheryl Savageau, Abenaki
Chip Livingston, Poarch Creek
Chrystos, Menominee
Craig Santos Perez, Chamoru
Deborah A. Miranda, Ohlone-Costanoan Esselen
Denise Low, Lenape (Delaware) and Cherokee
Diane Burns, Chemehuevi and Anishinaabe

Diane Glancy, Cherokee

dg okpik, Inupiaq-Inuit
Duane Niatum, SKlallam
Elise Paschen, Osage
Elizabeth Woody, Confederate Tribes of Warm Springs
Emily Pauline Johnson, Mohawk
Esther Belin, Din (Navajo)
Gail Tremblay, Onondaga/MiKmaq
Garry Gottfriedson, Secwepemc First Nation
Gerald Vizenor, Anishinaabe and Chippewa
Gladys Cardiff, Eastern Band of Cherokee
Gordon Henry, White Earth Chippewa
Heid E. Erdrich, Ojibwe (Turtle Mountain)
Hershman John, Navajo
Jack D. Forbes, Powhatan-Renpe, Delaware-Lenpe
James Thomas Stevens, Akwesasne Mohawk
Janice Gould, Koyoonkauwi (Concow)
Jennifer Elise Foerster, Muscogee Creek
Joan Kane, Inupiaq-Inuit
Joseph Bruchac, Abenaki
Joy Harjo, Muskogee Creek
Karenne Wood, Monacan Indian Nation
Kimberly Blaeser, White Earth Chippewa and Anishinaabe
Laura Tohe, Din (Navajo)
LeAnne Howe, Choctaw
Leslie Marmon Silko, Laguna Pueblo
Linda Hogan, Chickasaw
Lorna Dee Cervantes, Chumash

Lois Red Elk, Ft. Peck Sioux

Louise Erdrich, Chippewa
Luci Tapahonso, Din (Navajo)
M.L. Smoker, Sioux and Assiniboine
Marcie R. Rendon, White Earth Anishinaabe
Margo Tamez, Lipan Apache and Jumano Apache
Mark Turcotte, Chippewa
Marnie Walsh, Dakota
N. Scott Momaday, Kiowa
Natalie Diaz, Mojave
Nora Marks Dauenhauer, Tlingit
Nora Naranjo-Morse, Tewa, Santa Clara Pueblo
Ofelia Zepeda, Tohone Oodham (formerly Papago) Nation
Orlando White, Din (Navajo)
Parsino Carlos Peynetsa, Zuni and Isleta Pueblo
Paula Nelson, Cherokee
Phillip Carroll Morgan, Choctaw/Chickasaw
Qwo-Li Driskill, Cherokee
Rain C. Gomz, Louisiana Choctaw, Creek
Ralph Salisbury, Cherokee
Ray A. Young Bear, Meskwaki
Roberta Hill, Wisconsin Oneida
Santee Frazier, Cherokee
Sara Littlecrow-Russell, Anishinaabeg (Ojibwe) and Han-Naxi Mtis
Sara Marie Ortiz, Acoma Pueblo
Sherman Alexie, Spokane/Coeur dAlene
Sherwin Bitsui, Din (Navajo)
Simon J. Ortiz, Acoma Pueblo

Stuart Youngman Sy Hoawah, Comanche

Tiffany Midge, Standing Rock Sioux and Hunkpapa Lakota
Wendy Rose, Hopi and Miwok
William Oandasan, Yuki

ARTICLES & PODCASTS

Recent explorations of Native American experience in prose and conversation.
A comprehensive bibliography of Native American poetry publications, compiled by Allison Adelle
Hedge Coke
Indians in T-shirts: The Institute of American Indian Arts, now in its 50th year, encourages its
students to upend conventional expectations of Native American culture
Joy Harjo's weeklong journal
Craig Santos Perez's posts on Harriet: the blog
Three Native American Poets, a Poetry Lectures podcast featuring Sherwin Bitsui, Allison Adele
Hedge Coke, and Linda Hogan