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Joy Harjo, 1951- present
Joy Harjo is an Native American activist who has been able to capture through poetry, the history and social standing of her people. Born an enrolled member of the Creek Tribe, she has been able to put into context personal and social issues by writing poetry. Growing up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Harjo learned most of her Native American identity from her great aunt. As a young girl, Harjo dreamed of becoming a missionary. This aspiration was crushed by a local minister who embarrassed 2 Mexican girls who were being noisy in church, by asking them to leave. Harjo felt the situation was not handled properly, so she left for good. She later decided to follow in her family's footsteps and become a Muscogee painter. At the age of sixteen, she moved to the Southwest to attend the Institute of American Indian Arts to perfect this craft. At the indian school, American writers, Leslie Marmon Silko and Simon Ortiz, gave readings of their work. These readings along with other writers' works, led her to give up painting and devote herself to writing poetry. Some of her poetic themes have emphasized reasons Indians drink and why many can not control this habit. In 1976, Harjo graduated from the University of New Mexico with a B.A. in poetry. She later goes on to earn an M.F.A. from Iowa University in creative writing, in 1978. After developing her skills to write poetry, she began to use the beauty of words to her advantage. In 1975, The Last Song was published and its contents brought together ideas that survival counts on your surrounding area. She believes that Native Americans must look within themselves in order to make it in life. Harjo wants all humanity to "use the power of generosity and love to overcome distrust and enmity" than the overwhelming force of hatred (AIB 139). In "White Bear" from She Had Some Horses (1983) a woman stops in the corrugated tunnel before boarding a flight to Albuquerque. Harjo captures the imagery of being stuck between leaving and staying with the use of words. She connects the white bear moving cautiously through an arctic night, with the woman who is scared to board the plane. It is like both man and beast move together as one. Their intuitions are keyed up and they both can feel a tragedy looming overhead. Ms. Harjo has the ability to make the reader not only feel emotionally connected with the characters but visually see each scenario in their minds eye. Her poems deal with Native American history, women's issues, alcoholism, poverty and other social & personal issues. Some critics believe that she attempts to be a representative of too many causes. These criticisms have not deterred her from becoming even more involved in society. Harjo has not limited herself to just writing poetry instead she has been able to expand her views using other outlets. In 1978, she returned to the Institute of American Indian Arts as an instructor. She even studied film making at the Anthropology film center in 1992, wrote children's books and currently plays the saxophone with her band Poetic Justice. Ms. Harjo is a woman of many diverse trades who learned a long time ago never to settle for less. Since 1975, she has written important works such as What Moon Drove Me to This, Secrets from the Center of the World, In Mad Love and War, The Woman Who Feel From the Sky and Fishing. Each piece stems from a faucet of her personal knowledge of this world. Many critics believe that Harjo has tried to stay tuned in to her surroundings.
She views the world as being one with nature and that the environment should
be respected by everyone who lives in it. For example, Helen Jarskoski,
professor of English and Comparative Literature at California State University,
Fullerton, states: " Her poetry embraces the natural world and draws images,
often dreamlike, from the iconography of native traditions." (138)
Bibliographyhttp://www.ipl.orgThis World Wide Web page is an Internet Public Library, run by librarians. It offers a brief history on Joy Harjo and a detailed list on other online resources about her. The Internet Public Library's' main focus is to aid those who wish to seek valid information on a multitude of topics.
This World Wide Web Page features brief biographies of Native Peoples throughout North America. It has been organized and staffed by Native Americans and Canadians. They are a non-profit corporation that not only publishes excerpts of authors works but also a magazine that gives Native Americans a voice.http://voices.cla.umn.edu Bataille M., Gretchen, Native American Women, New York: Garland Publishing,1993 p.105. Champagne, Duane, the North American Almanac, Michigan: Gale
Research Inc., 1994 p. 759 & 1068.,
The Native North American Almanac was published in 1994 by Gale Research Inc. Editor Duane Champagne teaches at the University of California, Los Angeles. He received a postdoctoral award from the Rockefeller Foundation while participating in fieldwork trips to places like Northern Cheyenne in Montana. Dr. Champagne seeks to understand the Native Americans' transition in society to a European influence.Harjo, Joy, She Had Some Horses, New York: Thunder's Mouth Press, 1983 p. 27. Johansen E. Bruce and Grindle A. Donald, Jr., The Encyclopedia of Native American Biography, New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1997 p. 161. Klein T. Barry, Reference Encyclopedia of the American Indian,8th ed. New York: Todd Publications, 1998 p. 577. Malinowski, Sharon, Notable Native Americans, Detroit: International
Thomson Publishing Company, 1995 p. 7 &178-9.,
Published in 1995, Notable Native Americans, covers a huge amount of biographical information on more than "two hundred and sixty-five notable Native North American men and women." (7) This resource offers narrative essays, photographs or illustrations of Native Americans from all backgrounds. An advisory board was assembled to assist in the selection process. Each selected entrant was contacted so that information would be as accurate as possible.
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Joy Harjo
Work # (505) 897-9092
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