J oy Harjo is a multidisciplinary artist and a member of the Muskoke Nation in Oklahoma. Her passion for the arts began early, and by the age of sixteen she attended the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she discovered painting as one means of expression, on her way to becoming a professional poet, musician, playwright, and author. After graduating IAIA, Harjo enrolled at the University of New Mexico, and became involved in the university’s Native student organization, the Kiva Club, where she used the arts to respond to Native empowerment movements. She then earned a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from the University of Iowa, after which she taught at universities across the American Southwest including the University of Colorado, Arizona State University, and her alma mater, the University of New Mexico.

Harjo’s work draws on Native indigenous histories and storytelling, as well as feminist, environmental, social justice, and poetic themes. Through her powerful use of voice inflections in her spoken language pieces and song, Harjo captivates the attention of her audiences. Her poetry centers around the need for remembrance and transcendence, and above all, focuses on the survival of and the limitations of language.

The complexity, relevance, and beauty of Harjo’s poetry have made her both a household name and a critically acclaimed poet. She is the first Native American U.S. Poet Laureate, and only the second Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to serve three terms. For her signature project as the 2019-2021 U.S. Poet Laureate, Harjo gathered the works of contemporary Native American poets into a fully digital map titled “Living Nations, Living Words.” Her many honors include the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers Circle of the Americas, the Ruth Lilly Prize in Poetry, The Josephine Miles Poetry Award, and the American Indian Distinguished Achievement in the Arts Award.

Harjo is the author of two children’s books, For a Girl Becoming; plays, including her one-woman show, Wings of Night Sky, Wings of Morning Light; and literary anthologies, alongside her more than nine books of poetry, including An American Sunrise, two memoirs: Crazy Brave and Poet Warrior. She performs internationally with her saxophone and flutes and has produced seven music albums. Harjo is a founding board member and chair of the Native Arts & Cultures Foundation, a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets, and a member of the American Academy of Arts & Letters. You can learn more about this amazing American icon on her website www.joyharjo.com.

Biography provided by the National Women’s Hall of Fame