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. 

We 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 to those readers who write in to help us improve this feature. (Last updated August 21, 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, S’Klallam

Elise Paschen, Osage 

Elizabeth Woody, Confederate Tribes of Warm Springs

Emily Pauline Johnson, Mohawk

Esther Belin, Diné (Navajo)

Gail Tremblay, Onondaga/Mi’Kmaq

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-Renápe, Delaware-Lenápe

James Thomas Stevens, Akwesasne Mohawk

Janice Gould, Koyoonk’auwi (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

LeAnne Howe, Choctaw

Leslie Marmon Silko, Laguna Pueblo

Linda Hogan, Chickasaw

Lorna Dee Cervantes, Chumash

Louise Erdrich, Chippewa

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 O’odham (formerly Papago) Nation

Orlando White, Diné (Navajo)

Paula Nelson, Cherokee

Phillip Carroll Morgan, Choctaw/Chickasaw

Qwo-Li Driskill, Cherokee

Rain C. Goméz, 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 Métis

Sara Marie Ortiz, Acoma Pueblo

Sherman Alexie, Spokane/Coeur d’Alene

Sherwin Bitsui, Diné (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