Lannan Foundation

Joy Harjo was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma and is a member of the Mvskoke (Creek) Tribe. She came to New Mexico to attend the Institute of American Indian Arts where she studied painting and theatre.

Later she received her undergraduate degree from the University of New Mexico followed by an M.F.A. from the University of Iowa. The author of seven books, she says she began writing poetry “when the national Indian political climate demanded singers and speakers,” and was taken by the intensity and beauty possible in the craft.

In addition to her writing, Harjo has produced two musical recordings and has performed internationally, from the Arctic Circle in Norway at the Riddu Riddu Festival, to Madras, India, to the Ford Theater in Los Angeles. She is the Joseph Russo endowed professor at the University of New Mexico, and when not teaching and performing she lives in Honolulu, Hawaii, where she is a member of the Hui Nalu Canoe Club.