March 11, 2022
Indigenous Nations Poets announced the 2022 cohort of Fellows selected to participate in the national poetry organization’s Inaugural Retreat to be held in Washington DC April 25-29
By Indigenous Nations Poets
In-Na-Po, Indigenous Nations Poets, announced the 2022 cohort of Fellows selected to participate in the national poetry organization’s Inaugural Retreat to be held in Washington DC April 25-29. The selected poets, who come from diverse Indigenous and Native Nations backgrounds and reflect an array of poetic styles and interests, include:
Kenzie Allen, Oneida Nation of Wisconsin.
Tacey M. Atsitty, Diné.
Anthony Ceballos, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe.
Mary Leauna Christensen, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
Kalilinoe Detwiler, Kanaka ʻŌiwi.
Kinsale Drake, Diné.
Max Early, Pueblo of Laguna.
Boderra Joe, Diné.
Halee Kirkwood, Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe.
Manny Loley, Diné.
Casandra López, California Indian (Tongva/Luiseño) and Chicana.
Rena Priest, Lummi Nation.
Ha'åni Lucia Falo San Nicolas, CHamoru and Samoan.
Kristina Togafau, Western Shoshone Samoan.
Arianne True, Choctaw, Chickasaw.
Annie Wenstrup, Dena’ina.
These emerging writers will gather with distinguished Indigenous faculty, In-Na-Po leaders, and U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo in April at the Library of Congress (LOC) for the retreat. The week’s events will include workshops, craft talks, an introduction to the collections of the LOC and the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), and readings by faculty and fellows. Throughout, the retreat will embrace Indigenous values and aesthetics, and encourage participants in their use of Indigenous languages. Writers will receive guidance on the practice and business of poetry and will have the opportunity to share finished poems in several venues.
Founded in 2020 by Anishinaabe poet and professor Kimberly Blaeser, the non-profit In-Na-Po is a member of the Poetry Coalition of the Academy of American Poets. The organization mission statement describes it as “a national poetry community committed to mentoring emerging writers, nurturing the growth of Indigenous poetic practices, and raising the visibility of all Native Writers past, present, and future.”
Information about past programming, partner organizations, and other ongoing projects is available on In-Na-Po social media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InNaPoets
Instagram: in_na_po
Twitter: @in_na_po
Donations to support the retreat and other In-Na-Po projects can be made at https://sites.uwm.edu/in-na-po/donate/
In-Na-Po
Founded in 2020, In-Na-Po—Indigenous Nations Poets—is a national Indigenous poetry community committed to mentoring emerging writers, nurturing the growth of Indigenous poetic practices, and raising the visibility of all Native Writers past, present, and future. In-Na-Po recognizes the role of poetry in sustaining tribal sovereign nations and Native languages.
