Resources & Updates
Scroll down for Native News and Culture Resources; Support for Artists and Native Communities; and more Poetry and Educational Resources
Explore Joy Harjo’s Signature Poet Laureate project, Living Nations Living Worlds.
Reclaiming Native Truth: A Project to Dispel America’s Myths and Misconceptions.
Reclaiming Native Truth is a national effort to foster cultural, social and policy change by empowering Native Americans to counter discrimination, invisibility and the dominant narratives that limit Native opportunity, access to justice, health and self-determination. Reclaiming Native Truth’s goal is to move hearts and minds toward greater respect, inclusion and social justice for Native Americans.
Lesson Plans for Remote Learning: Guides for Educators & Students
Pop Culture Artists team with Educators for Lessons about Native Changemakers. With classroom education in disarray due to pandemic shutdowns, IllumiNative, a nonprofit founded by Crystal Echo Hawk, of Echo Hawk Consulting, and a group of respected Native artists including Bunky Echo-Hawk, Gregg Deal and Jared Yazzie have teamed up to provide art lesson plans for schools featuring influential Native personalities. Download the learning materials here:
For Teachers: https://illuminatives.org/wp‑c…
For Learners: https://illuminatives.org/wp‑c…
Native Land Acknowledgement
#HONORNATIVELAND offers an introduction to the practice of land acknowledgement, with a downloadable guide and teaching resources regarding land acknowledgement.
Native Land offers an interactive map of Tribal Nations territories, treaties, and languages, as well as a Teaching Guide: https://native-land.ca
Visit Google’s Indigenous Americas hub!
A collaboration with Google Arts & Culture and over 40 other cultural institutions to bring online 90+ stories to the new Indigenous Americas hub: a collection of Indigenous art and culture that spans beyond the U.S. and across the Americas to make these stories available to anyone, anywhere in the world.
Native Arts & Culture
Native Arts & Cultures Foundation — Transforming Communities through Native Arts. Learn about their programs and read the NACF blog here
Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) - Visit IAIA’s Museum of Contemporary Native Arts for a Virtual Reality Tour of the most current exhibition, Indigenous Futurisms: Transcending Past/Present/Future.
Explore and subscribe to First American Art, a quarterly journal of art by Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Connecting the global art world with Indigenous communities since 2013
NativeReads: Great Books from Indigenous Communities – Stories of the Oceti SakowinIn 2020, First Nations partnered with the Oak Lake Writers’ Society to increase knowledge and appreciation of Oceti Sakowin (Dakota, Lakota and Nakota) literatures. They selected 10 recommended books and created a storykeeping timeline, which takes the reader on a journey to better understand early and contemporary Dakota, Lakota and Nakota people and communities.
American Indians in Children’s Literature — This site, established by Dr. Debbie Reese (Nambé Pueblo), provides a critical analysis of Indigenous peoples in children’s and young adult books. You can also download a children’s book guide created by Dr. Reese.
Want to support Indian Country? A short list of NATIVE-RUN Organization & Non-Profits
Support emerging Indigenous poets by donating to Indigenous Nations Poets, In-Na-Po, a community committed to mentoring emerging writers, cultivating Indigenous literatures and poetics, supporting tribal languages and sovereignty, and raising the visibility of all Native writers. Your donation will support In-Na-Po in developing and delivering programming and opportunities for emerging poets, including mentoring fellowships. Learn more at: bit.ly/in_na_po
Donate Here: https://indigenousnationspoets.kindful.com/
#IndigenousNationsPoets #InNaPo
Honor the Earth — Honor the Earth uses indigenous wisdom, music, art, and the media to raise awareness and support for Indigenous Environmental Issues. We leverage this awareness and support to develop financial and political capital for Indigenous struggles for land and life.
First Nations Development Institute - Strengthening Native American Communities & Economics. Learn more and donate here
Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples — Seventh Generation Fund is mobilizing resources for crisis-impacted Indigenous Communities throughout the world in rapid response to COVID-19. Your support makes a difference. Learn more and donate here
NDN Collective — NDN Collective is an Indigenous-led organization dedicated to building Indigenous power. Through organizing, activism, philanthropy, grantmaking, capacity-building and narrative change, we are creating sustainable solutions on Indigenous terms. Learn more and donate here
Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN). IEN is an alliance of Indigenous peoples whose mission it is to protect the sacredness of Earth Mother from contamination and exploitation by strengthening, maintaining and respecting Indigenous teachings and natural laws.
Native Ways Federation. As the Indigenous people of this country, we are all too familiar with the challenges of facing a public health crisis like COVID-19 (novel coronavirus). However, this current crisis is at a scale we haven’t seen in recent history, and it is already having deep impacts on and potentially catastrophic results for our communities. Native Ways Federation, an organization comprised of seven national non-profits led by and serving Native people through the United States, along with multiple other Native non-profits across the country, are calling upon the philanthropic community to support both Tribes and Native non-profits as they work diligently to meet the needs of our communities in rural and urban settings.
Institute of American Indian Arts’ (IAIA) MFA in Creative Writing Program — Support scholarships for students at the Institute of American Indian Arts. To earmark your donation for the MFA in Creative Writing, select scholarship designation to “IAIA Low Residency MFA in Creative Writing Scholarship.”
American Indian College Fund: Native students and communities are struggling to overcome new challenges presented by the COVID-19 crisis, but the American Indian College Fund and our friends and donors are here to help. Learn more and donate here
Mvskoke Nation Youth Services - To empower Mvskoke youth by connecting to culture, community and resources.
Native Governance Center — Native people know best how to govern their nations and are working to design a future that elevates their community assets. At Native Governance Center, we support them along the way through our leadership development training and governance support programs.
Tribal Law & Policy Institute — A Native American operated non-profit: Dedicated to providing free publication resources, comprehensive training, and technical assistance for Native nations and tribal justice systems in pursuit of our vision to empower Native communities to create and control their own institutions for the benefit of all community members, now, and for future generations.
Originative — A website for non-Indigenous allies offering resources for advocacy and raising awareness about Indigenous rights and issues.
NATIVE RADIO, NEWS & PODCASTS
Native Voice One — The Native American Radio Network Native Voice One — NV1: Native Voice One (NV1) educates, advocates, and celebrates Indigenous life and culture by providing a radio programs from a Native point of view.
Native America Calling: Native America Calling is a live call-in program linking public radio stations, the Internet and listeners together in a thought-provoking national conversation about issues specific to Native communities.
Indian Country Today: https://indiancountrytoday.com/coronavirus/
Native News Online: Celebrating Native Voices: http://nativenewsonline.net/
All My Relations: All My Relations is a podcast hosted by Matika Wilbur (Swinomish and Tulalip) and Adrienne Keene (Cherokee Nation) to explore our relationships— relationships to land, to our creatural relatives, and to one another.
Toasted Sister Podcast: Multimedia journalist Andi Murphy turned her passion for food into a podcast talking about Indigenous foodways, knowledge and Indigenous cuisine.
Think Indigenous: Think Indigenous is a podcast that highlights its yearly conference keynotes & “Red Talk” presentations sharing best practices, innovation and delivery models of Indigenous education
Coffee & Quaq: Host: Alice Qannik Glenn, Iñupiaq“The mission of Coffee & Quaq is to celebrate, share, and explore the collective experience of contemporary Native life in urban Alaska.
The Talking Stick: Produced by: Indian Legal Program at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law and the National Congress of American Indians. A Native American Law and Policy Podcast.
More Podcasts …
Indian Country Today has compiled a list of podcasts by Indigenous people.
Flare has also posted “9 Great Podcasts Hosted By Indigenous Women.”
Originative: A podcast highlighting contemporary Native voices and issues: https://originative.org/podcas…
The following are just a few of the countless websites and online resources for accessing, teaching, reading about, and engaging with poetry.
Academy of American Poets
From the Educator in Residence, Dr. Madeleine Holzer: Teachers, as classrooms across the country move online during this time of uncertainty, we wanted to remind you of the free education resources available to you at Poets.org.We’ve curated a selection of materials that are easily adaptable for your digital classroom. From Dear Poet, which can help bring living poets and poetry into your students’ homes, to lesson plans about poetry that engage their creativity as well as their physical energy, we hope these resources will aid your teaching and inspire your students.
Produced for K‑12 educators, Teach This Poem features one poem a week, accompanied by interdisciplinary resources and activities designed to help teachers quickly and easily bring poetry into the classroom or home. The series is produced with the guidance of our Educator in Residence, Dr. Madeleine Fuchs Holzer, and is available for free via email.
Dear Poet, a multimedia education project that invites young people in grades five through twelve to write letters in response to poems written and read by award-winning poets
Find unique and adaptable lesson plans for teaching or learning about poetry that you can share with your families, students, or children.
In this time of uncertainty and great concern, many people are turning to poems to seek words of wisdom, uplifting ideas, and language that prompts reflection and centers us mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In response to this need and to help our readers stay connected in the weeks ahead, the Academy of American Poets invites the public to join in a new initiative called Shelter in Poems.
To participate, select a poem that gives you hope from the Poets.org collection and post a sentence or two about why the poem inspires you on social media with the hashtag #ShelterinPoems. Beginning next week, the Academy will be considering responses and gathering the poems and testimonials in a special newsletter and sharing it online each week. The Academy will not be able to use all submissions and will be editing for house style and length.
If you are moved to record a one minute video of yourself offering the name of the poem and your statement, the Academy will also be selecting videos to share.
We also encourage you to join Shelter in Poems by emailing shelter@poets.org.
POETRY FOUNDATION
The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine, is an independent literary organization committed to a vigorous presence for poetry in our culture. It exists to discover and celebrate the best poetry and to place it before the largest possible audience.
The Poetry Foundation works to raise poetry to a more visible and influential position in our culture. The Foundation seeks to be a leader in shaping a receptive climate for poetry by developing new audiences, creating new avenues for delivery, and encouraging new kinds of poetry.
Poetry Foundation offers several learning resource pages. Click on each link for resources curated specifically for Children, Teens, Adults, and Educators.
Teaching Poetry Online: This comprehensive guide from Poetry Foundation offers resources for teaching poetry online for Kids ages 2 – 10, Middle School, and High School, with articles for teachers, students, and parents.
POETRY SOCIETY OF AMERICA
The Poetry Society of America’s mission is to build a larger and more diverse audience for poetry, to encourage a deeper appreciation of the vitality and breadth of poetry in the cultural conversation, to support poets through an array of programs and awards, and to place poetry at the crossroads of American life. Explore the website for special features, interviews, and more!
POETRY OUT LOUD
Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry by offering free educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition to high schools across the country. This program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about literary history and contemporary life. Poetry Out Loud is a partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts, Poetry Foundation, and the state and jurisdictional arts agencies.
Poetry: Everyone Should Try It: Here is a short article for young writers that was just shared with me by one particular young writer: Sit Down and Write: Poetry Resources. It’s a good reminder that all you need to write poetry is your imagination!
UNLADYLIKE: Elevating the Hidden History of American Women
UNLADYLIKE2020 is a series of 26 short films and a one-hour documentary profiling diverse and little-known American women from the turn of the 20th century, and contemporary women who follow in their footsteps. Winner of the 2020 Women Transforming Media award, the series premiered on PBS’s American Masters in honor of the centennial of women’s suffrage, and is narrated by acclaimed actors Julianna Margulies and Lorraine Toussaint.
The Slowdown
The Slowdown podcast hosted by Tracy K. Smith delivers a different way to see the world — through poetry. Five minutes of poetry every weekday.
POEMTALK
POEMTALK is a collaboration of the Kelly Writers House, PennSound, and the Poetry Foundation. PoemTalk’s producer and host is Al Filreis, our engineer is Zach Carduner, and our editor is the same talented Zach Carduner (whose predecessors were Amaris Cuchanski, Allison Harris, and for most of the early episodes, Steve McLaughlin)
Poetry Unbound, a series of the On Being Podcast
Immerse yourself in a single poem, guided by Pádraig Ó Tuama. Short and unhurried; contemplative and energizing. Anchor your week by listening to the everyday poetry of your life, with new episodes on Monday and Friday during the season. Learn More at Poetry Unbound.
POETRY FOUNDATION
Poetry Foundation offers a range of podcasts, including:
Poetry Magazine Podcast: The editors go inside the pages of Poetry, talking to poets and critics, debating the issues, and sharing their poem selections with listeners.
Poetry Off the Shelf: Producer Helena de Groot explores the diverse world of contemporary poetry with readings by poets, interviews with critics, and short poetry documentaries. Nothing is off limits, and nobody is taken too seriously.
You can find all the podcasts here
PoetryNow
WNYC produces PoetryNow, a series of short radio pieces co-produced with the WFMT Radio Network and featuring some of today’s most innovative poets reading and sharing insights on a new poem.
THE NEW YORKER: POETRY
The New Yorker: Poetry, produced by The New Yorker and WNYC. Readings and conversation with The New Yorker’s poetry editor, Paul Muldoon.
PENNSOUND
PennSound at the University of Pennsylvania: PennSound is an ongoing project, committed to producing new audio recordings and preserving existing audio archives. Explore the website and archives, as well as find a list of recorded Reading Series.
PEN America: Into the Streets — Writers Recommend Books of Protest: As protest rights are threatened around the country, we turn to books that demonstrate the power and importance of taking action and speaking out against racism, oppression, censorship, and injustice. We asked authors, historians, and scholars to share one book that has inspired and informed them as they write, create, and dissent.
From the NY Times: The Poems That Poets Turn To in Times of Strife: Sixteen poets tell us about the verses and books they are reading, or that they hope others seek out.
Looking for Excellent “Diverse” Books for Children? Start Here. Book lists and resources from embracerace.
American Indians in Children’ s Literature (AICL) provides critical analysis of Indigenous peoples in children’s and young adult books: https://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/
Reading in the Dark: From the Poetry Society of America, Reading in the Dark features poets reflecting on the poems they return to in difficult times
MEDIA: Follow Joy through her most recent interviews and podcasts
Follow Joy through her most recent interviews and podcasts:
CATCHING THE LIGHT, Joy’s lyrical meditation about the why of writing poetry, is available now at all booksellers!
Joy Harjo on Poetry is Bread with Bob Holman — Listen to the podcast here!
Watch and listen to Joy’s Closing Event as the 23rd U.S. Poet Laureate at the Library of Congress on April 28, 2022.
Explore Joy Harjo’s signature Poet Laureate Project, Living Nations, Living Words
Visit Magic City Books in Tulsa to Purchase a Signed Copy of Joy Harjo’s Books!