This #wcw, we're honoring Joy Harjo. Harjo– poet, musician, and activist– hails from Oklahoma; she took her paternal grandmother's surname when she enrolled in the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. Harjo is an important figure in what's called "the second wave of the literary Native American Renaissance." She studied at the Institute of American Indian Arts (AIAI- a Future Heritage Fund grantee), where she later taught. I read her book "Crazy Brave" this year. It's a beautifully written soul-bearing tale of childhood, finding one's voice and a reflection on her roots, that clearly defines her strength of character as both artist and woman. Her writing often incorporates Creek mythology, and from wiki- "her activism for Native American rights and feminism stem from her belief in unity and the lack of separation among human, animal, plant, sky, and earth." #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth