Acacia Armstrong is a 17-year-old Urban Native writer. She is a descendant of the Mono tribe and loves to write all things poetry! Currently she is a senior at Phillip and Sala Burton Academic School in San Francisco, California. She enjoys spending her time with her pet cats and also reading. Her passion is in the arts, like music and writing.
Kimberly Blaeser, past Wisconsin Poet Laureate and founding director of In-Na-Po—Indigenous Nations Poets, is a writer, photographer, and scholar. She is the author of five poetry collections, including Copper Yearning, Apprenticed to Justice, and Résister en dansant/Ikwe-niimi: Dancing Resistance. An Anishinaabe activist and environmentalist, Blaeser is an enrolled member of White Earth Nation who grew up on the reservation.
Kimberly Blaeser, past Wisconsin Poet Laureate and founding director of In-Na-Po—Indigenous Nations Poets, is a writer, photographer, and scholar. She is the author of five poetry collections, including Copper Yearning, Apprenticed to Justice, and Résister en dansant/Ikwe-niimi: Dancing Resistance. An Anishinaabe activist and environmentalist, Blaeser is an enrolled member of White Earth Nation who grew up on the reservation.
Denzhone Burdette is a member of the Tonto Apache Tribe in Payson, Arizona. She is a 14-year-old freshman at Payson High School who writes poems and wants to pursue a career in the medical field. This is her first poem accepted for publication. Her poem acknowledges the importance of her family and how it feels to feel nostalgic for a childhood almost over.
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Denzhone Burdette is a member of the Tonto Apache Tribe in Payson, Arizona. She is a 14-year-old freshman at Payson High School who writes poems and wants to pursue a career in the medical field. This is her first poem accepted for publication. Her poem acknowledges the importance of her family and how it feels to feel nostalgic for a childhood almost over.
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Emily Clarke is a Cahuilla Native American poet, bead artist, activist, and traditional Bird Dancer. Emily recently served as the 2022–23 Graton Roundhouse Intern for Heyday Books and News from Native California. She is a two time recipient of the UC Riverside Chancellor’s Award for Poetry, a 2022 Pushcart Prize nominee, and a recipient of The Center for Cultural Power’s Artist Disruptor award. In her free time, Emily runs her small business, Cahuilla Woman Creations, and co-edits her literary journal, Rejected Lit Mag.
Emily Clarke is a Cahuilla Native American poet, bead artist, activist, and traditional Bird Dancer. Emily recently served as the 2022–23 Graton Roundhouse Intern for Heyday Books and News from Native California. She is a two time recipient of the UC Riverside Chancellor’s Award for Poetry, a 2022 Pushcart Prize nominee, and a recipient of The Center for Cultural Power’s Artist Disruptor award. In her free time, Emily runs her small business, Cahuilla Woman Creations, and co-edits her literary journal, Rejected Lit Mag.
Ramona Gutierrez is Opata, Tohono O'odham, Mescalero Apache, xicanindia. A self-taught poet, she has engaged with families in the poetry of birth experiences and time-after-birth for 30-plus years and believes all new babies are a line of poetry in a family. She began writing poetry six years ago. Her poetry education began with her family. Her paternal grandmother would recite poetry, and her father would read aloud to her sisters and cousins. She began to write poetry as a means of remembrance, honoring, and self-love.
Ramona Gutierrez is Opata, Tohono O'odham, Mescalero Apache, xicanindia. A self-taught poet, she has engaged with families in the poetry of birth experiences and time-after-birth for 30-plus years and believes all new babies are a line of poetry in a family. She began writing poetry six years ago. Her poetry education began with her family. Her paternal grandmother would recite poetry, and her father would read aloud to her sisters and cousins. She began to write poetry as a means of remembrance, honoring, and self-love.
Raine Huelskamp is a sophomore in high school from Arizona. Aside from writing poetry, her other interests include playing clarinet and bass clarinet in her school's concert and marching bands.
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