Joy Harjo

Joy Harjo (born Joy Foster on May 9, 1951, Muscogee) is a poet, musician, and author. Born in Oklahoma and based in the Southwest, she took her paternal grandmother's surname when she enrolled in the Muscogee Nation. She is often cited as being highly influential as a figure in the second wave of the artistic Native American Renaissance of the late 20th century. She studied at the Institute of American Indian Arts, completed her undergraduate degree at University of New Mexico in 1976, and earned an M.F.A. at the University of Iowa in its Creative Writing Program. In addition to her books and other publications, Harjo has taught in numerous United States universities and has performed at poetry readings and music events, also releasing five CDs. Her books include Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings (2015), Crazy Brave (2012), and How We Became Human: New and Selected Poems 1975–2002 (2004). 2Life She was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma on May 9, 1951, as Joy Foster. Her father, Allen W. Foster, was Creek and and her mother, Wynema Baker Foster, has mixed-race ancestry of Cherokee, French, and Irish. Harjo was the oldest of four children. When Joy enrolled at age nineteen as a member of the Creek Tribe’s Mvskoke Branch, she took her paternal grandmother’s last name “Harjo” (it is a common name within the Creek Tribe