How We Became Human : New and Selected Poems 1975-2002 Iroquois Culture and the colonizing push to

and the colonizing push to impose the Indian Act and private property – little short of an invasion spearheaded by bureaucrats

service members like WWII pilot Ola Mildred “Millie” Rexroat

The Dakota language was an oral language but Dakota orthography is revitalizing this endangered language

Original informants included John Wynne

where the tea is hot and a seat is waiting

How We Became Human : New and Selected Poems 1975-2002 Iroquois Culture and the colonizing push toJoy Harjo was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and is a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. This collection gathers poems from throughout Joy Harjo's twenty eight year career, beginning in 1973 in the age marked by the takeover at Wounded Knee and the rejuvenation of indigenous cultures in the world through poetry and music. How We Became Human explores its title question in poems of sustaining grace.