Nila northSun
Encyclopedia
is a Native American
poet and tribal historian, one of the best-known figures in the Native American Renaissance
. Her gritty, realistic poems about life both on and off the reservation
have made her one of the most widely read of all Native American poets.
, Nevada
to a Shoshone
mother and a Chippewa father, legendary Native American activist Adam Fortunate Eagle
.
Raised in the San Francisco Bay Area
, she is a graduate of the University of Montana-Missoula.
In 2000 the "Friends of the Library" group at the University of Nevada
honored her with the Silver Pen Award for outstanding literary achievement. Then-Governor
Kenny Guinn
appointed her to the Nevada State Arts Council that same year.
In 2004, she received the "Indigenous Heritage Award in Literature" from ATAYL, an international agency.
She now lives on the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Reservation in Fallon, Nevada
and currently works as a grantswriter for the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony
.
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
poet and tribal historian, one of the best-known figures in the Native American Renaissance
Native American Renaissance
The Native American Renaissance was a term originally coined by critic Kenneth Lincoln in his 1983 book of the same title. Lincoln’s goal was to explore the explosion in production of literary works by Native Americans in the decade and a half after N. Scott Momaday had won the Pulitzer Prize in...
. Her gritty, realistic poems about life both on and off the reservation
Indian reservation
An American Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs...
have made her one of the most widely read of all Native American poets.
Background
northSun was born in 1951 in SchurzSchurz
Schurz may refer to:* Schurz, Nevada, a census-designated place in Mineral County, Nevada, United States* Mount Schurz* Barbara Schurz , female artist* Carl Schurz , a German revolutionary and American statesman, reformer, and general...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
to a Shoshone
Shoshone
The Shoshone or Shoshoni are a Native American tribe in the United States with three large divisions: the Northern, the Western and the Eastern....
mother and a Chippewa father, legendary Native American activist Adam Fortunate Eagle
Adam Fortunate Eagle
Adam Fortunate Eagle , hereditary member of the Ojibwa Nation, is a Native American activist and was the principal organizer of the 1969-71 occupation of Alcatraz Island by "Indians of All Tribes."-Early life:...
.
Raised in the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
, she is a graduate of the University of Montana-Missoula.
In 2000 the "Friends of the Library" group at the University of Nevada
University of Nevada, Reno
The University of Nevada, Reno , is a teaching and research university established in 1874 and located in Reno, Nevada, USA...
honored her with the Silver Pen Award for outstanding literary achievement. Then-Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
Kenny Guinn
Kenny Guinn
Kenneth Carroll "Kenny" Guinn was an American businessman, educator and politician. He was the 27th Governor of Nevada from 1999 to 2007. He was a member of the Republican Party and a former member of the Democratic Party....
appointed her to the Nevada State Arts Council that same year.
In 2004, she received the "Indigenous Heritage Award in Literature" from ATAYL, an international agency.
She now lives on the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Reservation in Fallon, Nevada
Fallon, Nevada
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 7,536 people, 3,004 households, and 1,877 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,474.1 people per square mile . There were 3,336 housing units at an average density of 1,095.2 per square mile...
and currently works as a grantswriter for the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony
Reno-Sparks Indian Colony
The Reno-Sparks Indian Colony is an urban Native American Tribe whose members have Washoe, Paiute and Shoshone heritage. The Tribe has a colony in central Reno, Nevada and a reservation in Hungry Valley, which is about 17 miles north of Reno....
.
Poetry
- Diet pepsi and nacho cheese: poems, 1977
- Coffee, dust devils and old rodeo bulls: poems, 1979 (with first husband Kirk Robertson)
- Small bones, little eyes: poems, 1981 (with Jim Sagel)
- A snake in her mouth: poems 1974-96, 1997
- Love at gunpoint, 2007
- whipped cream and sushi, 2008
Non-fiction
- After the Drying Up of the Water, a tribal history of the Fallon PaiutePaiutePaiute refers to three closely related groups of Native Americans — the Northern Paiute of California, Idaho, Nevada and Oregon; the Owens Valley Paiute of California and Nevada; and the Southern Paiute of Arizona, southeastern California and Nevada, and Utah.-Origin of name:The origin of...
-Shoshone, 1980
See also
- List of writers from peoples indigenous to the Americas
- Native American StudiesNative American StudiesNative American Studies is an interdisciplinary academic field that examines the history, culture, politics, issues and contemporary experience of Native peoples in North America, or, taking a hemispheric approach, the Americas...