Ray Young Bear
Encyclopedia
Ray Young Bear is a Native American
poet and novelist of the Meskwaki
tribe.
Growing up on the Meskwaki Tribal Settlement
in Iowa
, he was encouraged to learn English
by his maternal grandmother, and he began to translate his poems into that language. His work was first published in 1968.
He writes about the dislocation of contemporary Native Americans who are pulled by two different cultures. He has written some prose fiction, but says that "all his writing is merely experiments with words" (Kratzert 1998). His novels, starting with Black Eagle Child (1992), describe his youth through the character of Edgar Bearchild. They combine first-person narrative, letters, religious imagery, and poetry. He often switches between English and the Meskwaki language to express himself more fully.
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 novelist of the Meskwaki
Meskwaki
The Meskwaki are a Native American people often known to outsiders as the Fox tribe. They have often been closely linked to the Sauk people. In their own language, the Meskwaki call themselves Meshkwahkihaki, which means "the Red-Earths." Historically their homelands were in the Great Lakes region...
tribe.
Growing up on the Meskwaki Tribal Settlement
Meskwaki Settlement, Iowa
The Meskwaki Settlement is an unincorporated community in Tama County, Iowa, United States, west of Tama. It is often called "the Sett" by residents. It is home to a sizable community of Meskwaki Indians, enrolled in the Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa, who maintain a tribal school,...
in Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, he was encouraged to learn English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
by his maternal grandmother, and he began to translate his poems into that language. His work was first published in 1968.
He writes about the dislocation of contemporary Native Americans who are pulled by two different cultures. He has written some prose fiction, but says that "all his writing is merely experiments with words" (Kratzert 1998). His novels, starting with Black Eagle Child (1992), describe his youth through the character of Edgar Bearchild. They combine first-person narrative, letters, religious imagery, and poetry. He often switches between English and the Meskwaki language to express himself more fully.
Poetry
- Grandmother (1975)
- Winter of the Salamander (1980)
- The Invisible Musician (1990)
- The Rock Island Hiking Club (2001)