Mitchell Museum to Host Native American Poets

A trio of notable Native American poets with upper Midwest roots will read and discuss their work at the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian’s first “Native American Poetry Night,” from 5 to 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 16, at the museum at 3001 Central Street, Evanston.

Kimberly Blaeser, Mark LaRoque, and Thirza Defoe will take part in the Mitchell’s observance of National Poetry Month.   Blaeser, a member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, grew up on the White Earth Nation Reservation in northern Minnesota. A professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, she worked as a journalist before earning a doctorate from the University of Notre Dame.

The Poetry Foundation says Blaeser’s work provides “intimate glimpses into the lives of her subjects through loose, conversational portraits of Native American life and culture.” Her book "Apprenticed to Justice" (Salt Publishing, 2007) is described by the publisher as “a collection of vividly rendered lyrical and narrative poems that trace the complex inheritances of 21st century Native America.” Her collection "Absentee Indians and Other Poems" (Michigan State University Press, 2002) “evokes personal yet universal experiences of the places that Native Americans call home, their family and national histories, and the emotional forces that help forge Native American identities,” the publisher says.  Blaeser’s "Trailing You" (Greenfield Review Press, 1994) won the Native Writers’ Circle of the Americas First Book Award.

LaRoque (Ojibwe), a Chicago-based writer who grew up on a Minnesota reservation, counts among his mentors the late, celebrated Chippewa poet and playwright E. Donald Two-Rivers.

He’ll read from his poetry and share childhood memories.

Audience members say LaRoque offers unique insight into the lives and emotions of Native Americans.

LaRoque tells listeners, “We can be humans on a spiritual journey, or we can be spirits on a human journey.”  When asked which journey he’s on, he says the latter.

When not pursuing literary interests, LaRoque works in the Chicago office of the nonprofit California Indian Manpower Consortium. 

The multi-talented Defoe (Ojibwe and Oneida) is a Milwaukee-based writer, singer, instrumentalist, and Native hoop dancer, as well as a stage, film, and voice-over performer. Originally from northern Wisconsin, she learned the art of traditional storytelling and knowledge of the Ojibwe language from her Ojibwe grandmother.

Her poems have appeared in the journals Thorny Locust, Pitkin Review, Woody Guthrie Anthology, and Kalihwisaks.

 She graduated from the California Institute of the Arts in 2004 with a B.F.A. in theater. Her acting credits include the starring role and narrator in the Emmy Award winning PBS documentary "People of the Forest." She has had principle roles in several feature films.

Defoe received the 2007 First American in the Arts Outstanding Performance Award and 2004 First Americans in the Arts Scholarship Award, among other honors.

Admission to Native Poetry Night at the Mitchell Museum is $8 for the general public, $5 for Mitchell members. The independent, nonprofit Mitchell Museum is at 3001 Central St., Evanston. For information, phone (847) 475-1030. On the Net: http://www.mitchellmuseum.org.