Laura Tohe (born 1952) is a Native American author and poet. She is

poet laureate A poet laureate (plural: poets laureate) is a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution, typically expected to compose poems for special events and occasions. Albertino Mussato of Padua and Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch ...

of the

Navajo Nation The Navajo Nation ( nv, Naabeehó Bináhásdzo), also known as Navajoland, is a Native American reservation in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah; at roughly , the ...

for 2015–2019, and is a

professor emerita ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

of English at Arizona State University. Tohe was born in

Fort Defiance, Arizona Fort Defiance ( nv, ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Apache County, Arizona, United States. It is also located within the Navajo Nation. The population was 3,624 at the 2010 census. History The land on which Fort Defiance was eventu ...

, the daughter of a Navajo

code talker A code talker was a person employed by the military during wartime to use a little-known language as a means of secret communication. The term is now usually associated with United States service members during the world wars who used their k ...

. She grew up speaking both Diné bizaad/Navajo language and English and was punished in school for speaking her native language due to assimilation. She earned a B.A. from the University of New Mexico in 1975, an M.A. from the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

in 1985, and a Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska in 1993. She has been affiliated with Arizona State University since 1994.

Selected works

Books

*''Making Friends with Water'' (Nosila Press, 1986) *''No Parole Today'' (West End Press, 1999) *''Tséyi' / Deep in the Rock: Reflections on Canyon de Chelly'' (with photographer Stephen E. Strom, University of Arizona Press, 2005) *''Code Talker Stories'' (Rio Nuevo Publishers, 2012)

Librettos

* Slayer, A Navajo Oratorio (With M. Grey, Naxos Digital Services US Inc. 2009)

Awards

* "Tseyi, Deep in the Rock" won the Glyph Award for Best Poetry (2007) *Navajo Nation Poet Laureate (2017)

References

External links

Personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tohe, Laura 1952 births Living people American librettists Native American poets Navajo women writers University of Nebraska–Lincoln alumni University of New Mexico alumni 20th-century American poets 20th-century American women writers 20th-century Native Americans 20th-century Native American women 21st-century Native American women Municipal Poets Laureate in the United States 21st-century Native American writers Native American women poets