Trace A. DeMeyer (also known as Tracy Ann DeMeyer or Laura Jean Thrall-Bland) is an American multi-genre author, artist, poet and journalist of

Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...

and

Cherokee descent Cherokee descent, "being of Cherokee descent", or "being a Cherokee descendant" are all terms for individuals who have some degree of documented Cherokee ancestry but do not meet the criteria for tribal citizenship. The terms are also used by indiv ...

. Her writing is mainly focused on Native Americans and Native American adoption issues.

Biography

DeMeyer began investigating her adoption at the age of 22, which was one of many that stemmed from the Indian Adoption Projects. She was able to open her sealed adoption records, and with the information she found in her adoption file, DeMeyer spent the next 27 years looking for and connecting with her biological relatives. Her memoir, ''One Small Sacrifice: Lost Children of the Indian Adoption Projects,'' chronicles the story of her adoption, and comments on both the history of the adoption of Native American children and its effect on those who were adopted. DeMeyer is an advocate for other Native American adoptees who are trying to discover their heritage. Her advocacy led to her and fellow adoptee Patricia Busbee compiling many Native American adoptee stories into the anthology ''Two Worlds: Lost Children of the Indian Adoption Projects''. DeMeyer's past has influenced her career, leading her to write for, and about, Native American tribes across the country. DeMeyer interviewed political prisoner

Leonard Peltier Leonard Peltier (born September 12, 1944) is a Native American activist and militant member of the American Indian Movement (AIM) who, following a controversial trial, was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of two Fed ...

in 1998, while he was still a prisoner in Leavenworth, a

federal prison A federal prison is operated under the jurisdiction of a federal government as opposed to a state or provincial body. Federal prisons are used for convicts who violated federal law (U.S., Mexico), inmates considered dangerous (Brazil), or those s ...

. In 2001, DeMeyer also attended the first intertribal Wiping the Tears Ceremony that was held in Wisconsin, where a public apology was issued by Shay Bilchik, who was the director of the

Child Welfare League of America The Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that coordinates efforts for child welfare in the United States, and provides direct support to agencies that serve children and families. The organization's visio ...

at the time.

Career

DeMeyer graduated from the

University of Wisconsin-Superior 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, t ...

in 1978 with a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students for pursuing a professional education in the visual, fine or performing arts. It is also called Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) in some cases. Background The Bachelor ...

in Theater and Communications. After graduating, DeMeyer was the lead singer and front-woman for a number of bands. She also worked on a ranch, was a business owner, managed a Smithsonian Museum audio tour, and was the assistant for the president of a record label. She later became a staff writer, an editor and a publications manager for the publications news from ''Indian Country'', ''Ojibwe Akiing'', ''Pequot Times'' and ''Sawyer County Record''.

Blue Hand Books

In 2011 DeMeyer founded Blue Hand Books, a publisher that features Native American authors. Blue Hand Books helps Native American authors publish their work through the use of Amazon Create Space and PressBooks. Among Blue Hand Books' published writers are John Christian Hopkins, James Chavers Jr., and DeMeyer herself.

Publications

Books

* Honor Restored: Jim Thorpe's Olympic Medals from ''Olympics at the Millennium: Power, Politics and the Games'', edited by Kay Shaffer and Sidonie Smith. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2000. * ''One Small Sacrifice: Lost Children of the Indian Adoption Projects''. Greenfield, MA: Blue Hand Books, 2012. * ''Sleeps with Knives'' (as Laramie Harlow). Greenfield, MA: Blue Hand Books, 2012. * ''Two Worlds: Lost Children of the Indian Adoption Projects''. Greenfield, MA: Blue Hand Books, 2012. * ''Unraveling the Spreading Cloth of Time'' (co-authored with MariJo Moore). Candler, NC: rENEGADE pLANETS pUBLISHING, 2013. ASIN B00C3M4824

Poetry

In addition to her

chapbook A chapbook is a small publication of up to about 40 pages, sometimes bound with a saddle stitch. In early modern Europe a chapbook was a type of printed street literature. Produced cheaply, chapbooks were commonly small, paper-covered bookle ...

of poetry, ''Sleeps With Knives'', DeMeyer has contributed poems to a number of publications: * What I Know in ''Spirit in the Woods'', Bozell Worldwide/DaimlerChrysler, 1999. * The Silence is So Loud in ''Invoking the Muse''. International World of Poetry, 2004. * Your God Doesn't Forget displayed in the

Memphis Brooks Museum of Art Memphis Brooks Museum of Art is an art museum in Memphis, Tennessee. The Brooks Museum, which was founded in 1916, is the oldest and largest art museum in the state of Tennessee. The museum is a privately funded nonprofit institution located in ...

, Tennessee, 2006. * Your God Doesn't Forget, People Waking Up, and Heart-shaped Ass, beauty in pounds in ''Yellow Medicine Review'', Spring 2008. Mankato, MN: Southern Minnesota State University, 2008. * Jump in ''Rabbit and Rose'' (Kim Shuck ed.), 2010 and ''River Blood Corn'', 2012. * Earth's Funeral, Swallow Manifesto and Heart-shaped Ass in ''I Was Indian Vol. 2''. Foothills Press, 2012. * Swimmer in ''30 Poems in November'', Massachusetts, 2012.

Awards

DeMeyer has received many awards from the

Native American Journalists Association The Native American Journalists Association, based in Norman, Oklahoma, on the campus of the University of Oklahoma, is an organization dedicated to supporting Native Americans in journalism. The organization hosts the annual National Native Media ...

(NAJA), including: * Best News Story, Honorable mention, "Free Peltier" (1998) * Pequot Times Monthly General Excellence (2nd place) (2003) * Best Feature Writing, Eastern Pequot Tribe (2nd place) (2003)