About
I’ve spent over a decade empowering Native American communities. From my work in Santa Fe, NM with Intermountain Youth Centers and the Santa Fe Mountain Center, I’ve worked with Pueblo, Apache, and Navajo peoples. Currently, living in my home town of Tahlequah, Oklahoma (in the heart of Cherokee Nation), I work with Indian Child Welfare, where I give back to the community that nurtured and embedded the Indigenous values I pass along to my children.
I’m a regionalist Native American writer of literary fiction, interested in capturing intertribal and multicultural aspects within two tribally specific communities: Tahlequah and Lawton, Oklahoma. I was raised inside these tribal circles and continue to reside there today–half Native American (Kiowa/Cherokee) and half Hispanic. I belong to the Stopp family in Tahlequah, and the Hokeah and Tahsequah families in Lawton (organized The Oklahoma Gourd Dance Club–we’re easy to find). I have family actively involved with the Comanche War Scouts Society, Comanche Little Ponies Society, and the Kiowa Tia-Piah Society.
I hold an M.A. in English from the University of Oklahoma, with a concentration in Native American Literature. I also hold a B.F.A. in Creative Writing from the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA), with a minor in Indigenous Liberal Studies. I’m a recipient of the Truman Capote Scholarship Award through IAIA, and also a winner of the Native Writer Award through the Taos Summer Writers Conference. I have short stories published in South Dakota Review, American Short Fiction, Yellow Medicine Review, Surreal South ’09, and Red Ink Magazine.
I am pleased that you like some of my work (Acehotel.blog). I am a distant Choctaw. I also lived in Oklahoma and have an anthropology degree from there. Long time ago. Good to read your work.
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Thank you Michael. 😊 I’m glad you stopped by. I hope to see you again soon.
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Thank you so much for your recent visit to my blog. Like many others I’m fascinated by pretty much all things Native American. Your list of accomplishments is highly impressive–congratulations. I wonder how many times you are compared to Sherman Alexie? So much gorgeous art, great literature and films come from those with Native American roots–the culture and spirituality is so rich. A couple years ago I watched a fine program about a family of hoop dancers–it was mesmerizing, the ballet of man and colorful hoops. Sorry for going on and on–I really just wanted to say “hello”, and God bless you abundantly 🙂
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Thank you Somewhere Sea. I’m glad to meet you. Thank you for your appreciation of Native culture. I’m excited to see more writing out here by Native writers. There is a lot to explore. Each tribe is so unique from another that there is a lot of opportunity to offer audiences cultural jewels. Please stop by often. iBook forward to our exchanges.
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I forgot to mention that I also love the Native American jewelry–specially the turquoise pieces! 🙂 Leslie
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Thanks for visiting my blog, and what a great thing for me to find yours. I grew up in Tulsa, and it may be that I’m (at best) 1/64th Cherokee. I look forward to reading more of what you have here.
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