Chrystos (; born November 7, 1946, as Christina Smith) is a

Menominee The Menominee (; mez, omǣqnomenēwak meaning ''"Menominee People"'', also spelled Menomini, derived from the Ojibwe language word for "Wild Rice People"; known as ''Mamaceqtaw'', "the people", in the Menominee language) are a federally reco ...

writer and

two-spirit Two-spirit (also two spirit, 2S or, occasionally, twospirited) is a modern, , umbrella term used by some Indigenous North Americans to describe Native people in their communities who fulfill a traditional third-gender (or other gender-varian ...

activist who has published various books and poems that explore indigenous Americans's

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life ...

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, Equal opportunity, opportunities, and Social privilege, privileges within a society. In Western Civilization, Western and Culture of Asia, Asian cultures, the concept of social ...

, and

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

. Chrystos is also a lecturer, writing teacher and fine-artist. The poet uses the pronouns "they" and "them".

Life and career

Chrystos – a resident of Ocean Shores, Washington since 2011 – is a lesbian- and

-identifying writer, artist and activist. Born off-

reservation __NOTOC__ Reservation may refer to: Places Types of places: * Indian reservation, in the United States * Military base, often called reservations * Nature reserve Government and law * Reservation (law), a caveat to a treaty * Reservation in India, ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

, self-identifying as an

urban Indian Urban Indians are American Indians and Canadian First Nations peoples who live in urban areas. Urban Indians represent a growing proportion of the Native population in the United States. The National Urban Indian Family Coalition (NUIFC) consi ...

, Chrystos was taught to read by a self-educated father, and began writing poetry at age nine. Chrystos has written of a difficult, "emotional and abnormal" childhood, including sexual abuse by a relative, life with an abusive and depressed Euro-immigrant mother, and a

father who was a WW2 veteran. At the age of seventeen, Chrystos was placed into a mental institution. They would be re-institutionalized several more times before deciding it was ineffective in helping their mental health issues. A self-described political poet, Chrystos was inspired by familial

angst Angst is fear or anxiety (''anguish'' is its Latinate equivalent, and the words ''anxious'' and ''anxiety'' are of similar origin). The dictionary definition for angst is a feeling of anxiety, apprehension, or insecurity. Etymology The word ...

stemming from European American cultural hegemony, and more positively influenced by the work of

Audre Lorde Audre Lorde (; born Audrey Geraldine Lorde; February 18, 1934 – November 17, 1992) was an American writer, womanist, radical feminist, professor, and civil rights activist. She was a self-described "black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet," wh ...

Joy Harjo Joy Harjo ( ; born May 9, 1951) is an American poet, musician, playwright, and author. She served as the 23rd United States Poet Laureate, the first Native American to hold that honor. She was also only the second Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetr ...

Elizabeth Woody Elizabeth Woody (born 1959) is an American Navajo/ Warm Springs/Wasco/Yakama artist, author, and educator. In March 2016, she was the first Native American to be named poet laureate of Oregon by Governor Kate Brown. Background Elizabeth Woody w ...

, and

Lillian Pitt Lillian Pitt (born 1944) is a Native American artist from the Columbia River Plateau region of the Pacific Northwest. Her Native American name is Wak’amu ( camas root), chosen because it represents a "stubborn plant that won’t let go of the ...

, among others, to produce a series of volumes of poetry and prose throughout the 1980s and 1990s . Chrystos' work focuses on

issues, such as how

colonialism Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their rel ...

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the L ...

, class and

gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures us ...

affect the lives of women and

Indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

. Much of the writer's childhood is evident in works about street life, gardening, mental institutions, incest, "the Man" (

authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic votin ...

patriarchy Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of dominance and privilege are primarily held by men. It is used, both as a technical anthropological term for families or clans controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males a ...

), love, sex, and hate. The works are primarily intended for an audience of Native American / First Nations,

people of color The term "person of color" ( : people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is primarily used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is primarily associated with, the U ...

more broadly, and lesbians. The works are also aimed at raising awareness of Native American heritage and culture, while breaking down stereotypes. Chrystos self-illustrated many of the covers, and usually had the books published in Canada to work around censorious American publishers and "very little support for writers" in the United States. While they are better known for their poems about social justice, Chrystos also has a significant body of erotic poetry. This work has been called "delicious reading" and adopts a celebratory tone, in contrast to the darker themes in their other work. They co-edited ''Best Lesbian Erotica 1999'' with Tristan Taormino. Chrystos' awards and honors include a

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federa ...

grant, the Human Rights Freedom of Expression Award, the Sappho Award of Distinction from the Astrea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, a Barbara Deming Grant, and the Audre Lorde International Poetry Competition. Chrystos' activism has focused on efforts to free Norma Jean Croy and Leonard Peltier, and the rights of tribes such as the

Diné The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...

(Navajo) and Mohawk people. In a 2010 interview with Black Coffee Poet, Chrystos described their social justice interests as "diverse," citing abortion, wife-battering, and prisoner issues, although they acknowledge these issues are of "no immediate benefit" to them.

Bibliography

*'' This Bridge Called My Back'' (anthology) Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press, 1981; contributor *''Not Vanishing'', Vancouver: Press Gang Publishers, 1988, *''Dream On'', Vancouver: Press Gang Publishers, 1991 *''In Her I Am'', Vancouver: Press Gang Publishers, 1993 *''Fugitive Colors'', Cleveland: Cleveland State University Poetry Center, 1995, *''Fire Power'', Vancouver: Press Gang Publishers, 1995, *''Some Poems by People I Like'' (anthology of 5 poets; Sandra Alland, editor) Toronto: SandrasLittleBookshop, 2007, ; contributor *''Best Lesbian Erotica 1999'', Cleis Press, 1999, ; co-editor

References

*Bealy, Joanne. "An Interview with Chrystos"; ''

Off Our Backs ''Off Our Backs'' (stylized in all lowercase; ''oob'') was an American radical feminist periodical that ran from 1970 to 2008. It began publishing on February 27, 1970, with a twelve-page tabloid first issue. From 2002 the editors adapted it ...

'', Vol. 33, September 2003, p. 11 *E. Centime Zeleke. "Speaking about Language". ''Canadian Woman Studies'', Vol. 16, No. 2, 1996, pp. 33–35. *Retter, Yolanda. "Chrystos". ''Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered History in America'', Vol. 1. Edited by Marc Stein. Detroit: Scribner's; 2004, pp. 214–215,
"Chrystos"
biographical entry at the ''Voices in the Gaps'' database of the University of Minnesota; 2009. (PDF download from the target page.)

External links

{{Authority control 1946 births 20th-century Native Americans Living people American lesbian writers American writers of Native American descent Two-spirit people Writers from San Francisco Writers from Bainbridge Island, Washington Menominee people American LGBT poets LGBT people from Washington (state) American women poets 20th-century American poets 20th-century American women writers Non-binary writers Non-binary activists 20th-century Native American women 21st-century LGBT people

Life and career

Bibliography

See also

References

External links