Elissa Washuta is a Native American author from the Cowlitz people of

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

State. She has written two memoirs about her young adulthood, ''Starvation Mode: a Memoir of Food, Consumption and Control'' and ''My Body is a Book of Rules'', about her personal history with

eating disorder An eating disorder is a mental disorder defined by abnormal eating behaviors that adversely affect a person's health, physical or mental health, mental health. These behaviors may include eating too much food or too little food. Types of eatin ...

s and

body dysmorphia Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), also known in some contexts as dysmorphophobia, is a mental disorder defined by an overwhelming preoccupation with a perceived flaw in one's physical appearance. In BDD's delusional variant, the flaw is imagined ...

. She writes about

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally Physical intimacy, sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or Coercion, coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their w ...

mental health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

issues as a young adult, and struggling with her identity within the

Indigenous community There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

of the Pacific Northwest Coast. In 2019 Washuta was an assistant professor of English in the Creative Writing program at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

Early life and education

Washuta's mother is an enrolled member of the

Cowlitz Indian Tribe The Cowlitz Indian Tribe is a federally recognized tribe of Cowlitz people. They are a tribe of Southwestern Coast Salish and Sahaptan indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest located in Washington. Other Cowlitz people are enrolled in the C ...

and she lived in the

Columbia River Gorge The Columbia River Gorge is a canyon of the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Up to deep, the canyon stretches for over as the river winds westward through the Cascade Range, forming the boundary between the state ...

region. Her parents met whilst they were at college in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

and they moved together to

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. Washuta graduated from high school in

Hackettstown, New Jersey Hackettstown is a Town (New Jersey), town in Warren County, New Jersey, Warren County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is perhaps best known as the home to the US headquarters of Mars Inc., Mars, Inc.. As of the 2020 United States census, t ...

in 2003. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, her family were the only enrolled members of the Cowlitz tribe in her hometown. The Cowlitz tribe had no reservation until 2015, when the federal government awarded it 152 acres near Ridgefield in

Clark County, Washington Clark County is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 503,311, making it Washington's fifth-most populous county. Its county seat and largest city is Vancouver. It was the first ...

. Washuta graduated summa cum laude from the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

in 2007 and earned a master's degree in

Creative Writing Creative writing is any writing that goes beyond the boundaries of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on craft and technique, such as narrative structure, character ...

with a distinction in Fiction Writing from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

in 2009.

Career

While she worked at the Richard Hugo House, Seattle's center for writers, Washuta mentored emerging writers. She led classes titled "Writing Your Darkest Day" and "Essential Elements of Memoir: Narrative Momentum". From 2010 to 2014, Washuta was a lecturer at the University of Washington. She was the summer's Writer-In-Residence describing the history of Seattle's

Fremont Bridge Fremont Bridge may refer to: * Fremont Bridge (Portland, Oregon) * Fremont Bridge (Seattle) The Fremont Bridge is a double-leaf bascule bridge that spans the Fremont Cut in Seattle, Washington. The bridge, which connects Fremont Avenue North a ...

in 2016. She worked as a writer for the

Institute of American Indian Arts The Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) is a public tribal land-grant college in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States. The college focuses on Native American art. It operates the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA), which is housed ...

before she became Assistant Professor at

, teaching courses focused on Creative Writing since her debut at the university in 2017. She was invited to read at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

as part of the Spring 201
Barbara & David Zalaznick Creative Writing Reading Series
She is credited, with

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 from 2019 to 2022, the first Native American to hold that honor. She was also only the second Poet Laureat ...

Sherwin Bitsui Sherwin Bitsui is a Navajo writer and poet. His book of poems, ''Flood Song'' (2009), won the American Book Award and the PEN Open Book Award. Life and education Bitsui was born in 1974. He is originally from Whitecone, Arizona. He is Navajo; ...

and Tommy Pico for widening the scope of Native American writings. From July 2010 to June 2017, she was the Academic Counselor for the Department of American Indian Studies at the

. She also served as the Interim Youth Programs Coordinator for eight months at the

Richard Hugo House Hugo House is a non-profit community writing center in Seattle, Washington. About Hugo House was founded in 1997 by Linda Jaech, Frances McCue, and Andrea Lewis. These three writers believed Seattle needed a center for local writers and reade ...

from December 2010 to July 2011. Washuta has written essays for ''Guernica'' and

Salon.com ''Salon'' is an American politically progressive and liberal news and opinion website created in 1995. It publishes articles on U.S. politics, culture, and current events. Content and coverage ''Salon'' covers a variety of topics, includ ...

. She was the co-editor of the anthology ''Exquisite Vessel: Shapes of Native Nonfiction,'' from

University of Washington Press The University of Washington Press is an American academic publishing house. The organization is a division of the University of Washington, based in Seattle. Although the division functions autonomously, it has worked to assist the university' ...

. She also contributed to ''This Is The Place: Women Writing About Home,'' a

Seal Press Basic Books is a book publisher founded in 1950 and located in New York City, now an imprint of Hachette Book Group. It publishes books in the fields of psychology, philosophy, economics, science, politics, sociology, current affairs, and his ...

anthology and New York Times Editors Best Pick Choice. Washuta received the National Endowment for the Arts Literature Creative Writing Fellowship for $25,000 for general career advancement goals. She has received the Artists Trusts Innovator Award which is awarded to artists with exceptional talent and abilities. She has won the 4Culture Art Project Award which is granted to an individual in

King County King County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Washington, and the 12th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is Seattle ...

, Washington, to help to share their work. ''My Body Is a Book of Rules'' was a finalist for the

Washington State Book Award The Washington State Book Awards is a literary awards program presented annually in recognition of notable books written by Washington authors in the previous year. The program was established in 1967 as the Governor's Writers Awards. Each year, u ...

in 2015.

Publications

;Essays * "The wrongheaded obsession with 'vanishing' indigenous peoples" (November 2013,

) * "I am not Pocahontas" (September 2014, The Weeklings) * "This Indian Does Not Owe You" (September 2014,

Buzzfeed News ''BuzzFeed News'' was an American news website published by BuzzFeed beginning in 2011. It ceased posting new hard news content in May 2023. It published a number of high-profile scoops, including the Steele dossier, for which it was strong ...

) * Consumption (June 2015, ''

Electric Literature ''Electric Literature'' is an American literary magazine. History Founded by Andy Hunter and Scott Lindenbaum in 2009 as a print quarterly journal, ''Electric Literature'' transitioned to a daily website in 2012 under the helm of Halimah Ma ...

'') * "They Just Dig: On Writing, Coal Mining, and Fear" (March 2016, ''

Literary Hub ''Literary Hub'' or ''LitHub'' is a daily literary website that was launched in 2015 by Grove Atlantic president and publisher Morgan Entrekin, American Society of Magazine Editors Hall of Fame editor Terry McDonell, and '' Electric Literatur ...

'') * "Apocalypse Logic" (November 2016, ''The Offing'') * "White City" (March 2017, ''The Offing'') * "Shark Girl" (April 2017, '' CityArts Magazine'') * "Wednesday Addams Is Just Another Settler" (November 2017, ''Electric Literature'') * "The Sun Disappears" (November 2018, ''

Canadian Art Canadian art refers to the visual arts, visual (including painting, photography, and printmaking) as well as plastic arts (such as sculpture) originating from the geographical area of contemporary Canada. Art in Canada is marked by thousands of ...

'')

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Washuta, Elissa Living people Writers from Washington (state) 21st-century American women writers 21st-century American essayists 21st-century American memoirists American women memoirists Coast Salish people Cowlitz Indian Tribe people Native American essayists American women essayists Ohio State University faculty University of Maryland, College Park alumni University of Washington alumni Writers from New Jersey 21st-century Native American women American women academics Native American women writers Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Native American writers Native American memoirists Native American women memoirists