This poetry symposium was planned in conjunction with Native American Heritage Month and featured three poets of Native Heritage from the region. Each of these poets brought a different voice to the conversation and connected Murdering and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls to the broader topic of social justice.

Selected Poetry:

• Grief/These Waves by NE,ENTENOT Elliott

• I’m the ghost by NE,ENTENOT Elliott

• Forget me not by Gabrielle Joy Dan

• Three poems & accompanying artwork by Alan “Awohali Egbe” Smith (MISSING/FOUND, MURDERED/ALIVE and The Voice of an Afro Indigenous Woman/Ode to Audre)

Poet Biographies:

• NE,ENTENOT Elliott (she/her) is a radical queer artist of W̱ SÁNEĆ and mixed white ancestry and a member of the Tsartlip First Nation. Raised on her traditional territory on so-called Vancouver Island, NE,ENTENOT has lived in so-called Seattle since 2013. NE,ENTENOT co-facilitated the Writing Warriors Indigenous writing group from 2013-2019.

• Gabrielle Joy Dan or “Gabby” is a writer, actress and a breast cancer survivor. Gabby spent 8 years training under acting coaches & agencies when she got cast to work on a few independent films. While working on camera she found her passion for writing and didn’t stop. After growing up in Hawai’i her whole life; She was able to reconnect with her late mother’s family & moved home to Swinomish in 2019. While going through chemotherapy last year, she had to stay inside a lot. Writing poetry about mother earth helped her to maintain her connection with nature and give her strength. Gabby hopes to provide you with a reflection of our bond with the environment through her poetry & advocate for young breast cancer patients. You can visit her instagram account at @imgabbylon.

• Alan “Awohali Egbe” Smith: Artist, educator, Alan Smith of Cherokee, Lumbee, and Igbo (Nigerian) ancestry with his partner, Jacob of Cherokee ancestry, raised a boy with Peruvian ancestry. He’s visited 47 U.S. States, 23 countries and 7 continents. Holding a bachelor's, 3 master's and finishing a doctorate degree, he’s taught at grade schools and universities. You can visit his website at www.alansmithart.com

Poet Statements:

• NE,ENTENOT Elliott: I write with a voice that has been shaped by Indian School Survivors, single moms, healing and trauma; medicine, spirit and salt water. The shadow of Residential Schools has been wide. Our loved ones have gone missing in so many different ways. I write tears and I write salve to honour and connect with so much that have been lost.

• Gabrielle Joy Dan: Our indigenous people have notoriously lacked justice. I witnessed this firsthand when I was a stolen sister. Although I was lucky enough to survive, I was inspired to write this poem for my dear relative and sisters who never made it home to us. I hope this poem will help people see the pain our families continue to feel after our sisters are taken from us. Our women and girls are 10x more likely to be murdered then all other ethnicities. Jurisdictional issues make it extremely difficult to start an investigation. Through my poetry I aim to raise awareness for those who are no longer here to advocate for themselves. Our sisters will never be forgotten as long as we continue to raise our voices.

• Alan “Awohali Egbe” Smith: I’ve spent my life nurturing in me and others a passion for peace and justice. My art whether it’s writing, drawing, painting or photography reflects my desire to facilitate deep, enduring and equitable connections with people and the planet. A long distance runner, I know the value of patience, perseverance, persistence, and pacing, and use these tools in all endeavors. From tutoring young people in the poverty stricken south Bronx, to directing a summer aquatics camp for persons with disabilities, to helping run a school and soup kitchen and building houses for the Lakota, to taking youth to New Orleans to help clean up after Hurricane Katrina, I treasure the work of empowering the marginalized. I am a passionate advocate for life-long learning. Having taught students from kindergarten to university, my philosophy of education begins with the idea that we are all teachers and learners. Thus, cultivating horizontal relationships rather than hierarchical ones has been my lifelong pursuit.  We cannot see eye to eye until we see eye to eye. I seek to follow my father’s advice to “Learn to love the unpredictability of life,” and my mother’s advice to “Leave a place better than you found it.”