Native American
Haiku
Native American haiku frequently explore themes such as the natural world, seasons, community, and spiritual reflections, capturing moments of harmony and insight with poignant simplicity. This unique blend enriches the haiku form with deep connections to nature, ancestral wisdom, and the rhythms of indigenous life.
Native American poetry is a powerful tool for preserving and revitalizing Indigenous languages, traditions, and knowledge. Through poetry, writers can keep alive stories, beliefs, and cultural practices that have been passed down through generations.
Native American contributions to haiku reflect a deep connection to nature, spirituality, and storytelling, offering a unique perspective within these forms. Although haiku originated in Japan, some Native American poets have embraced this concise style, adapting its brevity and focus on nature to reflect Indigenous perspectives, blending traditional Indigenous themes and
cultural elements with the haiku's structure.
Native American poetry spans a wide range of styles, from traditional songs and
chants to modern free verse and experimental forms. The works of poets like
Joy Harjo, Leslie Marmon Silko, Simon Ortiz, Gerald Vizenor, N. Scott Momaday
and Sherman Alexie have brought greater visibility to contemporary Indigenous
literature. Their poetry often intertwines themes of resistance, cultural survival,
identity, and the trauma of colonization with personal narratives and communal
memory.
The haiku’s emphasis on capturing a moment in time and connecting it to broader natural or spiritual cycles resonates with Native American views on the world. By blending haiku structure with Indigenous themes, these poets create a fusion that honors both traditions while offering a unique lens on subjects like landscape, memory, and the passage of time.
The following Native American writers/poets are well versed in the haiku genre. Although they are not primarily known for Haiku, they have explored the form, written some haiku, and often their poetry resonates with haiku-like qualities:
Kimberly Blaeser (Ojibwe)
George Henry, Jr. (Ojibwe)
Raven Hail (Western Cherokee)
Mary Tall Mountain (Koyukon/Athabaskan)
Nora Marks Dauenhauer (Tlingit)
Donna Beaver (Tlingit/Tsimshian, Kaagwaataan/Wolf Clan)
William Oandasan (Yuki/Round Valley)
Barbara Robidoux (Cherokee)
Joy Harjo (Muscogee Creek)
Sherwin Bitsui (Diné)
Maurice Kenny (Mohawk)
Elizabeth Woody (Navajo/Warm Springs/Wasco/Yakama)
Tacey Atsitty (Diné)
Layli Long Soldier (Oglala Lakota)
Natalie Diaz (Mojave)
For more information on the history Native American Haiku, go to Charles Trumbull’s two essays printed in Modern Haiku. Parts I and II can be accessed in the links below.
https://www.modernhaiku.org/issue48-3/MH48-3-Trumbull-NativeAmerican.pdf
https://www.modernhaiku.org/issue49-1/Trumbull-NativeAmericanPart2-MH49-1.pdf
