In this episode, we journey into the profound world of art, storytelling, and connection with the remarkable Joy Harjo, the first Native American poet laureate of the United States. Through her insightful keynote from the 2025 Bioneers Conference, Harjo shares her experiences and wisdom on the importance of listening, creativity, and the interconnectedness of all beings. We also feature a discussion with Cara Romero, Program Director of the Bioneers Indigeneity Program and a Chemehuevi artist and photographer. Join us as we explore the power of art in healing and community, and discover how we can cultivate a deeper relationship with the world around us.
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Resources/Articles:
Joy Harjo keynote at the 2025 Bioneers Conference: https://youtu.be/syx6U3igUE4?si=up6aheCdvGGF5Yiu
https://bioneers.org/art-and-healing-a-conversation-with-joy-harjo-and-cara-romero/
Once the World was Perfect by Joy Harjo: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/141846/once-the-world-was-perfect
Joy Harjo [http://www.joyharjo.com/] the 23rd U.S. Poet Laureate and member of the Muscogee Nation, is the author of ten books of poetry, several plays, children’s books, two memoirs, and seven music albums. The author of eleven books of poetry, including the highly acclaimed, Weaving Sundown in a Scarlet Light: Fifty Poems for Fifty Years, several plays, children's books, and non-fiction works, and two memoirs, Crazy Brave and Poet Warrior.
Her many honors include Yale’s 2023 Bollingen Prize for American Poetry, National Book Critics Circle Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award, the Ruth Lily Prize for Lifetime Achievement from the Poetry Foundation, the Academy of American Poets Wallace Stevens Award, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. Cloud Runner, Harjo's twelfth book of poetry, will be published by W.W. Norton in Fall of 2026.
She is a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets and Chair of the Native Arts & Cultures Foundation, and is the inaugural Artist-in-Residence for the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she lives.
Cara Romero (Chemehuevi), Program Director of the Bioneers Indigeneity Program, previously served her Mojave-based tribe in several capacities, including as: first Executive Director at the Chemehuevi Cultural Center, a member of the tribal council, and Chair of the Chemehuevi Education Board and Chemeuevi Headstart Policy Council. Cara is also a highly accomplished photographer/artist.
Jack Eidt is an environmental journalist, urban theorist and designer, and advocate for the wild, as well as award-winning fiction writer. He is Co-Founder of SoCal 350 Climate Action and Executive Producer of EcoJustice Radio. He writes for a PBS SoCal Artbound project called High & Dry [https://www.pbssocal.org/people/high-dry]. He is also Founder and Publisher of WilderUtopia [https://wilderutopia.com], a website dedicated to the question of Earth sustainability, finding society-level solutions to environmental, community, economic, transportation and energy needs. He also publishes articles and podcasts on Substack [https://jackeidt.substack.com/].
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Featured Guest: Joy Harjo, Cara Romero
Executive Producer and Host: Jack Eidt
Engineer: Blake Quake Beats
Show music: Jack Eidt and Blake Quake Beats
Episode 291
Photo credit: Joy Harjo/Matika