Biography Biography
Simon J. Ortiz, an Acoma [AKO-ME] Pueblo Native American, was born on 27 May 1941 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He grew up in the Acoma village of McCartys (Deetseyamah), a part of the Eagle clan (Dyaanih hanoh). As a child, Ortiz enjoyed close ties with his family, which included his mother, father, and older sisters. Those relationships were further strengthened by connections with the clan. As a part of this group, Ortiz spoke the Acoma language (Aacpumeh dzehni), which is peppered with English and 'Acomaized' Spanish.
"This early language from birth to six years of age in the Acoma family and community was the basis and source of all I would do later in poetry, short fiction, essay, and other work..."-Simon Ortiz Woven Stone
Until the sixth grade, Ortiz primarily attended the U.S. government McCartys Day School, where students were required to learn and speak English.
"Though it was forbidden and punishable with a hard crack by the teacher's ruler across the back or knuckles, we continued to speak in our Aacqumeh dzehni, surreptitiously in the classroom and openly on the playground unless teachers were around." -Simon Ortiz Woven Stone
Ortiz professes having a love of, and interest in language from a very young age, but did not, however see himself as a poet. In early adolescence he experimented with singing and song writing . He was first published as a poet, when at the tender age of eleven, his Mother's Day poem was printed in the Skull Valley School newspaper. It was 1954 and his father's work had moved the family away from the pueblo, to Skull Valley, Arizona for the year.
"For the first time in my life...I felt like a minority. I couldn't talk about it, however, much less describe the feeling; up to then, I don't think I'd ever heard terms like 'segregation' or 'discrimination' or even 'minority'." -Simon Ortiz Woven Stone
Ortiz was extremely successful as a high school student and as a young man had already determined to be a writer. He kept a journal and read voraciously, despite occasional discouragement in both endeavors. It was difficult to be an ambitious Native American in the 1950’s. This was an era in which the U.S. government’s policies concerning indigenous peoples were not much better than they had been 200 years before. The greatest goal offered was to learn a trade and get a job. So, shortly after graduation, in 1960, Ortiz went to work in the mining industry.
"Fight Back: For the Sake of the People, For the Sake of the Land…its stories and poems, although not written until twenty years later, as the industry was winding down, were being formed in my experience and perception of it in my early adulthood. It was a time when I was aware of being on my own, forming my views, confirming my feelings , and becoming aware politically."---Simon Ortiz Woven Stone
Ortiz’s developing sense of who he was also included a sense of who his people were. A part of this came from the great admiration he held for his grandfather, who was a spiritual leader and man of some importance among his people. This new awareness of his culture’s plight in America would help lead to a darker time in Ortiz’s life.
"I wanted us to fight back with a strong sense of our culture, language, and identity, and it seemed to me that we weren’t doing so – at least not in my estimation. My concern turned inward and became too thoughtful, alienated, egotistical, and careless...I also began to drink heavily for the first time."---Simon Ortiz Woven Stone
Ortiz spent time in the army in the 1960’s where he claims to have had his first real experience with discrimination while in Louisiana for basic training. He also went on to attend several colleges, including Ft.Lewis College, University of New Mexico, and the University of Iowa where he was a Fellow in the International Writing Program. Since then Ortiz has won awards such as the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writer's Circle of the Americas (1993), and taught at numerous institutions including: the Institute of American Indian Arts, Navajo Community College, Sinte Gleska College, San Diego State University, Marin College, Lewis and Clark College, Colorado College, and the three colleges he himself attended . In addition to lecturing, Ortiz is still writes, makes appearances, and contributes to the works of others.
Ortiz has three daughters, Raho Nez, Rainy Dawn, and Sara Marie. The latest available information on Ortiz is that he is divorced from his wife Marlene, newly recovering from alcoholism, and living in his native Deetseyamah, New Mexico. These personal details are included here only because he himself includes these experiences in his writings and states them plainly on several occasions in his works. No disrespect is intended.
"As an Aacqumeh hahtrudzai and a writer, I believe that being real in a real world is loving and respecting myself. This I believe has always been the true and real vision of Indigenous People of the Americas: to love, respect, and be responsible to ourselves and others, and to behold with passion and awe the wonders and bounty and beauty of creation and the world around us"---Simon Ortiz Woven Stone
