Beth Brant
Encyclopedia
Beth E. Brant (* 1941 Melvindale, Michigan
, other source say in the Tyendinaga reservation in Ontario
) is a Mohawk
writer.
father. She grew up with her father’s family, on the Bay of Quinte Mohawk in Ontario
. Even in her childhood, she had experiences with racism because her mother’s family refused to admit any link to Natives. Most of her life she stayed in the border region of Ontario, Canada and Michigan, USA.
She married at 17, and gave birth to three daughters. After she divorced her violent, alcoholic husband, she got a job to support her family through daily life. She didn’t finish her education. At the age of 33, she came out as a lesbian
. In 1981 she began to write and publish anthologies on Native literature. Between 1989 and 1990 she lectured at the University of British Columbia
, and in 1993 at the University of Toronto
. She works temporarily as teacher for creative writing and lives in Detroit, MI.
Brant characterizes herself as a lesbian mother and grandmother, a Taurus, ascendant Scorpio, a dropout and a woman of the working class.
In 1984 and 1986 she was awarded the Creative Writing Award of the Michigan Council for the Arts, in 1991 the National Endowment for the Arts and 1992 the Canada Council Award in Creative Writing.
, like her experiences with racism
and sexism
, and takes the white immigrants of America into responsibility.
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, other source say in the Tyendinaga reservation in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
) is a Mohawk
Mohawk nation
Mohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
writer.
Life
Beth Brant is the daughter of a white mother (Scots-Irish) and a MohawkMohawk nation
Mohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
father. She grew up with her father’s family, on the Bay of Quinte Mohawk in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. Even in her childhood, she had experiences with racism because her mother’s family refused to admit any link to Natives. Most of her life she stayed in the border region of Ontario, Canada and Michigan, USA.
She married at 17, and gave birth to three daughters. After she divorced her violent, alcoholic husband, she got a job to support her family through daily life. She didn’t finish her education. At the age of 33, she came out as a lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
. In 1981 she began to write and publish anthologies on Native literature. Between 1989 and 1990 she lectured at the University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
, and in 1993 at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
. She works temporarily as teacher for creative writing and lives in Detroit, MI.
Brant characterizes herself as a lesbian mother and grandmother, a Taurus, ascendant Scorpio, a dropout and a woman of the working class.
In 1984 and 1986 she was awarded the Creative Writing Award of the Michigan Council for the Arts, in 1991 the National Endowment for the Arts and 1992 the Canada Council Award in Creative Writing.
Work
In her narratives, she broaches the issues that link her nationality and her homosexualityHomosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
, like her experiences with racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
and sexism
Sexism
Sexism, also known as gender discrimination or sex discrimination, is the application of the belief or attitude that there are characteristics implicit to one's gender that indirectly affect one's abilities in unrelated areas...
, and takes the white immigrants of America into responsibility.
- Mohawk Trail, 1985, ISBN 0-932379-02-8
- A Gathering of SpiritA Gathering of SpiritA Gathering of Spirit: A Collection of Writing and Art by North American Indian Women was the first published collection of Indigenous women's writing in North America, as well as the first anthology edited by an aboriginal woman....
, anthology of North American Indian women, 1988, ISBN 0-932379-55-9 - Food & Spirits, narratives, 1991, ISBN 0-932379-93-1
- Writing as Witness, Essay 1994, ISBN 0-88961-200-5
- I'll Sing `til the Day I Die, talks with Tyendinaga presbyters, 1995, ISBN 0-9698064-2-6