Greetings.
My name is Khara Ellasante, and I'm a first-year master's
student in American Indian studies
here at the University of Arizona.
I am honored to introduce tonight's author and privileged
to be her student.
Luci Tapahonso is Diné and the author of five volumes
of poetry and three children's books.
She is a professor of American Indian studies and English,
and a--
excuse me-- she is a professor of American Indian studies
and English at the University of Arizona,
having previously taught at the University of Kansas
and the University of New Mexico.
Professor Tapahonso has been honored
with a number of awards, including the 2006 Lifetime
Achievement Award from the Native Writers'
Circle of the Americas, the 2007 Lawrence Clark Powell
lecture, and the 2002 American Indian Leadership
Award received from the University of Kansas
for her integral role in establishing the Indigenous
Nation Studies Graduate Program there.
She was also awarded the Kansas Governor's Art Award
and Distinguished Woman of the Year awards
from both the National Association
of Women in Education and the Girl Scouts Council of America
in 1998.
Professor Tapahonso has also received
the honor of Storyteller of the Year
by the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers
and was invited to serve twice as the Grand
Marshal of the Northern Navajo Fair
in her home community of Shiprock, New Mexico.
Her book "Blue Horses Rush In" was
awarded the Mountain and Plains Booksellers Association's award
for poetry in 1998.
And in 2008, her latest book "A Radiant Curve,"
was selected for the Arizona Book Award for poetry.
Professor Tapahonso's work has appeared
in many print and media productions in the US
and internationally and, in fact,
has been translated in at least four languages.
She has served on many advisory and editorial boards
and demonstrates her strong commitment
to her community from the national to the local levels.
She is widely sought after as a speaker,
and we are honored to have her with us tonight.
Please join me in welcoming Luci Tapahonso.
[APPLAUSE]