Beth Brant wrote based on her deep connection to her indigenous people and touched on the infliction of racism and colonization.
29 Facts About Beth Brant
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Beth Brant brought her writing to life from her personal experiences of being a lesbian, having an abusive spouse, and her mixed blood heritage from having a Mohawk father and a Scottish-Irish mother.
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Beth Brant's published works include three edited anthologies and three books of essays and short stories.
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Beth Brant was born in Detroit, Michigan on May 6,1941.
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Beth Brant was descended from a family of tribal leaders Chief Joseph Brant and Molly Brant from Tyendinaga.
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Beth Brant's father worked in an automobile factory, and later as a teacher.
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Beth Brant married her husband and became pregnant at the age of 17.
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Beth Brant went on to have three children named Kim, Jill, and Jennifer.
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Beth Brant's writing came later in her life at the age of forty when she had a monumental experience on a trip through the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory with Dorsz.
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The eagle landed on a nearby tree and Beth Brant stopped the car to bear witness at the creature.
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Beth Brant displayed writing ranges of humorous to aggressive and intense to spiritual writing.
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Beth Brant was born to write and was almost immediately recognized for her talents.
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Beth Brant was published the first year she began officially writing.
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Beth Brant was recognized by 1983 editors Adrienne Rich and Michelle Cliff from the lesbian periodical Sinister Wisdom who asked Brant to edit a collection of Native American woman's writing.
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Beth Brant's success continued with publication of Mohawk Trail in 1985.
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In 2003, Beth Brant continued with her second collection of essays called Testimony from the Faithful.
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Beth Brant embraced her connection with her Native Mohawk people while working on Testimony from the Faithful, and pursued her oral history as well.
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Beth Brant edited a series of autobiographical stories told by the Elders of the Tyendinaga Mohawk territory.
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Beth Brant's writing continued to be published in anthologies and periodicals, particularly focused on Native, feminist, and lesbian perspectives.
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Beth Brant played a pivotal role as one of the first lesbian-identifying Native American writers in North America.
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Beth Brant's work represents both her Native and lesbian sides.
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Beth Brant put value in being a mother and grandmother.
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Beth Brant had few role models when she began her writing career and encouraged Native American women writers who succeeded her.
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Beth Brant lectured at the University of British Columbia in 1989 and 1990 and guest lectured for classes in women's studies and Native American studies at the New College of the University of Toronto.
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Also, Beth Brant lectured and read at universities and culture centres across North America.
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Beth Brant contributed to a number of creative writing workshops, including the Women of Colour Writing Workshop held in Vancouver in 1991, the 1991 Michigan Festival of Writers in East Lansing, the International Feminist Book Fair held in Amsterdam in 1992, and the Flight of the Mind Writing Workshop in Eugene, Oregon in 1992.
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Beth Brant has always looked for ways to help others express themselves.
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Beth Brant participated in a project called Returning the Gift, which was designed to create new opportunities for Native writers to share their work.
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Beth Brant was an AIDS activist, working with People with AIDS and giving AIDS education workshops throughout Native communities.