CHEROKEE, N.C. – Museum of the Cherokee People (MotCP) has announced the 2024 Confluence: An Indigenous Writers’ Workshop, created in partnership with award-winning author Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians). From Sep. 20-23, aspiring and established writers are invited to participate in a series of workshops at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort Conference Center, where they will receive group and individual instruction from celebrated Indigenous authors, read and workshop their writing, and grow in their craft.
Two tracks are offered during Confluence: Christine Day (Upper Skagit Indian Tribe), author of the acclaimed middle-grade novel “We Still Belong”, leads a track focused on Young Adult Fiction. “Calling For A Blanket Dance” author Oscar Hokeah (Cherokee Nation, Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma) will instruct participants in the art of Literary Fiction. Each track will foster a welcoming environment for creative expression, discussion, and exchange.
Confluence was created in partnership with award-winning author and MotCP Board of Directors member Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle (EBCI) and debuted in 2023.
“When Annette joined the Museum’s board in 2022, she was passionate about giving our EBCI community access to quality writing instruction from Indigenous writers who are doing exceptional work in their field,” says MotCP Director of Education Dakota Brown (EBCI). “MotCP’s Division of Education is honored to uplift this important work as we enter the workshop’s second year. Confluence is one of many free community-focused workshops that MotCP offers through the Community Programming department, led by Manager of Community Programming Shennelle Feather (Diné/EBCI/Lakota), all designed to inspire our Cherokee community to learn, grow, and dream.”
Building the success of 2023’s program, led by authors Kelli Jo Ford (Cherokee Nation) and Andrea L. Rogers (Cherokee Nation), Confluence aims to be a resource for members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians interested in writing.
“I am thrilled that once again the Museum of the Cherokee People is offering this opportunity to our community members to study with the stars of Indigenous literature,” says Clapsaddle. “This year’s Confluence lineup features two authors who have put forth groundbreaking work and embody qualities of not only strong literary craftsmanship, but culturally representative narratives essential to our Native communities.”
Confluence: An Indigenous Writers’ Workshop is open to all, with priority given to enrolled members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and other federally recognized tribes. Participants may select one track of study: Young Adult Fiction or Literary Fiction. Space is limited and registration is required.
“After a successful inaugural year, Confluence continues to develop by meeting the specific needs of aspiring Indigenous writers at all stages of their creative lives,” Clapsaddle says. “I am excited to see this workshop series continue to grow and serve our community for years to come.”
Meet the Workshop Leaders
Christine Day (Photo by Jessica Wood)
Christine Day is a citizen of the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe. Her first novel, “I Can Make This Promise”, was a best book of the year from NPR, as well as a Charlotte Huck Award Honor Book, and an American Indian Youth Literature Award Honor Book. Her second novel, “The Sea in Winter”, was a Top 10 Indie Kids’ Next selection, a finalist for the Pacific Northwest Book Award, and an American Indian Youth Literature Award Honor Book. She also wrote “She Persisted: Maria Tallchief”, a biography in Chelsea Clinton’s book series about inspirational women.
Her most recent book, “We Still Belong”, released in the summer of 2023. In this warm hug of a novel, award-winning author Day assures readers that even with all the very real problems they may face, they are worthy, their voices matter—and they belong.
Christine lives with her family in the rainy and resplendent Pacific Northwest.
Oscar Hokeah (Photo by Dalton Perse)
Oscar Hokeah is a regionalist Native American writer of literary fiction, interested in capturing intertribal, transnational, and multicultural aspects within two tribally specific communities: Tahlequah and Lawton, Oklahoma. He was raised inside these tribal circles and continues to reside there today. He is a citizen of Cherokee Nation and the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma from his mother (Hokeah and Stopp families), and he has Mexican heritage from his father (Chavez family) who emigrated from Aldama, Chihuahua, Mexico. Oscar’s debut novel was recently longlisted for the 2023 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction.
He holds an M.A. in English from the University of Oklahoma, with a concentration in Native American Literature. He also holds a B.F.A. in creative writing from the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA), with a minor in Indigenous Liberal Studies. He is a recipient of the Truman Capote Scholarship Award through IAIA, and also a winner of the Native Writer Award through the Taos Summer Writers Conference. Hokeah has written for “Poets & Writers, Literary Hub, World Literature Today, American Short Fiction”, and elsewhere.
- Museum of the Cherokee People release
