Esther Belin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Esther G. Belin
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At UC Berkeley's Lunch Poems in 2024
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| Born | July 2, 1968 Gallup, New Mexico |
| Occupation | Artist, writer, poet, writing instructor |
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| Literary movement | Works based upon Navajo philosophy of Saah Naagháí Bik’eh Hózho |
| Notable works | From the Belly of My Beauty, "Of Cartography: Poems (Sun Tracks)" |
| Notable awards | American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation (2000) |
Esther Belin, also known as Esther G. Belin (born July 2, 1968), is a Diné (Navajo) artist, writer, and poet. She also teaches writing. Her book, From the Belly of My Beauty, won the American Book Award in 2000. This award was given by the Before Columbus Foundation.
Esther Belin also helped edit The Diné Reader: An Anthology of Navajo Literature. This book came out in 2021. It was listed as one of the best books by American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL).
Contents
Early Life and Education
Esther Belin was born in Gallup, New Mexico, on July 2, 1968. Her parents, Susan and Eddie Belin, were Navajo. They raised her in Los Angeles, California. She is part of the Zia (Tłʼógi) clan of the Diné people. This connection comes through her mother's family.
Her parents moved to Riverside, California, because of a government program. This program relocated Native American families in the 1950s and 1960s. They attended a boarding school called Sherman Institute. There, they learned about a new way of life for five years.
Esther grew up with two siblings. She learned English to get by in the city. She spent her summers in New Mexico and Arizona on Navajo land. She did not learn the Navajo language as a child. This made it hard to talk with her relatives. She sometimes felt out of place in the city and on the Navajo Nation.
College and Creative Work
Belin went to the University of California, Berkeley. She worked with the Native American Studies department. She made three videos there. These videos were The Princess, Beyond the Squaw, and Surviving in This Place Called the United States. The Princess was shown at the L.A. Film Festival.
She gave a speech when she graduated in 1991. Later, Belin studied at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She earned a Master of Fine Arts degree. She also has a degree from Antioch University.
Writing and Art Career
Esther Belin wrote a book of poems called From the Belly of My Beauty. It was published in 1999. The book won the American Book Award in 2000. This collection of poems is about growing up as a Native American in Southern California. Her parents had moved there from the Navajo Nation.
Poetry Collections
Her book Of Cartography came out in 2017. This book of poems is set up using the Diné culture's Four Sacred Directions. Belin sees her poems as maps. She believes a person's identity is shaped by the land around them. She said, "Road stories are common for Navajo people. We travel a lot for work or school. You learn to appreciate your culture and the land as you drive and share stories."
She also writes poems online, like "X+X+X+X-X-X-X." A review in Library Journal said Belin describes the challenges of staying true to a "native lifestyle." Writing poetry helps her feel less alone.
In 2017, she was working on a poetry book about Jim Thorpe. He was a famous athlete from the Sac and Fox Nation. The writer Sherman Alexie has called Belin one of his favorite Native writers.
Editing and Teaching
Belin was an editor for The Diné Reader: An Anthology of Navajo Literature. This book was published in 2021. It was recognized by American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL). In 2021, Belin also helped with a project called Pandemic Chronicles, Volume 1.
Belin has taught writing to high school students. By 2012, she was teaching at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. By 2017, she worked at the Peaceful Spirit Treatment Center. This center helps people on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation. Since 2021, Belin has guided students in a special MFA program at the Institute for American Indian Arts.
Multi-Media Art
As a multi-media artist, Belin has created art installations. These include Bound Sky, Pretty Tough, and Standing on the Outside, Sitting on the Outside. She also makes jewelry. Her jewelry uses crystal beads, trade beads, shells, felted wool, and seeds. Belin is also a printmaker. She has been part of the Arroyo Arte Collective. She has also had a booth at the Santa Fe Indian Market.
Activism
Esther Belin speaks out against the Columbus Day holiday. She believes it celebrates Christopher Columbus, who treated Indigenous people unfairly. She supports a "Real History of the Americas" day. This day would celebrate Native American culture and traditions. It would also share the story of how the Americas were settled from the Native people's point of view.
Belin believes it is important for Native Americans to heal from past difficulties. She said in 2012, "it's super important for us to start that healing process... and to guide other people around their own trauma." Writer Jeff Berglund noted that for Belin, "writing is activism, activism is writing."
Personal Life
Esther Belin met Dan Edd, an artist, at the Institute of American Indian Arts. They got married and have four daughters: Sierra, Ruthie, Chamisa, and Santana. They were born between 1995 and 2003. All her daughters are artists. They have taken part in the Santa Fe Indian Market since they were young. They have grown up to be filmmakers, photographers, and artists.
Belin has raised her daughters to speak up for what they believe in. She feels it is important to protect their culture. She said, "People... don't want to be responsible for dropping the cultural ball of preservation."
After graduating from the University of California, Berkeley, Belin lived in Torreon, near the Navajo Nation, for over 20 years. She has also lived in Santa Fe and Farmington, New Mexico. Later, she lived in Durango, Colorado.
Works
Films
While at the University of California, Berkeley, Belin made:
- The Princess, shown at the L.A. Film Festival
- Beyond the Squaw
- Surviving in This Place Called the United States
Poetry
- Belin's books
- From the Belly of My Beauty (1999)
- Of Cartography: Poems (Sun Tracks) (2017)
- Poems in other books
- "Bringing Hannah Home"
- "Blues-ing on the Brown Vibe"
- "Night Travel"
Editor
- The Diné Reader: An Anthology of Navajo Literature (2021)
See also
