Tonya Holy Elk Reading

Tonya Holy Elk is an Indigenous Literature scholar and poet who serves as a selected liaison by the North Carolina Poet Laureate, Jaki Shelton Green, for North Carolina Native American communities. 

Tonya Holy Elk's poetry collection Roots & Blooms was published in 2025 and explores land, kinship, memory, and resilience through an Indigenous lens. Blending ancestral wisdom with contemporary existences, the collection celebrates cultural survival while honoring the beauty of everyday life. Each poem serves as both a remembrance of roots and vision of growth, reminding readers that healing and hope can flourish even in the face of hardship.