Trace DeMeyer

Trace A. DeMeyer, also known as Tracy Ann DeMeyer or Laura Jean Thrall-Bland, (b. 1956) is a multi-genre author, artist, poet and journalist of Shawnee-Cherokee descent. Her writing is mainly focused on Native Americans and Native American adoption issues.

Biography

DeMeyer was born on September 9, 1956 in St. Paul, Minnesota and was adopted in Wisconsin in 1957. When she was 22, DeMeyer began investigating her adoption, which was one of many that stemmed from the Indian Adoption Projects.[1] She was able to open her sealed adoption records,[2] and with the information she found in her adoption file, DeMeyer spent the next 27 years looking for and connecting with her biological relatives.[3]

Her memoir, One Small Sacrifice: Lost Children of the Indian Adoption Projects, chronicles the story of her adoption, and comments on both the history of the adoption of Native American children and its effect on those who were adopted. DeMeyer is an advocate for other Native American adoptees who are trying to discover their heritage. Her advocacy led to her and fellow adoptee[4] Patricia Busbee compiling many Native American adoptee stories into the anthology Two Worlds: Lost Children of the Indian Adoption Projects.

DeMeyer's past has influenced her career, leading her to write for, and about, Native American tribes across the country. She is often involved in important events related to the Native American population. DeMeyer interviewed political prisoner Leonard Peltier in 1998, while he was still a prisoner in Leavenworth, a federal prison.[3] In 2001, DeMeyer also attended the first intertribal Wiping the Tears Ceremony that was held in Wisconsin, where a public apology was issued by Shay Bilchik, who was the director of the Child Welfare League of America at the time.[3]

Career

DeMeyer graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Superior in 1978 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater and Communications. After graduating, DeMeyer was the lead singer and front-woman for a number of bands. She also worked on a ranch, was a business owner, managed a Smithsonian Museum audio tour, and was the assistant for the president of a record label.[3] She later became a staff writer, an editor and a publications manager for the publications news from Indian Country, Ojibwe Akiing,[5] Pequot Times and Sawyer County Record.[2][3]

DeMeyer is currently working on a number of digital technology projects. She has created a number of blogs, started a Twitter newspaper titled Modern Ndn, founded an online publishing company called Blue Hand Books, and teaches Introduction to Blogging 101 and Exploring Social Media at Greenfield Community College in Greenfield, Massachusetts.

Blue Hand Books

In 2011 DeMeyer founded Blue Hand Books, a publisher that features Native American authors.

Blue Hand Books helps Native American authors publish their work through the use of Amazon Create Space and PressBooks.[6] Among Blue Hand Books' published writers are John Christian Hopkins, James Chavers Jr., and DeMeyer herself.

Publications

Books

Poetry

In addition to her chapbook of poetry, Sleeps With Knives, DeMeyer has contributed poems to a number of publications:

Periodicals

DeMeyer has written for a number of publications throughout her career as a journalist. Many of her pieces were awarded or honored by the Native American Journalists Association (NAJA). Publications DeMeyer has written for include:

Awards

DeMeyer has received many awards from the Native American Journalists Association (NAJA), including:

References

  1. ↑ Encyclopædia Britannica. [<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1401304/Indian-Adoption-Project>. "Indian Adoption Projects"] Check |url= value (help). Encyclopædia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
  2. 1 2 Hopkins, John Christian (May 2010). "One Small Sacrifice: Lost Children of the Indian Adoption Projects". News from Indian Country.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 DeMeyer, Trace (2010). One Small Sacrifice: Lost Children of the Indian Adoption Projects. Greenfield, MA: Trace A. DeMeyer.
  4. ↑ Anonymous (October 4, 2012). "'TWO WORLDS, Lost Children of the Indian Adoption Projects' offers astounding narratives that challenge views on adoption". Char-Koosta News.
  5. ↑ DeMain, Paul (December 31, 1996). "Welcome to Ojibwe Akiing". Ojibwe Akiing.
  6. ↑ DeMeyer, Trace. "What you need to know about Blue Hand Books". Blogger. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
  7. ↑ Schaffer, Kay (2000). The Olympics at the Millennium: Power, Politics, and the Games. Rutgers University Press. p. 299. ISBN 978-0813528205.
  8. 1 2 Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation (July 1, 2003). "Pequot Times wins 7 awards". Pequot Times.
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