Barney Bush

Shawnee/Cayuga poet and indigenous activist Barney Bush was born in Herod, Illinois. He earned a BA at Fort Lewis College and an MA in English and fine arts at the University of Idaho. Bush took nature, family, and his Native American heritage as subject matter. His collections of poetry include By Due Process (2004), Inherit the Blood (1985), and Petroglyphs (1982). Nato Records recorded several of his musical and spoken-word performances, including Left for Dead: Prisoners of the American Dream (1994). Several anthologies, including Harper’s Anthology of 20th Century Native American Poetry (1988) and Songs From This Earth on Turtle’s Back: Contemporary American Indian Poetry (1983), have featured his work.
 
Bush was a member of the Society of Artists, Composers, and Editors of Music. His honors include a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. He helped establish the Institute of the Southern Plains, a Cheyenne Indian school located in Oklahoma, and helped many universities develop Native American studies programs. He taught at the Institute of American Indian Arts and served as chair of the Council of the Vinyard Indian Settlement.