Elissa Washuta

[2] She writes about sexual assault, mental health issues as a young adult, and struggling with her identity within the Indigenous community of the Pacific Northwest Coast.

[4] Washuta's mother is an enrolled member of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe and she lived in the Columbia River Gorge region.

[15] She is credited, with Joy Harjo, Sherwin Bitsui and Tommy Pico for widening the scope of Native American writings.

[4] She also contributed to This Is The Place: Women Writing About Home,[17] a Seal Press anthology and New York Times Editors Best Pick Choice.

[18] Washuta received the National Endowment for the Arts Literature Creative Writing Fellowship for $25,000[19] for general career advancement goals.