Ray A. Young Bear is a lifetime resident of the Mesquakie (Red Earth) Tribal Settlement in central Iowa. His poems have appeared in The American Poetry Review, TriQuarterly, The Georgia Review, The Kenyon Review, and Harper's Anthology of 20th Century Native American Poetry, among other publications. His books include Winter of the Salamander (Harper & Row), The Invisible Musician (Holy Cow! Press), and Black Eagle Child: The Facepaint Narratives (Univ. of Iowa Press). He is currently at work on a nonfiction book, Stories From the Woodland Region, and a collection of poems, The Rock Island Hiking Club.