23.3004.02000
Sixty-eighth
Legislative Assembly SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 4002
of North Dakota
Introduced by
Senators Mathern, Estenson, Weston
Representatives Davis, D. Johnson, Vetter
1 A concurrent resolution designating Dr. Denise K. Lajimodiere as Poet Laureate of North
2 Dakota.
3 WHEREAS, Larry Woiwode was designated as Poet Laureate of the State of North Dakota
4 by the Fifty-fourth Legislative Assembly and served with honor and distinction in that capacity
5 until his death in April 2022; and
6 WHEREAS, Dr. Denise K. Lajimodiere was born in 1951 on the Turtle Mountain Indian
7 Reservation where she lived until her family relocated to Oregon, began writing poetry at the
8 age of 10 having her first poem published, and continued writing throughout high school, having
9 poems published in Franklin High School's anthology "The Conceited Scribbler"; and
10 WHEREAS, Dr. Denise K. Lajimodiere returned to North Dakota in 1972 to complete her
11 teaching degree at the University of North Dakota and later completed her master's and
12 doctorate degrees from the University of North Dakota; and
13 WHEREAS, Dr. Denise K. Lajimodiere has been decreed Associate Poet Laureate by North
14 Dakota Poet Laureate, Larry Woiwode; and
15 WHEREAS, Dr. Denise K. Lajimodiere is an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band
16 of Ojibwe, Belcourt, North Dakota, where she organized and led the Turtle Mountain Writers and
17 Artist workshops for middle and high school students; and
18 WHEREAS, Dr. Denise K. Lajimodiere is the editor of the Turtle Mountain Teen Writers
19 book of poetry titled "Heart of the Turtle"; and
20 WHEREAS, Dr. Denise K. Lajimodiere has published four books of poetry, "Dragonfly
21 Dance", "His Feathers Were Chains", "Bitter Tears", and "Thunderbird"; a children's book, "Josie
22 Dances"; and an academic book, "Stringing Rosaries: The History, The Unforgivable, and the
23 Healing of Northern Plains American Indian Boarding School Survivors"; and
24 WHEREAS, Dr. Denise K. Lajimodiere's poetry has been published in journals, magazines,
25 and anthologies, including "Humanities North Dakota Magazine", "Yellow Medicine Review",
Page No. 1 23.3004.02000
 Sixty-eighth
Legislative Assembly
1 "Original Local", "Storytelling Time", "The Beautiful", "St. Peter's B-List", "North Dakota is
2 Everywhere: An Anthology of Contemporary North Dakota Poets", "The Polaris Trilogy", and
3 "Drunken Boat"; and
4 WHEREAS, Dr. Denise K. Lajimodiere's books have received the North Dakota State
5 Library Association Notable Documents Award, Independent Book Publishers Benjamin Franklin
6 Award, Independent Press Awards, and Midwest Book Awards, and have been nominated for
7 the Minnesota Youth Reading Star of the North Award and the prestigious Stubbendieck Great
8 Plains Distinguished Book Prize; and
9 WHEREAS, Dr. Denise K. Lajimodiere has been a Poetry Fellow at Vermont Studio Center
10 in Vermont, Anderson Center and Mallard Island in Minnesota, and Soul Mountain in
11 Connecticut; and
12 WHEREAS, Dr. Denise K. Lajimodiere is a member of the North Dakota State University
13 Press Editorial Board; and
14 WHEREAS, Dr. Denise K. Lajimodiere’s poem, "Tawkwaymenahnah", has been adopted by
15 Carnegie Learning's language arts basal textbook for grades 6 through 12; and
16 WHEREAS, in 2021, Dr. Denise K. Lajimodiere was the invited poet with Joy Harjo,
17 National Poet Laureate, at the National Endowment for the Arts Big Read program, a
18 partnership between the National Endowment for the Arts and Arts Midwest, at the Plains
19 Museum in Fargo and was the featured poet author at the South Dakota Festival of Books; and
20 WHEREAS, Dr. Denise K. Lajimodiere is considered a national expert on American Indian
21 boarding schools and has given over 50 television, radio, and podcast interviews and has been
22 the invited speaker at numerous conferences, including Concordia Social Justice Advocates
23 Conference, Guest Lecture at Verizon, National Consortium on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in
24 the Courts, National Native American Boarding School Healing Conference, Northern Great
25 Plains History Conference, and the Midwest Law Enforcement Administrative Support
26 Conference;
27 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF NORTH DAKOTA, THE
28 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN:
29 That Dr. Denise K. Lajimodiere of Belcourt, North Dakota, is designated and shall serve as
30 Poet Laureate of North Dakota until a successor is named by the Legislative Assembly; and
Page No. 2 23.3004.02000
 Sixty-eighth
Legislative Assembly
1 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Secretary of State forward a copy of this resolution
2 to Dr. Denise K. Lajimodiere.
Page No. 3 23.3004.02000