Nick Martin is a member of the Sappony Tribe and a staff writer for Splinter, where he covers Indian Country. The views expressed in this commentary are his own. View more opinion articles on CNN.



(CNN) "I know there is something larger than the memory of a dispossessed people. We have seen it."

These words, from the poem " Grace ," rattle in my brain from time to time. They offer comfort in some moments, and inspiration in others. On Tuesday, when Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced that Joy Harjo, the writer behind these emotions, will succeed Tracy K. Smith to become the 23rd Poet Laureate, the words rang out again; this time, they took the form of hope.

Nick Martin

When she assumes the position in the fall, Harjo, a citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, will become the first Native American in United States history to claim the prestigious title. The honor was not entirely a surprise; if anything, it was the most logical step for Harjo to take in her career, given that the list of awards bestowed upon her over the last 40 years would trail on for the remainder of this column if I listed them out.

For those coming to her work just now, start with her 2004 collection, "How We Became Human," which provides a sampling of her work from the preceding three decades -- though I'd encourage those with the time and access to dive further back into her bibliography, hopefully opening with my longtime favorite, "I Give You Back." (You can read it here or watch her perform the hell out of it on HBO's "Def Poetry Jam" here .)

But for those of us who have long known Ms. Harjo's work, who have clung to it and repeated the above "fear" poem to ourselves in the dark of night, there exists something else in the announcement, present but unwritten, that cautiously bubbles in our hearts every time a Native artist grasps the nation by its eyes or ears.