Roanna Shebala

Roanna “Rowie” Shebala is a Native American of the Dine (Navajo Tribe) and Shiwi (Zuni Tribe). Shebala is Tsenjikini clan, Born for Deeshchii’nii clan, her maternal grandparents are the Tótsohnii, and her paternal grandparents are the Naasht’ezhi Dine’e’. She is from Fort Defiance, AZ. Shebala earned her BS in Theater at Northern Arizona University and is a current MFA in Creative Writing student at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, NM. She is a spoken word artist who has been featured on four National Poetry Slam teams, a five-time representative on the Women of the World Poetry Slam, and a two-time representative for the Individual World Poetry Slam. Her work has been featured in Button Poetry, Indian Country Today, in various zines, and magazines such as Annick Press, Red Ink, Wicked Banshee Press, and Suspect Press. Shebala has performed her spoken word poetry at the Lincoln Center for the Out of Doors Project and nationally. She credits her father for gifting her with storytelling; her works combines story, poetry, and performance. She is also a member of Saad Bee Hozho: Dine Writiers’ Collective.