The Sacred Hoop Poem Analysis

Joy Harjo is a writer that enjoyed writing about events or situations that pertained to her life. She was a women’s rights activist but enjoyed writing about her Native American culture and how she believed the environment and all living things had a deeper, more spiritual connection. Her Native American background is crucial to be aware of when reading her poems. She incorporates her beliefs within her writings and that’s what makes her writing so deep in meaning. Her work usually shows an ecocriticism viewpoint. Ecocriticism is the study of literature and the environment from an interdisciplinary point of view, where literature scholars analyze texts that illustrate environmental concerns and examine the various ways literature treats the subject of nature. Harjo’s writing can be related to the essays “The Sacred Hoop” written by Paula Allen, and “Nature and Silence” written by Christopher Manes. “The Sacred Hoop” helps the reader understand the deeper connections people share with the environmental world around them. “Nature and Silence” encourages the reader to understand that nature has a voice, in the sense that

Harjo used imagery when she says, “circled of motion” as to show how majestic and beautiful life can be. Understanding Harjo’s view can be further understood by reading “The Sacred Hoop”. The sacred hoop is a symbol Allen uses to show the Indian’s perception on a circular, dynamic universe “where all things are related, are of one family, then what attributes man possesses are naturally going to be attributes of all beings.” (Allen 5). Harjo’s perception is that the eagle represents our lives. We are beautiful creatures, we are dynamic, and our lives seems to always come full circle. The circle of life is never ending. From the time we are born to the time we die, we are always impacting our environment just as the environment is impacting our