Distinguished Alumni Award, University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond, Oklahoma, 2006
Envision 2005 Retreat at Bard College, Voice & Vision Theater for the Development of Women’s Voices, New York City
National Endowment for the Arts, 2003, 1990
Juniper Prize, University of Massachusetts Press, 2003
Arts and Science Distinguished Alumni Award, University of Missouri, 2003
Jerome Travel Grant, 2003, 1995, 1990
Oklahoma Book Award, 2003
Wallace Faculty Travel Grant, Macalester College, 2002, 2001, 1999, 1993
Works-in-Progress Fellowship, Red Eye Theatre, Minneapolis, 2001
Pablo Neruda Prize for Poetry, Nimrod Journal, University of Tulsa, 2001
Cherokee Medal of Honor, Cherokee Honor Society, Tahlequah, Oklahoma, 2001
Stevens Poetry Prize, National Federation of State Poetry Societies, 2001
Thomas Jefferson Teaching / Scholarship Award, Macalester College, 2001
Many Voices Playwriting Fellowship, Playwrights' Center, Minneapolis, 2001, 1995
McKnight Artist Fellowship, Loft Award of Distinction for Creative Prose, 1999
Sundance Screenwriting Fellowship, U.C.L.A., 1998
Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers, Prose - Playwriting Award, 1997
Minnesota Humanities Commission Grant, 1997
Career Initiative Grant, 1996, The Loft, Minneapolis
Lannan Foundation Fellowship, Provincetown Art Center Residency, Provincetown, Massachusetts, 1995
Jerome Travel Grant, 1995, 1990
Five Civilized Tribes Playwriting Laureate Prize, 1994-1996, 1988-1990, 1984-1986
Blandin Private College Foundation Grants, 1994, 1991, 1990
Emily Dickinson Poetry Prize, Poetry Society of America, 1993
Wallace Faculty Travel Grant, Macalester College, 1993
National Endowment for the Arts, 1990
Minnesota State Arts Board, 1990
Diverse Visions Grant, Intermedia Arts Minnesota, 1990
National Endowment for the Humanities, Summer Institute Newberry Library, Chicago, 1990
Creative NonFiction Fellowship, The Loft, Minneapolis, 1990
Borderlands Theater Play Festival Award, Tucson, 1990
Jones Commission, Playwright's Center, Minneapolis, 1989
Frances C. Allen Fellowship, D'Arcy McNickle Center for the History of the American Indian, Newberry Library, Chicago, 1988
Aspen Theater Chamberlain Prize, 1988
Edwin Piper Fellowship, University of Iowa, 1988
Equal Opportunity Fellowship, University of Iowa, 1987-88
Iowa Woman Poetry Prize, 1987
Oklahoma Theater Association Award, 1987
Tulsa Arts and Humanities Council Grant, 1983