After spending three years in the U.S. Armed Forces, Ortiz initiated his literary career when he began to attend the University of New Mexico in 1966 with the intent to study English Literature and creative writing.[3] Ortiz soon discovered, through his studies, that few ethnic writers have entered the canon of American Literature. Due to his interest in the subject of ethnic writers, Ortiz discovered a new age of Native American authors arising during a renaissance of political activism. One of Ortiz's influences was Kiowa author, N. Scott Momaday. Momaday's novel[4] House Made of Dawn (1968) expresses an original form of prose and innovative style that attracted a young Ortiz. The combination of both the political atmosphere surrounding Native cultures and the lack of ethnic authors integrated in the literary curriculum also caused Ortiz to alter his writing style from self-expression to a focus on unheard Native voices.
In 1968, Ortiz was offered a fellowship for writing at the University of Iowa in the International Writers Program.[3]
Ortiz's first collection of poems, Going for the Rain, was published in 1976. His publication was inspired by the stories of Indigenous people across the country. Ortiz set out on a cross-country trip in 1970 to uncover original stories from the Native perspective. Ortiz has since furthered his literary career with a multitude of publications including poetry, short-stories, and books. From then on, Ortiz was considered one of the most respected and widely read Native American poets. Ortiz relates his style to the struggles of those living within the Southwest stemming from destructive Western expansionism, including the railroads his father worked on, land developers and uranium exploitation, which Ortiz himself worked within. These struggles and the exploitation of the land are inherent within Ortiz' poetry and his writing style as a whole.[5]
In 1976, Ortiz enrolled in Evergreen State College's Independent Studies Program to conduct research regarding health hazards for people living near open-pit mines and mill-tailings ponds.[6]
In 1988 Ortiz was appointed as tribal interpreter of the Acoma Pueblo. He also held a position as the consulting editor of the Pueblo of Acoma Press, in 1982.[3]
