Simon Ortiz knew he loved language at an early age. The language he first spoke was Acoma. A member of the Acoma Pueblo Nation, Ortiz was born in 1941 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He grew up in the Acoma village of McCartys (Deetseyamah) as a member of the Eagle clan (Dyaanih hanoh). Ortiz says in his book Woven Stone, "This early language from birth to six years of age in the Acoma family and community was the basis and source of all I would do later in poetry, short fiction, essay, and other work . . ."

Ortiz attended the government-run McCartys Day School up to the sixth grade. Students there were required to learn and speak English and were forbidden to speak their native languages. After graduating from high school, Ortiz worked for a year mining uranium in Grants, New Mexico. He went on to college, but quit to join the army. In 1966, Ortiz went back to school, graduating from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. He got his master's degree from the University of Iowa Writers' School. Since then, Simon Ortiz has taught classes in Native American literature and creative writing at several colleges and universities. He has traveled the United States and several countries in Europe sharing his poetry, lecturing, and telling stories. Ortiz is the father of three children. Of his work he has said, "Most of my cultural and literary work continues to focus on issues, concerns, and responsibilities we, as Native Americans, have for our land, culture, and community."