She studied American Studies at the University of New Mexico. Previously, she taught Chicana/Hispana/Mexicana Studies and Native American Studies at the University of New Mexico and at Brown University. Both her academic and creative works have appeared in several publications. Recently, she has been the featured poet at public readings in Taos, New Mexico and in Española, New Mexico. Patricia grew up in the llanos of eastern New Mexico and western Texas. Patricia—a descendant of Coahuila, México, Santo Domingo Pueblo, and the Hispano land grant community of Dilia, New Mexico—has committed herself to working in the Indo-Hispano communities of New Mexico. She has also taken up the long family tradition of weaving. Currently, she lives in Chimayó, New Mexico.