Discover the essential people, works, movements, and themes in American Indian literature.
American Indian literature is a varied and vibrant collection of Indigenous artistic expression. American Indian novelists, poets, essayists, and critics have over the last four centuries asserted powerful forms of intellectual and artistic sovereignty, writing in English while building on discrete tribal oral traditions and forms of storytelling.
This encyclopedia introduces readers to the key historical and contemporary figures in American Indian literature and their defining works. From the fiery sermons of Methodist minister William Apess to the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday to the critically acclaimed and commercially successful novels of Louise Erdrich, this book illustrates the indelible and influential imprint American Indians have on the landscape of American letters.
Readers are also introduced to the key themes and context of American Indian literature, exploring how it is inextricable from American literary history, the American literary canon, and the narrative of American history: not on the fringes of the American experience, but central to it.
Introduction
Chronology
A–Z Entries
Alexie, Sherman (1966–)
Allen, Paula Gunn (1939–2008)
Apes(s), William (1798–1839)
Autobiography
Belin, Esther (1968–)
Bell, Betty Louise (1949–)
Birchfield, Donald (1948–2012)
Bird, Gloria (1951–)
Bitsui, Sherwin (1975–)
Black Hawk (1767–1838)
Blaeser, Kimberly (1955–)
Boudinot, Elias (1802–1839)
Brave Bird, Mary (1954–2013)
Brings Plenty, Trevino (1976–)
Broyles, Marianne Aweagon (1969–)
Bruchac, Joseph (1942–)
Calahan, S. Alice (1868–1894)
Campbell Hale, Janet (1946–2021)
Children’s Literature
Chona, Maria (1846–1936)
Chrystos (1946–)
Conley, Robert (1940–2014)
Contemporary Visual Texts (Film; Comic Books; New Media)
Cook Lynn, Elizabeth (1930–2023)
Da, Laura (1979–)
Deloria, Ella Cara (1889–1971)
Deloria, Jr., Vine (1933–2005)
Diaz, Natalie (1978–)
Drama
Driving Hawk Sneve, Virginia (1933–)
Earling, Deborah (1957–)
Eastman, Charles Alexander (1858–1939)
Erdrich, Heid (1963–)
Erdrich, Louise (1954–)
First Nations Literature
First Wave of Native Literature
Foerester, Jennifer (1979–)
Fourth Wave of Native Literature
Francis, III, Lee (1945–2003)
Frazier, Santee (1978–)
Gansworth, Eric (1965–)
Geiogamah, Hanay (1945–)
Genre Fiction (Mystery; Horror; Fantasy; Romance)
Glancy, Diane (1941–)
Gould, Janice (1949–2019)
Harjo, Joy (1951–)
Hedge Coke, Allison Adelle (1958–)
Henry, Gordon (1955–)
Henson, Lance (1944–)
Hill (Whiteman), Roberta (1947–)
Historical Fiction
Hoahway, Sy (1973–)
Hobson, Brandon (1970–)
Hobson, Geary (1941–)
Hogan, Linda (1947–)
Howe, LeAnne (1951–)
Indigenous Futurisms
Jones, Stephen Graham (1972–)
Kenney, Maurice (1929–2016)
LaDuke, Winona (1959–)
LaFlesche, Francis (1857–1932)
LaFlesche, Susette (1854–1903)
Lewis, Bojan (1980–)
Long Soldier, Layli (1972–)
Louis, Adrian (1946–2018)
Mailhot, Terese (1983– )
Marshall, Joseph M., III (1946–)
Matthews, John Joseph (1894–1979)
McNickle, William D’Arcy (1904–1977)
Miranda, Deborah (1961–)
Momaday, N. Scott (1934–)
Mourning Dove (Quintasket, Christine) (c. 1888–1936)
Niatum, Duane (1938–)
Nonfiction
North Sun, Nila (1951–)
Novels
Occom, Samson (1723–1792)
Okpik, Dg Nanouk (1966–)
Oliver, Louis Littlecoon (1904–1991)
Oral Tradition
Orange, Tommy (1982–)
Oratory
Ortiz, Simon (1941–)
Oskison, John Milton 1874–1947
Owens, Louis (1948–2002)
Performance Poetry
Pico, Tommy (1983–)
Poetry, written
Pokagon, Simon (1830–1899)
Posey, Alexander (1873–1908)
Powers, Mona Susan (1961–)
Pre and early contact Written Literature
Revard, Carter (1931–2022)
Ridge, John Rollin (1827–1867)
Riggs, Lynn (1899–1954)
Roanhorse, Rebecca (1971–)
Rogers, Will (1879–1935)
Rose, Wendy (1948–)
Sanchez, Carol Lee (1934–2011)
Sarris, Greg (1952–)
Savageau, Cheryl (1950–)
Second Wave of Native Literature
Shuck, Kim (1966–)
Silko, Leslie Marmon (1948–)
Smoker, M.L. (1975–)
Standing Bear, Luther (1868–1939)
Story (Significance of in Native Cultures; Contemporary Storytellers)
Tall Mountain, Mary (1918–1994)
Tapahonso, Luci (1953–)
Third Wave of Native Literature (Native American Literary Renaissance)
Tohe, Laura (1952–)
Treuer, David (1970–)
Trudell, John (1946–2015)
Two Spirit (LGTBQ) Literature
Van Alst, Theodore (1965–)
Vizenor, Gerald (1934–)
Walters, Anna Lee (1946–)
Washuta, Elissa (1984–)
Welch, James (1940–2003)
White, Orlando (1976–)
Winder, Tanaya (1985–)
Winnemuca Hopkins, Sarah (c. 1984–1891)
Womack, Craig (1960– )
Woody, Elizabeth (1959–)
Wurth, Erika (1975–)
Yellow Robe, William (1960–)
Young Adult Literature
Young Bear, Ray (1950–)
Zepeda, Ofelia (1952–)
Zitkala Ša (Gertrude Bonnin) (1876–1938)
Bibliography
Index
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