American Indian Authors
Alexie, Sherman. (Spokane/Coeur d'Alene) Indian Killer (1996). A murderer is stalking and scalping white men in Seattle. A disturbing portrait of an Indian man without a tribe. Other books by Alexie include Reservation Blues (1995), The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven (1993). The Official Sherman Alexie Site.
Allen, Paula Gunn. (Laguna/Sioux) Allen is a novelist, essayist and poet and also the author of The Sacred Hoop, a study of the feminine in Native American literature and culture. Other titles include Spider Woman's Granddaughters (1989), and Off the Reservation (1998). Storytellers Biography of Paula Gunn Allen.
Askew, Rilla. (Cherokee) Strange Business (1992), interconnected stories covering 25 years in the life of fictitious Cedar, Oklahoma, won the Oklahoma Book Award in 1992. Her latest novel is Mercy Seat (1997).
Barnes, Jim. (Choctaw) Barnes is a poet whose work is characterized by a strong description of place and strong identification with his Indian heritage. Another of his major themes is an attempt to gain the unity with nature that his ancestors had known. His works include This Crazy Land (1980) and On Native Ground (1997). Storytellers Biography of Jim Barnes.
Bell, Betty Louise. (Cherokee) Faces in the Moon (1994) tells of lives of three generations of Cherokee women told by the youngest, Lucie. Biography of Betty Louise Bell.
Bruchac, Joseph. (Abenaki) has written poetry, short fiction, children's books, and, as director of the Greenfield review Press, has done a great deal to publish other native writers. Some of his works include Native American Stories (1991), New Voices from the Longhouse (Ed) (1989), and Dawn Land: A Novel (1993). Author Profile for Joseph Bruchac.
Carr, A.A. (Navajo) Eye Killers (1994). The first Native American horror novel. A part-Navajo schoolgirl is menaced by the "undead" in New Mexico.
Conley, Robert. (Cherokee) Mountain Windsong: A Novel of the Trail of Tears (1992). A love story set against the tragic events of the Cherokees' removal from their lands in North Carolina to Indian Territory between 1835 and 1838. In Back to Malachi (1997), young Charlie is torn between yearning for his white fiancee's world and loyalty to his Cherokee friends and heritage. He also has published a series entitled "Real People" of which the first is called The Way of the Priests (1992). The Cherokee Dragon (2000) depicts the united Cherokee in the 18th century during the life of Chief Dragging Canoe. Biography of Robert J. Conley.
Deloria, Vine Victor, Jr. (Sioux) One of the best known Indian writers of nonfiction, Deloria's sharp satire and keen political insight into the problems of modern Native American life are without parallel. His works include Custer Died for Your Sins (1988) and Red Earth, White Lies (1995). Biography of Vine Deloria, Jr.
Dorris, Michael. (Modoc) Yellow Raft in Blue Water (1987) spans forty years and three generations and is the fierce story of Indian women on a Montana reservation. Each character in her own way draws deep from Indian heritage to define herself. The sequel, Cloud Chamber (1997), follows some of the same characters. Biography of Michael Dorris.
Erdrich, Louise. (Ojibwa) Love Medicine (1984) focuses on two extended families on a North Dakota reservation from 1934 to 1984. Life fills these pages, powerful with music, magic, and knowledge of age-old mysteries and fresh injustices. Two other works in the series are Beet Queen (1987) and Tracks (1988). Her most recent work is Antelope Wife (1998). Biography of Louise Erdrich.
Glancy, Diane. (Cherokee) Pushing the Bear (1996) is powerful mosaic of voices which create a haunting portrait of the Cherokee Trail of Tears. The period details are convincing but not obtrusive in this haunting work of historical fiction. Her more recent works include Flutie (1998) set in Oklahoma and Fuller Man (1999). Biography of Diane Glancy.
Harjo, Joy. (Creek) Harjo is a poet who writes of the destructiveness in contemporary Indian life while, at the same time, paying tribute to the survival of contemporary Native Americans. In her most recent work, The Woman Who Fell from the Sky (1994), she strikes a political note and eulogizes many of the victims of racial injustice. Other works include In Mad Love and War (1990) and She Had Some Horses (1983). Biography of Joy Harjo.
Hogan, Linda. (Chickasaw) Mean Spirit (1990) tells of the trials of an Osage family in Oklahoma after oil is discovered on their land. Their newfound wealth spurs a vicious campaign of fraud, intimidation, and even murder on the part of white businessmen. Hogan's next novel, Solar Storms (1995), deals with the environmental devastation suffered by the Cree people of Minnesota as a result of the installation of hydroelectric project in the 1970s. Her latest novel is Power (1998). Biography of Linda Hogan.
Mathews, John Joseph. (Osage) Mathews works vividly portray the problems of the Osage tribe due to allotment, the oil boom of the 1920s, and the devastating effects of the government's assimilationist policies. They include Wah'Kon-Tah: The Osage and the White Man's Road (1932) and Sundown (1934).
McNickle, D'Arcy. (Cree/Salish) His writings emphasize the importance of oral traditions for the cultural survival of all tribes and also describe the disintegration of a tribe when their religion is destroyed. His most famous work is The Surrounded (1936). Biography of D'Arcy McNickle.
Momaday, N. Scott. (Kiowa) House Made of Dawn (1968), which won the Pulitzer Prize, is the story of Able, a young American Indian who lives with his grandfather on a reservation. When he returns from World War II, after being held prisoner by the Japanese, he struggles to find his place in his old life in the world outside the reservation. Other works include The Way to Rainy Mountain (1969), The Ancient Child (1989), The Man Made of Words (1997), and In the Bear's House (1999). Biography of N. Scott Momaday.
Niatum, Duane. (Klallam) is a gifted poet, but he has devoted a great deal of his writing career to seeing that other native writers are published. He is the editor of the extensive Harper's Anthology of 20th Century Native American Poetry (1992). Biography of Duane Niatum.
Ortiz, Simon. (Acoma) has written short fiction, but he is best known for three major volumes of poetry. His work is grounded in a sense of place derived from the home of his tribe and his works include A Good Journey (1986) and Woven Stone (1992). Biography of Simon Ortiz.
Owens, Louis. (Choctaw/Cherokee) Nightland (1996). This is a neatly plotted thriller, a wonderful companion to Owens' two previous novels, The Sharpest Sight (1992) and Bone Game (1994). Owens skillfully braids together deadpan comedy, Indian legend and superstition, and stringent criticism of White American injustice in this swiftly paced tale. His latest novel is Dark River (1999). Biography of Louis Owens.
Power, Susan. (Sioux) The Grass Dancer (1994). Set on a Sioux reservation in North Dakota, this novel weaves folk motifs into the fabric of everyday life and creates a fascinating story about the connections among generations. It sets forth the idea that actions of our ancestors resonate in our lives. Biography of Susan Power.
Revard, Carter. (Osage) This Oklahoma poet works include Ponca War Dancers (1980), Cowboys and Indians (1992), and Family Matters, Tribal Affairs (1998). Biography of Carter Revard.
Sarris, Greg. (Pomo) Grand Avenue (1994). Many of the children on this street are uncertain of their parentage and ethnic identity. The stories of these Native Americans are full of humor, poison, healing rituals, saving grace, and love. Sarris's latest novel is Watermelon Nights (1998). Biography of Greg Sarris.
Silko, Leslie Marmon. (Laguna Pueblo) Ceremony (1977). The main character is a mixed-blood World War II veteran who returns home to the reservation after being imprisoned by the Japanese. His ritual quest involves the search for a ceremony that deals with the most virulent disease of all, despair. Later works include Almanac of the Dead (1991) and Garden in the Dunes (1999). Biography of Leslie Marmon Silko; Guide to Teaching Leslie Marmon Silko.
Treuer, David. (Ojibwa) Little (1995) is the story of a mysterious, deformed, mixed-breed child and his relationship with the people of a Minnesota reservation called Poverty. A bleak and lyrical first novel by a writer with a gift for poetic clarity of observation. Treuer's most recent work is The Hiawatha (1999). Biography of David Treuer.
Vizenor, Gerald (Ojibwa) is one of the most widely published American Indian writers of nonfiction prose, poetry and fiction. In all of his works, he draws heavily from many aspects of Native American oral tradition and the quest for ritual knowledge. His works include The Heirs of Columbus (1991) and Natural Agonies in the New World (1992). Biography of Gerald Vizenor.
Welch, James (Blackfeet/Gros Ventre) uses the quest motif in his excellent novel, Winter in the Blood (1974). His historical novel, Fools Crow (1986), is filled with oral narrative and ceremony, which he sees as essential to harmony in life. The Indian Lawyer was published in 1990. Biography of James Welch.
Web Sites
Internet Public Library: Native American Authors: Expanded author and artist biographies, links to additional resources and online texts. Searchable by author name, title of book, or tribal affiliation. http://www.ipl.org/ref/native/
Storytellers: Native American Authors
Online includes biographies and online texts.
http://www.hanksville.org/storytellers/
Index of Native American Book Resources on the
Internet:
http://www.hanksville.org/NAresources/indices/NAbooks.html