Native North American Literature, Contemporary

The increased focus on multiculturalism in the United States has brought greater attention to the literary contributions of Native Americans. Many scholars have complained, however, that readers still possess only a superficial understanding of Native American history, culture, and literature.

Kiowa Indian N. Scott Momaday has been credited with inaugurating a contemporary "Native American Renaissance" with his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, House Made of Dawn (1968). The impact of House Made of Dawn cannot be denied: it created an interest in the literatures of indigenous populations that continues unabated, it was influential in the establishment of Multicultural Studies programs at schools throughout the United States, and it opened up publishing opportunities previously closed to a burgeoning Native American literary community. Yet literary...