Native American Literature
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Native American Literature
Native American literature is literature, both oral and written, produced by Native Americans in what is now the United States (as distinct from First Nations writers in Canada), from pre-Columbian times through to today. Famous authors include N. Scott Momaday, Leslie Marmon Silko, Simon Ortiz, Louise Erdrich, Gerald Vizenor, Joy Harjo, Sherman Alexie, D'Arcy McNickle, James Welch, Charles Eastman, Mourning Dove, Zitkala-Sa, John Rollin Ridge, Lynn Riggs, Diane Glancy, Hanay Geiogamah, William Apess, Samson Occom, et al. Importantly, it is not "a" literature, but a set of literatures, since every tribe has its own cultural traditions. Since the 1960s, it has also become a significant field of literary studies, with academic journals, departments, and conferences devoted to the subject. Oral traditions Native American literatures come out of a rich set of oral traditions from before European contact and/or the later adoption of European writing practices. Oral traditions includ ...
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Literature
Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include oral literature, much of which has been transcribed. Literature is a method of recording, preserving, and transmitting knowledge and entertainment, and can also have a social, psychological, spiritual, or political role. Literature, as an art form, can also include works in various non-fiction genres, such as biography, diaries, memoir, letters, and the essay. Within its broad definition, literature includes non-fictional books, articles or other printed information on a particular subject.''OED'' Etymologically, the term derives from Latin ''literatura/litteratura'' "learning, a writing, grammar," originally "writing formed with letters," from ''litera/littera'' "letter". In spite of this, the term has also been applied to spoken or s ...
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Hanay Geiogamah
Hanay Geiogamah (born 1945) is a playwright, television and movie producer, and artistic director. He is currently a Professor in the School of Theater, Film, and Television at the University of California, Los Angeles. He also served as the director of the UCLA American Indian Studies Center from 2002 to 2009. Geiogamah was born in Oklahoma and is a Kiowa and Delaware Indian. He is a widely known Native American playwright and one of the few Native American producers of both television and film in Hollywood.Angela Aleiss, "Hollywood is a Tough Business: A Profile of Producer Hanay Geiogamah," ''Indian Cinema Entertainment'', Vol. 2, No. 3 (Summer 1994), pp. 2-3. Early life Geiogamah was born in Lawton, Oklahoma to a Kiowa father and a Delaware mother. He graduated from Anadarko High School and studied journalism at the University of Oklahoma. In 1979, he enrolled at Indiana University Bloomington. He graduated in 1980 with a bachelor's degree in theatre with a minor in journal ...
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The Surrounded
''The Surrounded'', D'Arcy McNickle, D’Arcy McNickle's first book, was first published in 1936 by Harcourt (publisher), Harcourt, Brace and Company then republished in 1964 and again in 1978 by the University of New Mexico Press. McNickle was a Cree Métis author enrolled as Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, Salish-Kootenai on the Flathead Indian Reservation. ''The Surrounded'' takes place in the Sniél-emen Valley, which translates to “Mountains of the surrounded,” on the Flathead Reservation in Montana at the ranch of Max Leon, Archilde's father. The story begins with Archilde Leon, who is half Salish and half Spaniards, Spaniard, returning from Portland, Oregon, Portland where he worked in white society. Upon his return he feels separated from his homeland and culture. The story follows Archilde's internal struggle between European Americans, Euro-American and Native Americans in the United States, American Indian culture, as he attempts to reconcile with his fath ...
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Cogewea
''Co=ge=we=a, The Half-Blood: A Depiction of the Great Montana Cattle Range'' is a 1927 Western romance novel by Mourning Dove, also known as ''Hum-Ishu-Ma'', or Christine Quintasket ( Okanogan and Arrow Lakes). It is one of the earliest novels written by an indigenous woman from the Plateau region. The novel includes the first example of Native American literary criticism. Cogewea, the eponymous protagonist, is a woman of mixed-race ancestry, both Indigenous and Euro-American, who feels caught between her two worlds. She works on the ranch of her sister and white brother-in-law in Montana, where she is respected for her talents and skills. A European American from the East, Alfred Densmore, joins the ranch as an inexperienced ranch-hand. Cogewea is torn between the world of her white father and that of her Okanagan (spelled "Okanogan" in the novel) grandmother, Stemteema. Her work was supported by editor Lucullus Virgil McWhorter, an American anthropologist and activist for N ...
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Joaquin Murrieta
Joaquin Murrieta Carrillo (sometimes spelled Murieta or Murietta) (1829 – July 25, 1853), also called the Robin Hood of the West or the Robin Hood of El Dorado, was a Mexican-American figure of disputed historicity. The novel '' The Life and Adventures of Joaquín Murieta: The Celebrated California Bandit'' (1854) by John Rollin Ridge ostensibly recounts his story. Legends subsequently arose about a notorious outlaw in California during the California Gold Rush of the 1850s, but evidence for a historical Murrieta is scarce. Contemporary documents record testimony in 1852 concerning a minor horse thief of that name. Newspapers reported'' banditos'' named Joaquin, who robbed and killed several people during the same time. A California Ranger named Harry Love was assigned to track down Murrieta and was said to have brought his head in for the bounty. The popular legend of Joaquin Murrieta was that he was a forty-niner, a gold miner and a '' vaquero ''from Sonora. Peace lovin ...
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The Life And Adventures Of Joaquín Murieta
''The Life and Adventures of Joaquín Murieta: The Celebrated California Bandit'' (1854) was published by John Rollin Ridge, writing as "Yellow Bird". It is considered to be one of the first novels written in California and the first novel to be published by a Native American., p. 33 The novel describes the life of a legendary bandit named Joaquín Murrieta who, once a dignified citizen of Mexico, becomes corrupt after traveling to California during the Gold Rush. Published as a fictional biography, the book was taken as truth by many historians of the time. The novel received mass attention and was translated to various European languages, including French and Spanish. The novel was also highly plagiarized and Ridge never received the economic gain he hoped for. Author biography John Rollin Ridge was born in the Cherokee Nation in New Echota in 1827 (now Georgia). He was given the Cherokee name ''Chees-quat-a-law-ny,'' or Yellow Bird. His father Major Ridge and grandfat ...
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Life Among The Paiutes
''Life Among the Paiutes: Their Wrongs and Claims'' is a book that was written by Sarah Winnemucca in 1883. It is both an autobiographic memoir and a history of the Paiute people during their first forty years of contact with European Americans. It is considered the "first known autobiography written by a Native American woman."''Voices from the Gaps:'' "Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins"
website, accessed 11 February 2014
Anthropologist Omer Stewart described it as "one of the first and one of the most enduring ethnohistorical books written by an American Indian," frequently cited by scholars.
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Sarah Winnemucca
Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins ( – October 17, 1891) was a Northern Paiute author, activist (lecturer) and educator (school organizer). Her maiden name is Winnemucca. Her Northern Paiute language, Northern Paiute name was Thocmentony, also spelled Tocmetone, which translates as "Chelone (plant), Shell Flower. Sarah Winnemucca was born near Humboldt Lake, Nevada, into an influential Northern Paiute family who led their community in pursuing friendly relations with the arriving groups of Anglo-American settlers. She is the daughter of Chief Winnemucca of the Paiute nation and the granddaughter of Chief Truckee. At 16, Sarah studied at a Catholic school in San Jose, California. When the Paiute War erupted between the Pyramid Lake Paiute and the settlers, including some who were friends of the Winnemucca family, Sarah and some of her family traveled to San Francisco and Virginia City to escape the fighting. They made a living performing onstage as "A Paiute Royal Family." In 1865, while ...
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Metacomet
Metacomet (1638 – August 12, 1676), also known as Pometacom, Metacom, and by his adopted English name King Philip,Lepore, Jill. ''The Name of War: King Philip's War and the Origins of American Identity''
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1998. Note: King Philip "was also known as Metacom, or Metacomet. King Philip may well have been a name that he adopted, as it was common for Natives to take other names. King Philip had on several occasions signed as such and has been referred to by other natives by that name."
was (elected ) t ...
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A Short Narrative Of My Life
''A Short Narrative of My Life'' is an autobiographical account by Rev. Samson Occom (1723–1792) and is one of the earliest English-language writings by a Native American. It was written in 1768. Synopsis At the age of sixteen, ministers began preaching near Occom's tribe, and after hearing the Christian gospel, he converted to Christianity. While learning about the New Testament, he decided he needed to learn to read so he could instruct the poor children and talk to his Indian community about religion. When he was about nineteen, he met Reverend Eleazar Wheelock, who took him under his wing and taught him to read. He stayed with Wheelock for four years until his eyesight was much impaired and his health declined enough that he could not pursue his studies anymore. Occom returned to his Mohegan people and began teaching students to read and write. Although he called some students dull because they could not learn their alphabet well, he would make up his own questions and ...
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Anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavior, while cultural anthropology studies cultural meaning, including norms and values. A portmanteau term sociocultural anthropology is commonly used today. Linguistic anthropology studies how language influences social life. Biological or physical anthropology studies the biological development of humans. Archaeological anthropology, often termed as 'anthropology of the past', studies human activity through investigation of physical evidence. It is considered a branch of anthropology in North America and Asia, while in Europe archaeology is viewed as a discipline in its own right or grouped under other related disciplines, such as history and palaeontology. Etymology The abstract noun ''anthropology'' is first attested in reference t ...
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Oral Literature
Oral literature, orature or folk literature is a genre of literature that is spoken or sung as opposed to that which is written, though much oral literature has been transcribed. There is no standard definition, as anthropologists have used varying descriptions for oral literature or folk literature. A broad conceptualization refers to it as literature characterized by oral transmission and the absence of any fixed form. It includes the stories, legends, and history passed through generations in a spoken form. Background Pre-literate societies, by definition, have no written literature, but may possess rich and varied oral traditions—such as folk epics, folk narratives (including fairy tales and fables), folk drama, proverbs and folksongs—that effectively constitute an oral literature. Even when these are collected and published by scholars such as folklorists and paremiographers, the result is still often referred to as "oral literature". The different genres of ...
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