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 ...
. He self-identifies as being of Creek and Cherokee descent, but is not enrolled with any Native American tribe. Womack wrote the book ''Red on Red: Native American Literary Separatism'', a book of literary criticism which argues that the dominant approach to academic study of Native American literature is incorrect. Instead of using
poststructural
Post-structuralism is a term for philosophical and literary forms of theory that both build upon and reject ideas established by structuralism, the intellectual project that preceded it. Though post-structuralists all present different critique ...
and
postcolonial
Postcolonialism is the critical academic study of the cultural, political and economic legacy of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the impact of human control and exploitation of colonized people and their lands. More specifically, it is a ...
approaches that do not have their basis in Native culture or experience, Womack claims the work of the Native critic should be to develop tribal models of criticism. In 2002, Craig won Wordcraft Circle Writer of the Year Winner. Along with
Robert Allen Warrior Robert Warrior (born 1963, Osage), is a scholar and Hall Distinguished Professor of American Literature and Culture at the University of Kansas. With Paul Chaat Smith, he co-authored ''Like a Hurricane: The Indian Movement from Alcatraz to Wounded ...
Greg Sarris
Gregory Michael Sarris (born February 12, 1952) is the Chairman of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria (since 1992), the Graton Rancheria Endowed Chair in Creative Writing and Native American Studies at Sonoma State University, where he t ...
, Womack asserted themselves as a nationalist (American Indian literary nationalism), which is part of an activist movement. The movement significantly altered the critical methodologies used to approach Native American literature.
Womack has also produced a novel, ''Drowning in Fire'', about the lives of young gay Native Americans.
Currently, Womack is employed as a professor at
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...
, specializing in Native American literature.
Personal life
Womack has claimed that both of his parents were "mixed-blood native people" of
Muscogee
The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language), are a group of related indigenous (Native American) peoples of the Southeastern WoodlandsCherokee descent. He is not enrolled in any Muscogee or Cherokee tribe. Despite having no legal status as Native American, Womack has said he considers his physical appearance to "fit the phenotypical stereotypes of indigenous peoples". He has claimed that police and authorities have subjected him to racism because they can always tell he is "Indian" by his appearance.
Politics
A group of self-identified Native American academics and students, including Womack, created a blog called "Against a Politics of Disposability" to defend Andrea Smith after she was exposed for falsely claiming to be Cherokee.
Bibliography
Books
*''Drowning in Fire'', 200/1
*''Red on Red: Native American literary separatism'', 1999.
* Teuton ''Reasoning Together: The Native Critics Collective'' University of Oklahoma Press, 2008.
* Art as performance, story as criticism: reflections on native literary aesthetics University of Oklahoma Press, 2009.