Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve (born February 21, 1933) is a Native American author, with a focus on children's books about Native Americans.

Background and family

The daughter of James Driving Hawk, an Episcopalian priest, and Rose Driving Hawk (née Ross), Virginia was raised on the

Rosebud Indian Reservation The Rosebud Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in South Dakota, United States. It is the home of the federally recognized Rosebud Sioux Tribe, who are Sicangu, a band of Lakota people. The Lakota name ''Sicangu Oyate'' translates as ...

. She graduated from St. Mary's School for Indian Girls in

Springfield, South Dakota Springfield is a city in Bon Homme County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 1,914 at the 2020 census. As of 2012, about 1,200 of the residents were inmates at Mike Durfee State Prison. Springfield was named on account of there b ...

and received her bachelor's and master's degrees from

South Dakota State University South Dakota State University is a public land-grant research university in Brookings, South Dakota. Founded in 1881, it is the state's largest and most comprehensive university and the oldest continually-operating university in South Dakota. The ...

(Brookings) where she met her husband. She has published over twenty books on South Dakota history, aboriginal American history, poetry, fiction, and non-fiction works for children, as well as one about her female ancestors, "Completing the Circle". Virginia is a member of the

Rosebud Sioux Tribe The Rosebud Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in South Dakota, United States. It is the home of the federally recognized Rosebud Sioux Tribe, who are Sicangu, a band of Lakota people. The Lakota name ''Sicangu Oyate'' translates as t ...

( Sicangu Lakota). She studied journalism at the

. She is the mother of three, grandmother of five, and great-grandmother of two.

Career

It is because of her children that she realized the need for children's books about aboriginal Americans in a contemporary context rather than a "savage" myth of the past. Her husband is from a Norwegian family, so she wrote ''The Trickster and the Troll'' to bring together the two cultures of her children, for them and for her grandchildren. The story follows the Lakota trickster Iktomi and a Norwegian house troll across the plains as they search for the troll's lost family. Sneve was an English language teacher and counselor in several public schools, editor at the Brevet Press in

Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls () is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 130th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into Lincoln County to the south, which continues up ...

, and she has been a member of several organizations. She and her husband also ran an antiques business before retiring. She still writes today; her latest book is "The Christmas Coat: Memories of My Sioux Childhood", published in 2011 and named in the '' Smithsonian'' magazine's Best Children's Books of 2011. She still resides in South Dakota with her husband.

Works

*''That They May Have Life, The Episcopal Church in South Dakota 1850-1976'' (1977) *''The Twelve Moons" (Houghton Mifflin Reading Series) (1977) *''South Dakota Geographic Names'', Sioux Falls, South Dakota: Brevet Press (1973) *''Betrayed'' (1974) *''When Thunders Spoke'' (1974) illustrated by Oren Lyons *''Dancing Teepees: Poems of American Indian Youth'' (1989) *''The Chichi Hoohoo Bogeyman'' (1993) *''Completing the Circle'' (1995) *''The Hopis: A First Americans Book'' (1995) illustrated by Ronald Himler *''The Cherokees'' (1996) *''The Cheyennes'' (1996) *''The Apaches'' (1997) *''Grandpa Was a Cowboy and an Indian & Other Stories'' (2000) *''Lana's Lakota Moons'' (2007) *''The Christmas Coat: Memories of My Sioux Childhood'' (2011) illustrated by Ellen Beier *''The Medicine Bag'' (1975) *''Jimmy Yellow Hawk'' (1972) illustrated by Oren Lyons

Prizes

National Humanities Medal The National Humanities Medal is an American award that annually recognizes several individuals, groups, or institutions for work that has "deepened the nation's understanding of the humanities, broadened our citizens' engagement with the human ...

, 2000 *Human Rights Award, South Dakota State Counselors Association, 1996 *Author-Illustrator Human and Civil Rights Award, 1996 *Spirit of Crazy Horse Award, 1996 *South Dakota Education Association Human Services Award, 1994 *North American Indian Prose Award,

University of Nebraska Press The University of Nebraska Press, also known as UNP, was founded in 1941 and is an academic publisher of scholarly and general-interest books. The press is under the auspices of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, the main campus of the Unive ...

, 1992 *Woman of Achievement,

National Federation of Press Women The National Federation of Press Women (NFPW) is a United States-based organization of professional women and men pursuing careers in the field of communications, including electronic, broadcast and print journalism, public relations, marketing, adv ...

, 1975

References

External links

Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sneve, Virginia Driving Hawk 1933 births Living people Native American writers American women children's writers Writers from South Dakota Rosebud Sioux people National Humanities Medal recipients American children's writers 20th-century American writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American writers 21st-century American women writers South Dakota State University alumni 20th-century Native American women 20th-century Native Americans 21st-century Native American women Native American women writers 21st-century Native American writers