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ANPA Bibliography of Native American Authors
Purpose
Our purpose is to add to the body of knowledge concerned with Native
American culture and history. We believe that any study of American ethnic history
is incomplete without the expressions of self-concept like those of writers identified
here. The wide spectrum of writing represented will be useful to those seeking to
understand the opinions, attitudes, and concerns of Native Americans during the
various eras of their history. Further knowledge of these works will help provide
a context for understanding the role of native peoples and indigenous groups in
world affairs.
Organization
The bibliography covers the period from 1772 to the present. However, loading
entries into the bibliography is an on-going process, and citations are being
added every day. While the 1772-1945 period is largely complete, work continues
on the more recent periods, so some gaps should be expected. As time goes on and
our work continues, these gaps will be eliminated.
Description
In addition to creative writing such as poetry, drama, and fiction,
the bibliography includes other forms: essays on historical, political, and social
topics; myths and legends; satirical pieces in various dialects; personal reminiscences;
letters and communications to the federal government; legal documents such as treaties,
laws, and case briefs; and other genres. All works included have in common the fact
that they were written with an audience in mind, usually a public one. Furthermore,
most were written for publication; those that were not were subsequently published
because of their merit or because of the public issues they addressed.
Sources
Entries have been compiled from a number of printed and electronic
sources. More important, however, is the richest vein of Native writing, Native
American publications such as newspapers, magazines, newsletters, journals, and
other periodicals. Because they are not indexed in available print and electronic
resources, we have painstakingly searched many of these for citations of Native
writing. New citations are being collected constantly and will be entered in the
bibliography through periodic updates.
Identification of Writers
One of the ongoing problems encountered in compiling this bibliography is
identifying the writers. For purposes of this work, we have defined a Native
American as a person who had (has) tribal affiliation or maintained (maintains)
tribal ties and who was (is) recognized by his or her contemporaries as a Native
American. Writers were identified in a number of ways, such as inclusion on
tribal rolls, attendance at government Indian schools, and various kinds of
publication data. In compiling the main bibliography, we have not included
writers whose tribal affiliations could not be determined. However, we have
included writers who are known to us only by their pen names. Those writers were
included primarily on the basis of self-identification and the content and
context of their works.
Tribal Designations
Two major problems concerning tribal names present themselves.
First, over time tribal designations and spellings have varied. For example, "Diné"
refers to people known to many as "Navajo," a name itself with variant spellings;
in the same way, "Muscogee" refers to those known formerly as "Creek." Woodland
groups of the Great Lakes region have been referred to as "Chippewa," "Chippeway,"
"Ojibwa," "Ojibwe," "Anishinabe," and "Anishinabeg" at different times. Our policy
in dealing with this problem has been to use the designation given by writers to
refer to themselves and to provide correct spelling or designation when possible.
When the tribal name has been given by others such as editors or government officials
(in the case of writing by students at government boarding schools, for example),
we have supplied the term in current usage where possible. We will continue to edit
as we gather more biographical information; the revised tribal identifications will
be included in our periodic updates. Second, some writers identified themselves
by general terms. For example, many California writers have identified themselves
or were identified by others as "Mission," while some southwestern nations have
been lumped together as "Pueblos" and other writers of the Great Plains were identified
only as "Sioux." Tribal designations for these writers will be revised if additional
biographical information becomes available. If the information is available, we
have identified the band, tribal division, or reservation of large or scattered
groups such as those designated as "Sioux" and "Chippewas."
NOTE TO USERS
Following are our policies:
- Many of the materials in the bibliography are available on site to visitors
of the American Native Press Archives. Our hours are 8-5 CST Monday through Friday.
- We do not lend materials through Interlibrary Loan.
- We do not photocopy materials except for visitors to the Archives.
- We do not electronically reproduce materials.
Your comments and questions are welcome. Please contact us.
The American Native Press Archives includes in its
holdings a majority of the works by tribal writers listed in its on-line
bibliography. Its goal is to make its collections - both historical and
contemporary - as complete as possible. At present, the bibliography
emphasizes American Indian and Alaska Native writers before World War II.
As we continue to work toward the present generation of writers in our
additions to the bibliography, and as we add Canadian First Nations writers,
we urge those writers to contribute to the project by sending a bibliography
of their works to the Archives. The bibliographies will ensure that the
entries for the writers are complete. Copies of their works are also
welcome. Any works donated to the project will become part of the
permanent collection and will be made available to students, scholars, and
other researchers. Please send any contribution to the project director:
James W. Parins
Sequoyah Research Center
301A Ottenheimer Library
University of Arkansas at Little Rock
2801 S. University Avenue
Little Rock, AR 72204-1099
jwparins@ualr.edu
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