Reprints two Latin texts written by Harvard American Indian students in the seventeenth century with approximate English translations as well as observations on the form, structure, and grammar of the texts and their background in literary tradition. The "Honoratissimi Benefactores" is a letter of gratitude to the benefactors of Caleb…

Erdrich and Dorris, spouses of mixed Anglo-Indian heritage, have written novels addressing the issues of shifting racial identity and marginality among mixed-blood persons. In "The Crown of Columbus," such persons are "catches" fastening two cultures together, and the authors synthesize a male-female Native…

Luci Tapahonso, Navajo poet and storyteller, discusses the influences on her work: the environment and landscape of the Southwest, Navajo spiritual and family values, and the equal status of women in Navajo society. (SV)

In this article, the author relates her experience during her interview with Indian poet Simon Ortiz in the summer of 1978. She recalls how she had been amazed at how down-to-earth Ortiz had been despite his achievements. Ortiz was an important writer and has contributed much to native Indian literature with his essays, poetry, and short stories.…

This story was told to the author by her grandmother, a Yurok born at Pecwan in 1898. Long ago, at a council meeting, the animals decided to ask the Great Creator for tails. He agreed and promised to give each animal a tail the next morning. The first animal to get up would have first choice. Coyote built a big fire and tried hard to stay awake…

A review of the literature reveals that American Indian women are stereotyped into two roles--Indian princess or Indian squaw. Indian women who reject their culture are considered to be princesses by the dominant culture. Those who remain with their culture are considered to be squaws by the dominant culture. This paper analyzes the portrayal of…

Discusses the enrichment of understanding about American Indians due to the development of new materials and approaches to the history of Indians in American society. Cites specific examples of books that characterize different stages in the development of literature on North American Indians. (AEM)

Proposes a way to reconcile evolution with creationism by hypothesizing that the universe was created when the scientific evidence shows, speculating that this was when God began the series of creations described in Genesis, and assuming that God gave humans intelligence to uncover the methods by which he ordained scientific evolution. (Author/MJL)

Studies the myth as history through the texts collected from Jim Stacey, a Yavapai narrator, in 1930. Demonstrates how Stacey adjusted myths to a system of cycles and shows how Stacey's versions of those myths differ from the versions of other Yavapai narrators. (CM)

Focusing on the natural world, the use of myth and ritual in the novel, and the formal design of the work, symposium papers present and analyze crucial themes and forms in Leslie Marmon Silko's "Ceremony," a novel distinctively Indian in narrative technique, thematic content, and structure. (CM)

Explores aspects of "The Way to Rainy Mountain," through which Momaday incorporates Native American oral narrative modes into Euro-American written autobiography, and blends mythical, historical, and personal narratives of the Kiowa migration and Momaday's own journey from Montana to Oklahoma. Contains 36 references. (SV)

In 1969, American Indian occupation of Alcatraz Island dramatized Native demands for self-determination, tribal lands, and tribal identities. Meanwhile, a blossoming American Indian literary movement began awakening America to Indians' continued existence and providing texts of "lived experience" that created a new kind of Indian leadership and…

Reviews 14 children's books concerned with traditional Native American tales and experiences, written mostly by Native authors and published 1989-93. Includes books on Hiawatha, buffalo, the battle of the Little Bighorn, the Fetterman Fight, and traditional beliefs and values; Cree, Navajo, Chickasaw, and Seneca tales and stories; fictional…

Describes the cultural and historical contexts for the "Testamento," a story of the Yaqui homeland in Mexico and the struggle of the Yaqui to retain their land. Recounts the experiences of the authors in obtaining the "Testamento" and traveling through Yaqui land. Contains extensive references. (KS)

Outlines a theoretical framework to help students seek patterns in the diverse content and styles of American Indian literary works. Describes four elements: differentiation, or the "signs" of Indian culture; investigation, evoking the reader's sense of history and cosmos; affirmation of Native American identity and communal values; and…