#amreading – University of North Georgia Press

Native American Author Spotlight: Sherman Alexie

The Native American Renaissance opened doors for many Native American authors to flourish. Authors like these are now able to publish stories about their own experiences and continue to bring awareness to the issues that plague the modern Native American. In this post-renaissance period, we find Sherman Alexie.

Sherman Alexie was born in 1966 and grew up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. There, he lived around Spokane culture, but was never really accepted by his community. In infancy, he developed a condition that lead to surgery. This caused him to be in and out of the hospital for much of his adolescence and left his head larger than usual. He was constantly teased and not able to participate in many of the activities that are considered a rite of passage for young Native American male’s due to the side effects of that condition. This did not stop him from being academically successful.

He excelled during his high school career, leading him to receive a scholarship at Gonzaga University. After switching his major multiple times, the only place he seemed to find solace was in his literature classes. After a couple of years, he left Gonzaga and transferred to Washington State University. There, he found Alex Kuo, a respected poet that served as a mentor for Alexie. In these classes, he was able to begin writing and publishing his own works.

The themes of these works encapsulate the life of a contemporary Native American person living on a reservation. Despair, poverty, and alcoholism are riddled in this community and directly affects the characters in his stories. Through irony and dark humor, Alexie paints the picture of life as a modern Native American and the challenges they face on a reservation.

While being successful in his literary career, he has also dabbled in film. He created the first all-Native American movie, Smoke Signals, which got top honors at the Sundance Film Festival. Much like his books and poems, this is a story that reflects on the many struggles that Alexie encounted during his time on the reservation.

Alexie now lives in Seattle, Washington and is still active in the literary community. He most recently published a memoir titled You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me which sheds light on his trials and tribulations at the Spokane Indian Reservation.

Have you ever read any of Alexie’s work? Are there any other Native American authors that you think we should know about? Leave a comment or visit us at Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram to tell us!

Native American Author Spotlight: Zitkala-Sa

Though the Native American Renaissance was a time that developed awareness for the Native American community and their struggles, there were other extremely influential Native American authors before this movement. These people preserved the oral history of the Native American community by writing and publishing it for readers. This helped to convey the rich and diverse cultures in the Native American community. One of the most well-known of these authors was Zitkala-Sa. She was not only a published author, but an advocate for the Native American community. Her story, like the many of the other authors, is one of trying to bridge the gap between two worlds.

Zitkala-Sa was born in the Yankton Sioux Agency on February 22, 1876. She lived there for eight years and was raised in the culture of the Yankton people. However, like many of the Native American children during the late 19^th century, she was recruited and taken to the White’s Manual Labor Institute. This was a boarding school created for Native American people that was supposed to teach them, but the educational quality of the school was so poor that many could only acquire low paying positions. There, she was able to learn English, reading, and the violin. She excelled and was able to take her efforts to achieve bigger goals.

Against her family’s wishes, she enrolled at Earlham College until 1897, when she was forced to leave due to ill health and monetary issues. In 1899, she began teaching at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. She was uncomfortable with the harsh discipline and curriculum of the school, but it provided her the opportunity to focus on writing and starting her literary career. She was able to publish a few short stories and essays in monthly magazines that described her struggle of retaining her Native American roots in a world that was so against it. She also wrote the first American Indian opera, The Sun Dance Opera. But Zitkala-Sa is most well known for her anthologies of Native American stories she curated by writing down the oral history of different Native American cultures. These are called Old Indian Legends and American Indian Stories.

Though she was well known for these anthologies, she was also a political activist for the Native American people. She worked in the Society of American Indians (SAI) as a secretary and moved to Washington D.C. to be a liaison between SAI and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). She also founded the National Council of American Indians in an effort to unite the tribes so that they could gain full citizenship rights.

She continued writing political articles and books that influenced Native American civil rights reform until her death in 1938. She was an artist, an author, and an activist for her community. Check out some of her work this month to celebrate Native American Heritage Month!

What are your thoughts on Zitkala-Sa? Leave a comment or visit us at Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram to tell us!

Native American Author Spotlight: N. Scott Momaday

June 2001: N. Scott Momaday during the Saint Malo Book Fair in France. (Photo by Ulf Andersen/Getty Images)

The late 1960s to 1980s are regarded as the Native American Renaissance in literary history. During this time, many literary works by Native Americans in the United States were published. This lead to national awareness of Native American writers and the development of Native American Studies departments at many notable universities. This widely celebrated movement’s creation is usually attributed to N. Scott Momaday, the spotlight Native American writer for this week.

Though born in Oklahoma, Momaday was raised in Arizona on the reservation. There, he was able to learn and experience the myriad of Southwest Native American cultures. He then went on to attend the University of New Mexico and complete his graduate schooling at Stanford University with a PhD in English.

After graduation, Momaday wrote and published his first book, House Made of Dawn, in 1968. This book later won a Pulitzer Prize for fiction and is regarded as the beginning of the Native American Renaissance. Much like many of the other Native American authors, Momaday’s most well-known story is of one about someone at a crossroads of cultures, that of their Native American heritage and modern America.

Through this, Momaday was able to advocate for Native American education and representation in the arts. He has supported the Native American community through writing introductions and reviews for many Native American authors, bringing attention to Native American heritage, and even making himself available to talk to students from reservations who are entering university.

He continues to work in academics. He has been a visiting professor for many universities; he even was the first professor to teach American Literature in Moscow, Russia. He is currently the Regents Professor of the Humanities at the University of Arizona. Momaday continues to be a part of the Native American community as a member of the Kiowa Gourd Clan. Has this post inspired you to read Momaday? Check out one of his books today in honor of the Native American Heritage Month!

What are your thoughts on the Native American Renaissance? Do you have any other Native American author suggestions? Leave a comment or visit us at Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram to tell us!

Native American Author Spotlight: Leslie Silko

Reading stories from other cultures is essential to understanding our diverse world. During the month of November, we celebrate National Native American/Alaskan Native Heritage Month. For the next four weeks, we will be spotlighting four different influential Native American authors. Today, we will be highlighting the works of Leslie Silko.

Leslie Silko was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico on March 5, 1948. She was raised in a family of Laguna Pueblo, white, and Mexican ancestry on the Laguna Pueblo reservation in New Mexico. Much like the characters in her stories, Silko’s upbringing left her at a crossroads between cultures. This caused her to not feel fully accepted by either the Laguna Pubelo people or white people because of her mixed background.

After graduating from the University of New Mexico, she went on to pursue law school but found that it wasn’t the right environment for her to make an impact for her community. She realized that her efforts for Native American justice would be better invested in storytelling and writing. Through her writings, she has created a dialogue about the struggles of the modern Native American and other issues that the Native American community faces.

All of these themes and personal experiences are encapsulated in her most well-known book, Ceremony. This is a story of a war veteran with mixed Laguna and Anglo heritage. The protagonist meets a tribal wise man who teaches him Laguna folklore and traditional ceremonies that help him heal the psychic wounds caused by war. This is a story of contrasting cultures, mental illness, and transformation through his Native American roots. It is critically acclaimed and has given Silko the title of the “first female Native American novelist”. She later received many accolades for this book including the MacArthur Foundation Fellowship and the Native Writers’ Circle of the Americas Lifetime Achievement Award.

She is still alive today and has most recently written a memoir called The Turquoise Ledge in 2010. She teaches currently at the University of Arizona at Tucson. Check out one of her books this month!

What are your thoughts on Ceremony? Have a favorite Native American author? Leave a comment or visit us at Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram to tell us!

Good Reads For Teens

We live in a world where teens are practically attached to their phones or some other form of technology, so it is important to set time aside and take a break from the technological world around us. What better way to do just that than by reading? Here are some of the most popular books that have been published in the past seven years, guaranteed to enthrall teens of all ages!

_{(2010) Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare}

_{In 1878, Sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray comes to London in search of her older brother. When she arrives, Tessa is faced with the Downworld, where vampires, warlocks, and other supernatural beings await her. Only the Shadowhunters are able to keep the world in order. When Tessa is kidnapped by The Pandemonium Club, she discovers that she is a Downworlder, and she possess a rare power. Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters, who promise to help find her brother if she uses her power to help them.}

_{(2011) Divergent by Veronica Roth}

_{Beatrice Prior lives in a dystopian future where the world is divided into five factions- Abnegation (th}_{e selfless), Amity (the peaceful), Candor (the honest), Dauntless (the brave), and Erudite (the intelligent). On Appointed Day, Beatrice makes the decision to transfer to Dauntless, which will affect her and her family’s life forev}_{er. Beatrice is carrying a secret. She is Divergent. And if anyone were to discover her secret, she and everyone she loves will be in danger.}

_{(2012) The Fault in Our Stars by John Green}

_{Life hasn’t always been kind for Hazel Grace Lancaster. She has a tumor, and she also has cancer, which requires her to carry around a portable oxygen tank. When her mother convinces Hazel to attend a cancer patients’ support group, her life seems to turn towards the better. She forms friendships, and she catches the eye of Augustus Waters, who is now cancer free after having his leg amputated. As Hazel and Augustu}_{s grow closer, they face many struggles and try to power through the pain and loss that is thrown their way.}

_{(2013) Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell}

_{Eleanor Douglas and Park Sheridan live opposite lives. Eleanor lives in a home where her stepfather, Ri}_{chie, is physically and verbally abusive to her mother. Eleanor wears loose-fitted clothes, ribbons in}_{her hair, and is bullied in school. Park lives in a home that is surrounded with love. Park gets along with the pop}_{ular k}_{ids in school. Against the odds, Eleanor and Park form an unlikely}_{friendship that soon blooms into more, all the while trying to rise against the struggles that surround them.}

_{(2014) We Were Liars by E. Lockhart}

_{Cadence doesn’t remember what happened during her 15th summer at Beechwood Island. She battled with chronic headaches and can’t even remember what caused it. It isn’t until Cadence’s 17th summer at Beechwood when she begins to recall the event of her 15th summer. As she begins to remember, her relationship with her group of four friends—the Liars—becomes destructive. As Cadence’s memory returns, she will have to redefine herself as her and her friends’ loyalty, trust, and acceptance are put to the test.}

_{(2015) Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon}

_{Madeline Whittier has severe combined immunodeficiency, which is a rare disease that makes her allergic to almost everything. Madeline cannot leave her house, and is cared for by her mother and her nurse Carla. When a family moves in next door, Madeline forms a friendship with Olly. Olly begins to sneak into Madeline’s home to see her, but when her mother finds out, she bans Madeline from ever seeing Olly again}_{. Olly and Madeline go to Hawaii where she discovers secrets about her past and illness.}

_{(2016) The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon}

_{The Sun is Also a Star}_{focuses on the story of Natasha Kingsley, a Jamaican teenager who has to be deported in the next twenty-four hours, and Daniel Bae, a Korean-American who is on his way to Yale. As Daniel is going to his college admissions interview, he stumbles across Natasha, who is jamming out to music. Danielthen proceeds to follow Natasha around New York, trying to convince her about their instant connection. The bond between the two grows stronger, but Natasha’s deportation comes ticking closer with every second.}

_{(2017) The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas}

_{Starr Carter balances moving between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives, and the prestigi}_{ous prep school she attends. The balance is shattered, however, when Starr witnesses one of her childhood friends, Khalil, being fatally shot by a police officer. When his death becomes a national headline, peopledescribe him as a thug and a drug dealer while others}_{protest in his name. The police officers and a local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family as everyone tries to figure out what truly happened. And the only one who has that answer is Starr.}