Onondaga
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I love to read. Literature by Native Americans has always been excluded from any literature course I've taken in high school or college. Here's a short list of work by Native Americans that I've been impressed with.
My criteria for inclusion on this list is simple: I've read it and I like it. If I don't like, it doesn't make the list.
James Welch
Winter in the Blood is contemporary fiction. Fools Crow is a historical novel about a band of Blackfeet early in the white settlement of the West. I ate it up. A historical novel written from "our" point of view is rare. I highly recommend this book.
Janet Campbell-Hale
Cecelia Capture is contemporary. Bloodlines is a collection of largely autobiographical short stories. Campbell-Hale comes from a severely dysfunctional family, but her writing, her craft, how she uses her words, is exceptional.
Robert C. Conley
What fun. I never would have picked up his books had I not met him at a conference at Cornell in April, because many of his books are classified as westerns. Eee gad. I would NEVER read a western. However, historical novels of the Cherokee are probably westerns. It's just not cowboy-western.
He definitely fills a void. We need this.
I would recommend Ned Christie's War for say, 7th grade and up. Our students desperately need this type of fiction. And it's a page turner and fun.
Go-Ahead Rider I would also recommend for 7th and up. Nice old-fashioned story.
I recently finished The Peace Chief and enjoyed this, too. This was about a young man who becomes the center of his village. The ceremonies are very detailed as well as the life of the village. This is another book I would recommend for our young people.
Maurice Kenny
Kenny is Mohawk and writes mainly poetry, but Rain has some short stories I found enjoyable. I've been to his workshops before, too. He's a teacher. (I hold anyone who can teach in the highest regard.)
Richard G. Green
Green is also Mohawk. He taught a workshop at a WordCraft Circle Writer's Conference that I thought was great. If I were to organize a writers workshop, I would try and schedule Richard for a workshop.
Sherman Alexie
The writing in this book flowed much better than his previous work. Also a page turner. This is contemporary, about a serial killer who is an Indian. Interesting.
I'll be adding to this list as I have time and as I discover more books.
Feel free to give me any feedback on these sites or suggestions on Native author you think I might like.
This page will change over time. If you have any questions about this page, contact waterman@syr.edu