Native North American Literature 1 [Hardcover]

Jeffery H. Chapman (Editor), Christopher Giroux (Editor), Janet Witalec (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In providing biographical and critical material on writers and orators of Native American heritage, Native North American Literature (NNAL) follows the same general format as two earlier Gale compilations of critical excerpts devoted to specific ethnic groups: Black Literature Criticism [RBB D 15 91] and Hispanic Literature Criticism [RBB Jl 94]. Representing tribal cultures from Canada and the U.S., the 78 individuals included range from well-known historical figures such as Chief Joseph, Sitting Bull, and Tecumseh to such noted contemporary writers as Louise Erdrich, N. Scott Momaday, and James Welch. However, the majority of the figures treated are not as widely recognized since they tend to be published outside the mainstream press.

An excellent introductory essay by the noted scholar Joseph Bruchac (who is himself the subject of an entry) gives an overview of both the written and oral tradition of Native American literature. The entries themselves appear within two major sections, with part 1 devoted to oral literature (subdivided into oral autobiography and oratory) and part 2 focusing on written literature. Each entry consists of a brief overview of the writer's life and career; a list of major writings; lengthy excerpts from book reviews, critical commentary, interviews, etc.; and a bibliography of secondary sources. Frequently, entries include excerpts from the author's work. For example, the article on Chief Seattle not only includes material questioning the authenticity of his famous speech pertaining to the environment, but also reproduces a version of the speech in its entirety. A boxed note at the end of an entry refers the user to other Gale publications in which the individual is treated. Most articles are accompanied by a photograph of the individual, and maps showing the locations of reservations and other Indian groups in the U.S. and Canada are provided near the front of the volume.

Two indexes categorize the writers featured by tribe and by genre, and a third index provides access to the titles discussed in the critical excerpts. Because the entries appear in the three separate alphabetical sequences mentioned above, an index to the writers would have been useful.

Since so many of the individuals in NNAL are relatively unknown, the amount of duplication between the critical excerpts in this volume and titles in Gale's Literary Criticism series is minimal. Only 10 writers are also represented in Contemporary Literary Criticism, and only five are included in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Biographical information on these individuals is more readily available in other Gale publications: 44 are included in the biographical chapter of Native North American Almanac [RBB My 1 94], while 33 appear in Contemporary Authors.

In addition, 39 of the 78 authors treated here are accorded critical and biographical essays in the Dictionary of Native American Literature [RBB Ap 15 95], but those articles tend to be briefer. However, that work also contains a number of thematic essays, such as "Teaching Indian Literature" and "The New Native American Theater."

The heightened emphasis on multicultural studies has created a strong demand for works in this area. This well-conceived volume will be of particular value to small libraries that lack the broad range of sources excerpted in this compilation. However, since only a small percentage of these excerpts appear in other Gale compilations, even larger libraries will probably want to add NNAL for the convenient access it provides to information on Native American writers.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 706 pages
• Publisher: Thomson Gale (November 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810398982
• ISBN-13: 978-0810398986
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.7 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,015,880 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)