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American Indian Children's & Young Adult Literature: Author Research

From Paint the Wind, by Alberta Hannum, paintings by Beatien Yazz, New York, Viking Press, 1958.

Scope and Purpose

This research and documentation was completed by Samantha Harris as a Directed Fieldwork project towards the Masters of Library and Information Science, University of Washington Information School, Winter, 2004. The purpose of this project was to identify American Indian Authors represented in the American Indian Children's and Young Adult Literature Collection of the University of Washington Libraries. This entailed identifying which authors, of the over 1,300 represented in the American Indian Children's and Young Adult Literature Collection, are affiliated with an American Indian tribe, and what those tribal affiliations are. To date, 66 American Indian authors of children's materials (approximately 4% of the total collection) have been identified and are listed below. Additionally, we have supplied.pdf and.xls files containing all titles in the collection, including known author informationand sources cited for each author when available. A bibliography of all resources used in this identification follows the listing. Verification of the tribal affiliations of the authors listed above has not been completed due to time constraints.


American Indian Children's and Young Adult Literature: A Comprehensive Listing of Title and Authors

American Indian Authors and Works (download) pdf xls
All Authors and Works in the Collection (download) pdf xls


American Indian Authors Represented in the University of Washington Children's Literature Collection: A Beginning List

Search for the author's name in the UW Libraries Catalog to view our holdings.

Author (Last, First) Author Dates (Birth - Death) Tribal Affiliation
Antell, Will 1945 - Chippewa: Born in White Earth, Minn.
Begay, Shonto ? Navajo
Bragg, L. E. (Lynne E.) 1956 - Colville or Metis
Browne, Vee ? Dine
Bruchac, Joseph 1942 - Abenaki
Buffalo Child Long Lance, (Chief) 1890 - 1932 Blackfeet
Campbell, Maria 1940 - Cree/Metis
Clutesi, George 1905 - 1988 Nootka/ Tse-Shaht
Comock ? Eskimo
Deloria, Vine 1933 - Sioux
Dorris, Michael 1945 - 1997 Modoc
Eastman, Charles Alexander (Ohiyesa) 1858 - 1939 Dakota Sioux
Erdrich, Louise 1954 - Chippewa
French, Alice 1930 - Inuit
Goodbird, Edward (Waheenee) 1870 - 1938 Hidatsa
Green, Rayna 1942 - Cherokee
Grey, Herman ? Mohave
Henry, Jeannette ? Cherokee
La Flesche, Francis, (Zhogaxe) 1857 - 1932 Omaha
Lacapa, Michael ? Apache, Hopi, Tewa
Lelooska 1934 - 1996 Cherokee [also Kwakiutl (adopted)]
Littlechild, George ? Cree, Micmac
Lyons, Oren R. (Joagquisho - Bright Sun) 1930 - Onandaga
Markoosie 1942 - Inuit
Mathews, John Joseph 1895 - Osage
Mayokok, Robert ? Eskimo
McGaa, Ed (Eagle Man) ? Oglala Sioux
McNickle, D'Arcy 1904 - 1977 Cree, Salish, Kootenai
Mercredi, Morningstar ? Athabaskan, Chipewyan, Cree, Metis
Mitchell, Emerson Blackhorse 1945 - Navajo
Montejo, Victor 1951 - Mayan
Mourning Dove, (Hum-ishu-ma) 1888 - 1936 Colville; Okanogan
Nichols, Richard 1948 Tewa Pueblo (Santa Clara Pueblo)
Ortiz, Simon J. 1941 - Acoma Pueblo
Parker, Arthur Caswell 1881 - 1955 Seneca
Paul, Frances Lackey 1889 - 1970 Tlingit
Paytiamo, James ? Acoma Pueblo
Pennington, Daniel, 1961- ? Cherokee
Qoyawayma, Polingaysi (Elizabeth Q. White) 1892 - Hopi
Roessel, Monty ? Navajo
Ross, Gayle ? Cherokee
Sams, Jamie 1951 - Seneca, Cherokee
Smith, Cynthia Leitich 1967 - Muscogee Creek
Sneve, Virginia Driving Hawk 1933 - Rosebud Sioux/ Rosebud Lakota
Standing Bear, Luther,(Ota Kte, Mochunozhin) 1868 - 1939 Teton Dakota Sioux
Sterling, Shirley ? Niakapmux (Salish)
Swamp, (Chief) Jake (Tekaronaineken) 1941 - Mohawk
Taylor, C. J. (Carrie J.) 1952 Mohawk
Tehanetorens, (Ray Fadden) ? Mohawk
Tetso, John ? Slavey
Thompson, Jean 1933 - Penobscot
Traveller Bird, (Tsisghwanai) 1930 Cherokee
Underwood, Paula (Turtle Singing Woman) ? - 2000 Seneca
Van Camp, Richard 1971 - Dogrib
Velarde (Tse Tsan), Pablita, (Golden Dawn) 1918 - Santa Clara Pueblo, Tewa
Vizenor, Gerald Robert, 1934- 1934 - Chippewa
Waboose, Jan Bourdeau ? Nishinawbe Ojibway
White, Ellen ? Coast Salish
Whitethorne, Baje (Sr.) ? Navajo
Wittstock, Laura Waterman ? Seneca, Stockbridge Munsee
Yamane, Linda ? Rumsien Ohlone
Yellow Robe, Rosebud (Lacotawin) 1907 - 1992 Lakota Sioux
Yellow Wolf 1855 - 1935 Nez Perce
Yerxa, Leo 1947 - Ojibwe
Zitkala-Sa, (Gertrude Bonnin) 1876 - 1938 Sioux, Dakota
Tao Pueblo Students ? Taos Pueblo


Bibliography of Resources

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Biography and Genealogy Master Index. (2001) Gale Group. Retrieved 1/5/04 - 3/1/04 from http://galenet.gale.com/a/acp/db/bgmi/

Biography Index. (1946 -) New York: H.G. Wilson Co.

Burgess, Virginia Aleine. (1990). Portrayal of Alaskan native Americans in Children’s Literature (Eskimo, Aleut, Athabascan Indian). University of South Carolina.

Caldwell, Naomi Rachel (2002). A comparison of selection tool sources for developing collections of books about American Indians: General and specialized tools. University of Pittsburgh.

Contemporary Authors. (1967 - 2003) Gale Research. Hausfeld, Sandra Kay. (1993) An Analysis of Native American Environmental Attitudes Reflected in Children’s Literature. The University of Ackron.

Hay, Jody Lynn. (2002). Native American women in children’s literature. The University of Arizona.

Hirschfelder, Arlene B (1973). American Indian and Eskimo authors; a comprehensive bibliography. New York: Association of American Indian Affairs.

Hirschfelder, Arlene B (1970). American Indian authors; a representative bibliography. New York: Association of American Indian Affairs.

The Internet Public Library. (2004). The Native American Authors Project. Retrieved February, 2004 from http://www.ipl.org/div/natam/

Kwiatek, Deirdre Marisa. (1998). Playing Indian: A consideration of children's books by Native North Americans, 1900-1940. University of Toronto (Canada)

Literary Index. (2003). Gale Group. Retrieved 1/5/04 - 3/1/04 from http://www.galenet.com/servlet/LitIndex;jsessionid=DAC645675E3C5EE2A8717A7458631927

Littlefield, Daniel F. Jr and James W. Parins (1981). A Biobibliography of Native American Writers, 1772 – 1924. Metuchen, N.J.:The Scarecrow Press, Inc.

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Mercery, Gayle Marie. (2000). 'Most inhuman barbarities': A rhetorical analysis and codification of images of Native Americans in select nineteenth century informational texts written for children. University of Nevada, Reno.

Monroe, Suzanne Stolz. (1988). Images of Native American Female Protagonists in Children’s Literature 1928-1988. The University of Arizona.

Norris, Aine Josephine Kyne. (1998) The unheard voices on Turtle Island. Native American authors of children's literature in the United States: A participatory research study. University of San Francisco

Reese, Debbie Ann. (2001). Native Americans in picture books recommended for early childhood classrooms, 1945 – 1999. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Something About the Author. (1971 - 2003) Gale Research.

Slapin, Beverly and Doris Seale. (1998) Through Indian Eyes: The Native Experience in Books for Children. Los Angeles, CA: American Indian Studies Center, University of California.

Stott, Jon C. (1995). Contemporary Native American Literature: A Selected and Partially Annotated Bibliography. Phoenix Arizona: Oryx Press.

Wallace, W. Stewart. (1951) A Dictionary of North American Authors Deceased before 1950. Toronto: Ryerson Press.

Ward, Martha E and Marquardt, Dorothy A. (1971) Authors of Books for Young People. Metuchen, New Jersey: Scarecrow Press

Wearner, Hilary N (2001) “Indigenous Identity.” American Indian Quarterly 25(2) 240 – 255.

Who’s Who in America. (1899 -) Chicago: A.N. Marquis.

Who's who of American women; a biographical dictionary of notable living American women.(1959) Chicago: Marquis Who’s Who.

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York, Sherry (2003). Children’s and Young Adult Literature by Native Americans: A Guide for Librarians, Teachers, Parents and Students. Worthington Ohio: Linworth Publishing.



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