Native Writers: Voices of Power

by Kim Sigafus, Lyle Ernst

Overview

Learn about the life events and aspirations that shaped the voices of ten influential Native writers, whose novels, short stories and plays encompass the soul of Native life. Learn how these writers draw from personal experience to create situations and characters that are entertaining and poignant. Featured writers include:

Sherman Alexie (Spokane/Coeur d’Alene) Marilyn Dumont (Cree/Métis)
Joseph Boyden (Cree/Métis) Louise Erdrich (Ojibwa)
Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki) Tomson Highway (Cree)
Maria Campbell (Métis) N. Scott Momaday (Kiowa/Cherokee)
Nicola Campbell (Interior Salish of Nle7kepmx Tim Tingle (Choctaw)
[Thompson] and Nsilx [Okanagan]/Métis)

Many individuals portrayed in the Native Trailblazers series surmounted adversity and humble beginnings in their journey for personal success. The Trailblazer books feature positive role models for Native students while providing non-Native students with a view of Indigenous people today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780977918386
Publisher:	Book Publishing Company
Publication date:	04/01/2012
Series:	Native Trailblazers , #4
Pages:	112
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	12 - 16 Years

About the Author

Kim Sigafus is an award-winning Ojibwa writer and photographer whose family is from the White Earth Reservation in northwest Minnesota. She is an Illinois Humanities Road Scholar and gives presentations on Native harvest, history, and music. She coauthored two award-winning books: Native Writers: Voices of Power and Native Elders: Sharing Their Wisdom. Sigafus is also the author of three PathFinders novels for reluctant readers: Nowhere to Hide, Autumn’s Dawn, and Finding Grace. She resides with her husband in Freeport, Illinois.

Lyle Ernst was a freelance journalist and writer. In addition to contributing news stories and feature articles to local newspapers, he coauthored two books in the Native Trailblazers Series: Native Writers: Voices of Power and Native Elders: Sharing Their Wisdom. Ernst was a member of the Native American Coalition of the Quad Cities, based in Moline, Illinois.

Table of Contents

Introduction ix

Glossary xi

Chapter 1 Spokane and Coeur D'Alene Sherman Alexie 1

Chapter 2 Ojibwe Louise Erdrich 9

Chapter 3 Ojibwe Joseph Boyden 20

Chapter 4 Kiowa and Cherokee N. Scott Momaday 27

Chapter 5 Cree and Métis Marilyn Dumont 35

Chapter 6 Cree Tomson Highway 43

Chapter 7 Abenaki Joseph Bruchac 50

Chapter 8 Métis Maria Campbell 61

Chapter 9 Interior Salish of NLE7KEPMX (Thompson) and NSILX (Okanagan)/Métis Nicola Campbell 69

Chapter 10 Chickasaw and Choctaw Tim Tingle 77

Resources 88

Photo Credits 91

About the Authors 93

Editorial Reviews

Gr 7 Up—With a goal of providing inspirational role models for its readers, this collection of short, accessible biographies focuses on 10 Native writers: Sherman Alexie, Louise Erdrich, Joseph Boyden, N. Scott Momaday, Marilyn Dumont, Tomson Highway, Joseph Bruchac, Maria Campbell, Nicola Campbell, and Tim Tingle. The authors give brief overviews of the subjects' lives before describing a few of their best-known works, often showing how actual experiences inspired events and characters in their fiction. The biographies take an informal tone, referring to the writers by their first names and describing their non-writing-related interests. Sigafus and Ernst note in their introduction that not all of the subjects were interviewed; while they do not mention which authors they spoke with, there is a noticeable difference in the depth of coverage from one writer to another. The biographies of interviewees include many direct quotes, which do not appear in the chapters about authors who did not participate in the process. Each biography includes two black-and-white photos and sidebars that provide more information about events or people mentioned in the main text. The topics covered in sidebars vary widely, and some seem odd choices in the context of a book about the Native experience; while text boxes on residential schools, the Trail of Tears, and significant Native historical figures such as Gabriel Dumont and Francis Pegahmagabow are welcome, those on William Faulkner, James Reaney, and coeducation are nonessential. This book fills a gap in many collections, and will be especially useful when studying Native literature.Kate Hewitt, Far Brook School, Short Hills, NJ

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