Resources
Bibliography for Teachers
Lincoln, Kenneth. Native American Renaissance. Berkeley: U of California, 1983.
In this seminal text, Lincoln coins and explores the term “Native American Renaissance” in order to describe the increase of literary text by Native American authors such as Louise Erdrich, Leslie Marmon Silko, N. Scott Momaday and others.
Owens, Louis. Other Destinies: Understanding the American Indian Novel. Norman: U of Oklahoma, 1992.
Owens contributes to the dialogue on Native American Literature, focusing on novels by Native Americans since 1969. Cogently written, each chapter focuses on a particular novel, including both Ceremony and Winter in the Blood.
Roush, Jan, and Jeff Berglund. Sherman Alexie: A Collection of Critical Essays. Salt Lake City: U of Utah, 2010.
This collection of essays provides an updated consideration of Sherman Alexie’s work, including The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Alexie’s poems and short stories are also discussed.
Smith, Paul Chaat, and Robert Allen Warrior. Like a Hurricane: The Indian Movement from Alcatraz to Wounded Knee. New York: New, 1996.
Like A Hurricane examines the beginning stages of the protest movement of American Indians, including the Occupation of Alcatraz and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. This is an easily accessible text and a must-read for any teacher preparing to educate students about the rise of modern American Indian politics.
Wilkinson, Charles F. Blood Struggle: The Rise of Modern Indian Nations. New York: Norton, 2005.
Wilkinson, an Indian law professor, gives a well organized and expertly explained account of the struggles and triumphs of Native Americans to regain tribal sovereignty and native lands in contemporary America.
Reading List for Students
Alexie, Sherman, and Ellen Forney. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian. New York: Little, Brown, 2007.
An illustrated semi-autobiographical coming of age novel for young adults. The protagonist, Arnold Spirit, Jr., struggles to straddle to seemingly opposing worlds: his home on the Spokane Indian Reservation and his affluent, all white high school, Reardan.
Silko, Leslie Marmon. Ceremony. New York, NY: Penguin, 1986.
Silko’s novel traces the return home of Tayo, a Native American World War II veteran, and his struggle to rectify the atrocities of war with his return to tribal reservation life.
Welch, James. Winter in the Blood. New York: Harper & Row, 1974.
In Winter in the Blood, an unnamed 32-year old, emotionally stunted narrator find himself struggling with the concept of Native American identity.
Materials for Classroom Use
Smoke Signals. Dir. Chris Eyre. By Sherman Alexie. Alliance Vivafilm, 1999. DVD.
This fictionalized film examines experiences of young Native Americans living on the Coeur d’Alene reservation in Idaho and their struggles with violence, death, alcoholism and the despondency of the people surrounding them.
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