AMERICAN INDIAN AUTHORS

       The plight of Native American authors is unquestionably to shed light on a facet of the human experience that, in many cultures and peoples, is glossed over due to ignorance, misunderstandings, and assumptions. Native American authors fight against countless misconceptions including poverty, alcoholism, socioeconomic privilege or disadvantage, education, fiscal responsibility, and addiction in their works as a way to provide a platform on which to discuss values, traditions, ideals, and heritage. Additionally, Native American authors have the ability to utilize a creative process and craftsmanship to highlight or denounce aspects of the human experience, which a wide readership can benefit from.

 

       Throughout each unit, the common themes shared among humankind continue to be the ideal platform on which to foster an experience of equality, understanding, and fairness among cultures. In the first unit, prolific and widely known authors Sherman Alexie, Joseph Bruchac, Emily Pauline Johnson, Devon A. Mihesuah, and Anna Lee Walters bring about the ever-important themes of racism and ethnocentrism in their works with consideration to the role of identity in this theme. The second unit includes the works of Gertrude Simmons Bonnin, Basil Johnston, Thomas King, and Winona LaDuke, authorial powerhouses who utilize their creative craft and heritage to discuss the challenging theme of morality in Native American literature. Finally, the authors in unit three, which include Paula Gunn Allen, Louise Erdrich, Linda Hogan, and Tim Tingle, use their work to deal with the difficult aspect of spirituality in Native American literature. 

 

       As this mutlimedia analysis will examine, the Native American authors in American Indian Authors describe and detail painful, joyful, and powerful messages in their works through their use of fine craftsmanship, pride in their rich heritages and cultures, embracing their identities and furthering the identities of their characters, and conveying their perspectives on important themes in Native American literature and experience. This project will explore the challenging themes of racism, morality, and spirituality in Native American literature and the importance of these themes to the Native American experience.