Native Writers' Circle of the Americas
The Native Writers' Circle of the Americas (NWCA) is an organization of Native American writers, most notable for its literary awards, presented annually to Native American writers in three categories: First Book of Poetry, First Book of Prose, and Lifetime Achievement. The awards are voted upon by Native American writers, making it one of the few literary awards presented to Native Americans by Native Americans.[1]
The Circle (along with its sister organization, the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers) was formed as the outgrowth of the 1992 "Returning the Gift" Native Writers' Festival, a gathering of Native American writers from Canada, the United States, Mexico and the Central America.[2] The NWCA maintains contact information for Native American writers and a collection of Native American literature.[3] The organization has been hosted by the University of Oklahoma's department of Native American Studies.
Lifetime Achievement Awards
The Native Writers' Circle of the Americas awarded the following Native authors with Lifetime Achievement Awards.
- 1992 N. Scott Momaday (Kiowa-Cherokee)
- 1993 Simon J. Ortiz (Acoma Pueblo)
- 1994 Leslie Marmon Silko (Laguna Pueblo)
- 1995 Joy Harjo (Muscogee Creek)
- 1996 Vine Deloria, Jr. (Standing Rock Sioux)
- 1997 James Welch (Blackfeet-Gros Ventre)
- 1998 Linda Hogan (Chickasaw)
- 1999 Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki)
- 2000 Louise Erdrich (Turtle Mountain Chippewa)
- 2001 Paula Gunn Allen (Laguna Pueblo) and Gerald Vizenor (White Earth Chippewa)
- 2002 Maurice Kenny (Mohawk Nation)
- 2003 Geary Hobson (Cherokee-Quapaw-Chickasaw)
- 2004 Lee Francis (Laguna Pueblo)
- 2005 Carter Revard (Osage Nation)
- 2006 Luci Tapahonso (Navajo)
- 2007 Elizabeth Cook-Lynn (Crow Creek Sioux)
- 2008 Robert J. Conley (Cherokee Nation)
- 2009 Jack D. Forbes (Powhatan Renape-Lenape)
- 2010 Sherman Alexie (Spokane-Coeur D'Alene)
- 2011 Wilma Mankiller (Cherokee)
- 2012 LeAnne Howe (Choctaw)
First Book Awards for Prose
- 1992 Robert L. Perea (Oglala Lakota), Stacey's Story
- Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel (Mohegan), The Lasting of the Mohegans
- William S. Yellow Robe, Jr. (Assiniboine), The Star Quilter (play, published in Where the Pavement Ends)
- 1993 Philip H. Red Eagle (Sioux-Klallam), Red Earth
- 1994 Gus Palmer, Jr. (Kiowa), Calling Through the Creek
- 1995 Glenn J. Twist (Cherokee-Muscogee Creek), Boston Mountain Tales
- 1996 No award.
- 1997 Robert J. Perry (Chickasaw), Life With the Little People
- 1998 No award.
- 1999 Evelina Zuni Lucero (Isleta Pueblo-Ohkay Owingeh), Night Sky, Morning Star
- 2000 Chip Livingston (Florida Creek), Naming Ceremony
- 2001 Valerie Red-Horse (Cherokee), Naturally Native
- 2002 Edythe S. Hobson (Arkansas Quapaw), An Inquest Every Sunday
- 2003 Susan Supernaw (Muscogee Creek-Munsee), The Power of a Name
- 2004 Kimberly G. Roppolo (Cherokee-Choctaw-Muscogee Creek), Back to the Blanket: Reading, Writing, and Resistance for American Indian Literary Critics
- 2005 Mia Heavener (Central Yup'ik), Tundra Berries
- 2006 Judy R. Smith (Quinnipiac-Mohican), Yellowbird
- Frederick White (Haida), Welcome to the City of Rainbows
- 2007 Mary Lockwood (Malemuit Iñupiaq), Attugu Summa/Come and See What It Is
- 2008 Linda LeGarde Grover (Chippewa, Bois Forte Band of Minnesota), "The Road Back to Sweetgrass"
- 2009 JudyLee Oliva (Chickasaw), Te Ata and Other Plays
First Book Awards for Poetry
- 1992 Gloria Bird (Spokane), Full Moon on the Reservation
- 1993 Kimberly Blaeser (White Earth Chippewa), Trailing You
- 1994 Tiffany Midge (Standing Rock Sioux), Outlaws, Renegades and Saints
- 1995 Denise Sweet (White Earth Chippewa), Songs for Discharming
- 1996 Charles G. Ballard (Quapaw-Cherokee), Winter Count Poems
- 1997 Deborah A. Miranda (Costanoan-Esselen-Ohlone), Indian Cartography
- 1998 Jennifer K. Greene (Salish-Kootenai-Chippewa-Cree), What I Keep
- 1999 Janet McAdams (Alabama Creek), The Island of Lost Luggage
- 2000 Karenne Wood (Monacan), Markings on Earth
- 2001 Suzanne Rancourt (Abenaki), Billboard in the Clouds
- 2002 Renee Matthew (Koyukon), Down River From Here
- 2003 Marlon D. Sherman (Oglala Lakota), Wild Plums
- 2004 Christina M. Castro (Jemez Pueblo-Taos Pueblo), Silence on the Rez
- 2005 Kim Shuck (Cherokee-Sac and Fox), Smuggling Cherokee
- 2006 Rebecca Hatcher Travis (Chickasaw), Picked Apart the Bones
- 2007 Kade L. Twist (Cherokee Nation), Amazing Grace
- 2008 Steve Russell(Cherokee Nation), "Wicked Dew"
- 2009 Rain C. Gomez (Louisiana Choctaw-Creole-Mvskogean-Métis-Celtic American), Smoked Mullet Cornbread Memory
See also
References
- ↑ Gilbar, Steven (2005). Bibliotopia, Or, Mr. Gilbar's Book of Books & Catch-all of Literary Facts & Curiosities. David R. Godine. p. 103. ISBN 9781567922950.
- ↑ Womack, Craig S., ed. (2008). Reasoning Together: The Native Critics Collective. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 49. ISBN 9780806138879.
- ↑ Wong, Hertha D. Sweet; Muller, Lauren Stuart; Magdaleno, Jana Sequoya, eds. (2008). Reckonings: Contemporary Short Fiction by Native American Women. Oxford University Press. p. xxii. ISBN 9780198026907.