University of Arkansas at Little Rock

Currently, the ANPA Bibliographic Database in unavailable via the Web. It is our plan to make the database available here. In the meantime, the staff of the Sequoyah National Research Center will be happy to search the database locally for users. Please address you queries to trrose@ualr.edu.

About the Bibliography

In addition to creative writing such as poetry, drama, and fiction, this bibliography includes other forms: essays on historical, political, and social topics; myths and legends; satirical pieces in various dialects; personal reminiscences; letters and communications to the federal government; legal documents such as treaties, laws, and case briefs; and other genres. All works included have in common the fact that they were written with an audience in mind, usually a public one. Furthermore, most were written for publication; those that were not were subsequently published because of their merit or because of the public issues they addressed. But, of course, what unifies these works is that they were all written by Native Americans.

Purpose

Our purpose in creating and presenting this bibliography is to add to the body of knowledge of Native American culture and history. We believe that any study of American ethnic history is incomplete without the expressions of self-concept like those of writers identified here. The wide spectrum of writing represented will be useful to those seeking to understand the opinions, attitudes, and concerns of Native Americans during the various eras of their history. Further knowledge of these works will help provide a context for understanding the role of native peoples and indigenous groups in world affairs.

Organization

The bibliography covers the period from 1772 to the present. However, loading entries into the bibliography is an on-going process, and citations are being added every day. While the 1772-1945 period is largely complete, work continues on the more recent periods, so some gaps should be expected. As time goes on and our work continues, these gaps will be eliminated.

Sources

Entries have been compiled from a number of printed and electronic sources. More important, however, is the richest vein of Native writing, Native American publications such as newspapers, magazines, newsletters, journals, and other periodicals. Because they are not indexed in available print and electronic resources, we have painstakingly searched many of these for citations of Native writing. New citations are being collected constantly and will be entered in the bibliography through periodic updates.

Identification of Writers

One of the ongoing problems encountered in compiling this bibliography is identifying the writers. For purposes of this work, we have defined a Native American as a person who had (has) tribal affiliation or maintained (maintains) tribal ties and who was (is) recognized by his or her contemporaries as a Native American. Writers were identified in a number of ways, such as inclusion on tribal rolls, attendance at government Indian schools, and various kinds of publication data. In compiling the main bibliography, we have not included writers whose tribal affiliations could not be determined. However, we have included writers who are known to us only by their pen names. Those writers were included primarily on the basis of self-identification and the content and context of their works.

Tribal Designations

Two major problems concerning tribal names present themselves. First, over time tribal designations and spellings have varied. For example, “Diné” refers to people known to many as “Navajo,” a name itself with variant spellings; in the same way, “Muscogee” refers to those known formerly as “Creek.” Woodland groups of the Great Lakes region have been referred to as “Chippewa,” “Chippeway,” “Ojibwa,” “Ojibwe,” “Anishinabe,” and “Anishinabeg” at different times. Our policy in dealing with this problem has been to use the designation given by writers to refer to themselves and to provide correct spelling or designation when possible. When the tribal name has been given by others such as editors or government officials (in the case of writing by students at government boarding schools, for example), we have supplied the term in current usage where possible. Second, some writers identified themselves by general terms. For example, many California writers have identified themselves or were identified by others as “Mission Indians,” while some southwestern nations have been lumped together as “Pueblos” and other writers of the Great Plains were identified only as “Sioux.” If the information is available, we have identified the band, tribal division, or reservation of large or scattered groups such as those designated as “Sioux” and “Chippewas.” Tribal designations will be revised if additional biographical information becomes available.

NOTE TO USERS
Following are our policies:

• Many of the materials in the bibliography are available on site to visitors of the American Native Press Archives. Our hours are 8-5 CST Monday through Friday.
• We do not lend materials through Interlibrary Loan.
• We do not photocopy materials except for visitors to the Archives.
• We do not electronically reproduce materials.

Your comments and questions are welcome.

Tribal Writers Archives

The American Native Press Archives includes in its holdings a majority of the works by tribal writers listed in its on-line bibliography. Its goal is to make its collections - both historical and contemporary - as complete as possible. At present, the bibliography emphasizes American Indian and Alaska Native writers before World War II. As we continue to work toward the present generation of writers in our additions to the bibliography, and as we add Canadian First Nations writers, we urge those writers to contribute to the project by sending a bibliography of their works to the Archives. The bibliographies will ensure that the entries for the writers are complete. Copies of their works are also welcome. Any works donated to the project will become part of the permanent collection and will be made available to students, scholars, and other researchers. Please send any contribution to the project director:

James W. Parins
Sequoyah Research Center
500 University Plaza
University of Arkansas at Little Rock
2801 S. University Avenue
Little Rock, AR 72204-1099
jwparins@ualr.edu