Native American Renaissance - The Renaissance

The Renaissance

In the work Native American Literatures: An Introduction, author Suzanne Lundquist purports the Native American Renaissance as coming in three forms:

• Reclamation of heritage through literary expression
• Discovery and reevaluation of early texts by Native American authors
• Renewed interest in customary tribal artistic expression (i.e. mythology, ceremonialism, ritual and the oral tradition of narrative transmission).

Lincoln points out that in the late-1960s and early-1970s, a generation of Native Americans were coming of age who were the first of their respective tribal communities to receive a substantial English-language education, particularly outside of standard Indian boarding schools, as well as in colleges and universities. Conditions for Native people, while still very harsh during this period, had moved beyond the survival conditions of the early half of the century.

The beginnings of a period of historical revisionism attempting to document the history of the invasion and colonization of the North American continent (particularly the Wild West) era) from a Native American perspective inspired a great deal of public interest in Native cultures and within Native American communities themselves.

As a result, a group of young Native American writers emerged in the fields of poetry and novel-writing. These writers worked to expand the Native American literary canon in the span of a few short years.

At the same time, the sudden increase in materials and the development of Native American Studies Departments and programs at several universities such as The University of California, Los Angeles and Dartmouth College, led to the foundation of scholarly journals, such as SAIL (Studies in American Indian Literature) and Wíčazo Ša Review. The influx in interest in Native American writing led to the establishment of publishing imprints such as the Native American Publishing Programme (Harper and Row), which aimed to promote continued interest in new Native American voices and publication opportunities.