John Joseph Mathews
From NativeWiki
John Joseph Mathews (November 16, 1895 - June 11, 1979) was an Osage novelist and historian. He was born in Pawhuska, Oklahoma where he appears on the tribal roll as one-eighth Osage. His education was interrupted by World War I during which he served as a flight instructor. On returning from the war he received degrees in natural sciences from the University of Oklahoma and Oxford. He then attended he University of Geneva, where he obtained a certificate in international relations. While in Geneva, Mathews did freelance work for the Philadelphia Ledger. After extensve travel in Europe he returned to Pawhuska, where he turned to a life of public service, serving on the Osage Tribal Council, and writing. He represented the tribe in Washington, D.C., and helped the Osage attain rights to natural gas and oil deposits found on their lands. He represented the United States in the 1940 Indians of the Americas Conference in Lake Patzcuaro, Michoacan, Mexico, and was instrumental in establishing the Osage Museum in Pawhuska.
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[edit] Awards
Guggenheim fellowship, 1939-40; Distinguished Service Citation, University of Oklahoma, 1962; Award of Merit, American Association for State and Local History, 1962, for The Osages.
[edit] Books
- Wah'Kon-Tah: The Osage and the White Man's Road (Book-of-the-Month Club selection), University of Oklahoma Press, 1932.
- Sundown (novel), Longmans, Green, 1934.
- Talking to the Moon, University of Chicago Press, 1945.
- Life and Death of an Oilman, University of Oklahoma Press, 1951.
- The Osages: Children of the Middle Waters, University of Oklahoma Press, 1961.
[edit] References
Owens, Louis, Other Destinies: Understanding the American Indian Novel, University of Oklahoma Press, 1992, pp. 49-89.
Ruoff, A. LaVonne Brown, Multicultural Autobiography: American Lives, edited by James Robert Payne, University of Tennessee Press, 1992, pp. 1-31
[edit] See Also
- John Joseph Mathews (Osage) (1894-1979) Classroom Issues and Strategies by Andrew O. Wiget
- A Tribute To John Joseph Mathews: Osage Writer by Fredrick W. Boling
- John Joseph Mathews from enotes.com
- A short biography from the Native American Authors Project at the Internet Public Library
