N. Scott Momaday

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N(avarre) Scott Momaday (Tsoai-talee, Rock Tree Boy) (born February 27, 1934) is a Native American (Kiowa) writer. He is the son of the writer Natachee Scott Momaday and the painter Al Momaday, and was born in Lawton, Oklahoma, United States. He attended Augusta Military Academy, the University of New Mexico, where he received his A.B. in 1958, and Stanford University, receiving his M.A. in 1960 and his Ph.D. in 1963. He has taught at the University of California, Santa Barbara, the University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University and the University of Arizona where he was Regents Professor of the Humanities. He is a member of the renowned Kiowa Gourd Dance Society.

His novel House Made of Dawn led to the breakthrough of Native American literature into the mainstream. It was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1969. He was also featured in the Ken Burns and Stephen Ives' documentary, The West, for his masterful retelling of Kiowa history and legend. Momaday is also featured in another PBS documentary concerning the Battle of the Little Bighorn. He laughed and said of his grandfather, who fought in the battle: "My grandfather used to say Custer looked whiter than ever!". Momaday is the Poet Laureate of Oklahoma.

Among his many awards are a Guggenheim Fellowship, numerous honorary degrees, and he is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In November 2007 he was one of nine ecipients of the National Medal of Arts at a White House ceremony. Momaday is also a renowned painter and has illustrated several of his own books, including a limited edition volume.

He is a founding trustee of the National Museum of the American Indian and a consultant for the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts. He sits on the Boards of First Nations Development Institute and the School of American Research. In 1992 Momaday was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Native Writers Circle of the Americas.

Contents

Bibliography

  • The Journey of Tai-me (1967)
  • House Made of Dawn (1968)
  • The Way to Rainy Mountain (1969) (illustrated by his father, Alfred Momaday)
  • Angle of Geese (1974)
  • The Gourd Dancer (1976)
  • The Names: A Memoir (1976)
  • The Ancient Child (1989)
  • In the Presence of the Sun (1992)
  • The Native Americans: Indian County (1993)
  • Circle of Wonder: A Native American Christmas Story (1994)
  • The Man Made of Words: Essays, Stories, Passages (1997)
  • In the Bear's House (1999)

Quotes

  • "I sometimes think the contemporary white American is more culturally deprived than the Indian."
  • "I simply kept my goal in mind and persisted. Perseverance is a large part of writing."

See also

External links

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