Native Writers' Circle of the Americas

The Native Writers' Circle of the Americas (NWCA) is an organization of writers who identify as being Native American, First Nations, or of Native American ancestry.

The organization presents literary awards annually to writers in three categories:

  • First Book of Poetry
  • First Book of Prose
  • Lifetime Achievement.

The awards are voted upon by member writers.[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 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 and is currently housed in the Department of English.

Lifetime Achievement Awards

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The Native Writers' Circle of the Americas awarded the following Native authors with Lifetime Achievement Awards:

First Book Awards for Prose

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  • 1992: Robert L. Perea (Oglala Lakota), Stacey's Story
  • 1993: Philip H. Red Eagle (Sioux-Klallam), Red Earth
  • 1994: Gus Palmer, Jr. (Kiowa), Calling Through the Creek
  • 1995: Glenn J. Twist (Cherokee Nation/Muscogee), 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 (self-identified Poarch Creek), Naming Ceremony
  • 2001: Valerie Red-Horse (self-identified Cherokee descent), 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 (self-identified Southeastern American Indian ancestry), 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 (self-identified 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
  • 2018: no award given

First Book Awards for Poetry

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Gilbar, Steven (2005). Bibliotopia, Or, Mr. Gilbar's Book of Books & Catch-all of Literary Facts & Curiosities. David R. Godine. p. 103. ISBN 9781567922950.
  2. ^ Womack, Craig S., ed. (2008). Reasoning Together: The Native Critics Collective. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 49. ISBN 9780806138879.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ "The origins of Louisiana Creole Culture | International Magazine Kreol".
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