Native America Calling: How Native literature is changing the mainstream narrative

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Thursday, April 25, 2024

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How Native literature is changing the mainstream narrative

Readers are in the midst of a new surge of Native writing talent.

And their skill for engaging readers with compelling stories is propelling a new, complex and more sophisticated narrative about who Native Americans are. Gone are the Louis L’Amour stereotypes. The new Native characters are miscreants, bored office workers, dysfunctional family members, and reluctant heroes.

And they all have a story to tell, with a voice that readers wouldn’t hear otherwise. Tune in to explore the arc of Native literature from two writers who are part of the torrent of creative representation.

Shutter by Ramona Emerson (Penguin Random House 2024)

Whiskey Tender by Deborah Jackson Taffa (Harper Collins 2024)

Guests on Native America Calling

Deborah Jackson Taffa (Kwatsaán and Laguna Pueblo), author of Whiskey Tender, director of the MFA in Creative Writing program at the Institute of American Indian Arts, and editor-in-chief of “River Styx” literary magazine

Ramona Emerson (Diné), former forensic videographer and photographer, filmmaker, and author of Shutter