LibGuides: Native American Literature: Catalog, Databases, and Journals

About This Guide

This research guide includes recommended subject search terms, books, journals and databases for locating material related to Native American Literature, literary criticism and the history of Tribal Nations in relation to U.S. Federal Indian Policy.

Start with OneSearch to find articles, books, media and more. Begin with a few key concepts, for example, try formulating your search like this:

"Title of Literary Work" AND "literary criticism" or "Author of literary work" AND "literary criticism"

Subject Search Terms

Below is a list of subject terms and linked search results that can help you find resources from the library collections related to Native American Literature.

The Routledge Companion to Native American Literature [ebook] by Deborah Madsen (Editor)
ISBN: 9781138020603
Publication Date: 2015-10-26
The Routledge Companion to Native American Literature engages the multiple scenes of tension — historical, political, cultural, and aesthetic — that constitutes a problematic legacy in terms of community identity, ethnicity, gender and sexuality, language, and sovereignty in the study of Native American literature. This important and timely addition to the field provides context for issues that enter into Native American literary texts through allusions, references, and language use. The volume presents over forty essays by leading and emerging international scholars and analyses: regional, cultural, racial and sexual identities in Native American literature key historical moments from the earliest period of colonial contact to the present worldviews in relation to issues such as health, spirituality, animals, and physical environments traditions of cultural creation that are key to understanding the styles, allusions, and language of Native American Literature the impact of differing literary forms of Native American literature.
New Poets of Native Nations by Heid E. Erdrich (Editor)
Call Number: CGC NP NTH.N49 2018
ISBN: 9781555978099
Publication Date: 2018
New Poets of Native Nations gathers poets of diverse ages, styles, languages, and tribal affiliations to present the extraordinary range and power of new Native poetry. Heid E. Erdrich has selected twenty-one poets whose first books were published after the year 2000 to highlight the exciting works coming up after Joy Harjo and Sherman Alexie.
The Dispossession of the American Indian, 1887-1934 by Janet A. McDonnell
Call Number: E98.L3M43 1991 Cyril George Collection - Global Indigenous Knowledge
ISBN: 9780253336286
Publication Date: 1991
A history of the Dawes Act

Relevant Databases

Gale Literature This link opens in a new window
Search across Gale's Literature databases to find full text of literary works, journal articles, literature criticism, reviews, biographical information and overviews.
You can research authors and their works, literary movements and genres. Cross-searching includes all UAS-licensed content from Literature Resource Center, Literary Criticism, Scribner Writers Series, Twayne's Author Series, and Dictionary of Literary Biography.
Humanities Full Text This link opens in a new window
The database indexes, abstracts and delivers the full text of feature articles, interviews, obituaries, bibliographies, original works of fiction, drama, and poetry, book reviews, and reviews of ballets, dance programs, motion pictures, musicals, operas, plays, radio and television programs, and more.

The Poetry Foundation | Native American Poetry & Culture Collection
In addition to a vast collection of biographies, literary works, and critical essays, the Poetry Foundation editors have curated this collection of Native American poets, both established and widely read ones along with voices of a new generation, from some of the many US tribes.
Modern American Poetry
MAPS contains thousands of pages of criticism on 161 modern and contemporary poets, including many original essays and excerpts from previously published works.
Glossary of Poetic Terms | Poetry Foundation
Tribal Law Gateway- National Indian Law Library
Find tribal codes, court opinions, and other legal materials by tribe · More than 300 tribes participating · More than 100 tribal codes available · Search across the entire collection of laws
Native American Law Research Guide | Georgetown Law Library
This guide includes a selection of legal, governmental, and public policy resources in various formats on Native American law.
Indigenous Law Portal | Library of Congress
Mapping American Indian Constitutions and Legal Materials.

Featured Journals

Studies in American Indian Literature (SAIL)
UAS subscribes online and print. Studies in American Indian Literatures (SAIL) is the only journal in the United States that focuses exclusively on American Indian literatures. With a wide scope of scholars and creative contributors, this journal is on the cutting edge of activity in the field. SAIL invites the submission of scholarly, critical pedagogical, and theoretical manuscripts focused on any aspect of American Indian literatures as well as the submission of bibliographical essays, review essays, and interviews.
American Indian Quarterly
UAS subscribes online and in print. A refereed interdisciplinary journal of the history, anthropology, literature and the arts of Native American Indians, book reviews and lists of recently published books.

Using a Citation

If you have a citation to an article or your instructor has told you to look in a particular journal, you have several different options to find the article. Most of the journals that the Egan Library subscribes to are available in our databases.

To search for a journal or article:

search by journal title using Journal Search (in the drop-down menu from the library's main search box) to see if the journal you are looking for is available in full-text in one of our databases;
search by article title (put article title in quotation marks, ie "Your Title Here") using OneSearch to see if it is available in full text.
if it is not available in the Egan Library you can submit an Interlibrary Loan request
if you would like help finding the article contact the Reference Desk for further assistance.