ABSTRACT
An essay on “Teaching Indian Literature” should cover practically everything that an essay entitled “Teaching Literature” would, since Native American literature embraces all the major forms of expression typically, or even untypically, called Literature: performed oral literature, song, chant, and narrative, ceremonial or not; various forms of nonfictional prose, including histories, essays, and autobiography; fiction; poetry; and drama. To complicate matters, all these forms of literary expression have been communicated in both English and tribal languages, and some of the oral literatures have the historical depth of thousands of years. Despite these almost overwhelming diversities, there are several common challenges that teachers face when presenting Indian literature. I will focus on four: How much, if any, background material should be introduced? How crucial are questions of translation and transformation? What ethical responsibilities accompany the teaching of Indian literature? How can Native American texts be effectively and responsibly introduced into literary survey courses?
