Vine Victor Deloria Jr. (March 26, 1933 – November 13, 2005, Standing Rock Sioux) was an author, theologian, historian, and activist for Native American rights. He was widely known for his book Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto (1969), which helped attract national attention to Native American issues in the same year as the Alcatraz-Red Power Movement. From 1964 to 1967, he served as executive director of the National Congress of American Indians,[1] increasing its membership of tribes from 19 to 156. Beginning in 1977, he was a board member of the National Museum of the American Indian, which now has buildings in both New York City and in Washington, DC, on the Mall.
Fiction
Tommy Orange, born of Cheyenne and Arapaho heritage in 1982, is a renowned American novelist and writer hailing from Oakland, California. His debut work, "There There" (2018), was shortlisted for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize and won the 2019 American Book Award. His upcoming novel "Wandering Stars" will be released in 2024.
Karen Louise Erdrich, born on June 7, 1954, is an American author known for her novels, poetry, and children's books that highlight Native American characters and settings. She is an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, a federally recognized tribe of Ojibwe people.