N. Scott Momaday (1934‐2024)

N. Scott Momaday (1934‐2024) was recognized as one of the premier writers in the United States. In 1969, his novel House Made of Dawn was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. He taught at the university level for many years and even at the age of 80 served as a visiting professor at the University of New Mexico.

“Something of our relationship to the earth is determined by the particular place we stand at a given time. If you stand still long enough to observe carefully the things around you, you will find beauty, and you will know wonder.”

N. Scott Momaday, “Earth Keeper: Reflections on the American Land”

One of the most distinguished Native American authors in the 21st century, N. Scott Momaday was chiefly known for novels and poetry collections that communicate the fabulous oral legends of his Kiowa heritage. In 1969 he became the first Native American to win the Pulitzer Prize in fiction for his novel House Made of Dawn, which had a tremendous impact on the development of Native American literature in the United States. Published during a time of heightened cultural awareness in the late 1960s and early ’70s, House Made of Dawn not only influenced but also brought attention to other gifted Native American writers, including Vine Deloria Jr., Leslie Silko, and James Welch. In 2020, Momaday published both The Death of Sitting Bear and Earth Keeper: Reflections on the American Land.

Works:

“N. Scott Momaday.” Encyclopedia of World Biography Online, Gale, 2024. Gale In Context: Biography, https://buff.ly/4bm5pug. Accessed 1 Feb. 2024.