Tribal Theory in Native American Literature: Dakota and Haudenosaunee Writing and Indigenous Worldviews

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments I would like to acknowledge the vital assistance provided to me at critical stages in the conception and writing of this book. Both Dakota and Haudenosaunee community members have contributed essential insights at various stages in the process.Franklin Firesteel, Bob Brown,Joyzelle Godfrey,Neil McKay,Sheila Schunk Jensen,and Henry Skywater have been invaluable readers of rougher versions of the manuscript. Both Franklin and Bob are sorely missed by members of the Minneapolis and Mendota Dakota communities. Pida to Clarence Rockboy, Charmaine Thin Elk, and Natalie and Dave Medicine Bear for starting me in Dakota language studies; nya:weh to Jane Doctor, Marcheta Davidson, Jaré Cardinal, Ray Cook,Tom Porter,and Ellen Gabriel for inspiring me through their lived examples; and thanks to my Mohawk readers Ron Freeman and Mary Hess.For encouragement along the way I am very grateful to my committee members and other readers: Jo Lee,Carol Miller, Ed Griffin,Tom Augst,Brenda Child,Susan Gardner,and especially Don Ross for reading when he really didn’t have to. For critical help in the publication process, I also owe a tremendous thanks to Janet Zandy, my colleague in Working Class Studies. Others who offered encouragement are Lisa Brooks, Cheryl Savageau,Allison Hedge Coke, Siobhan Senier,Alan Trachtenberg, Eric Gansworth, and Erika T. Wurth. The Rochester Institute of Technology also provided ample support in the form of course releases and the Miller Fellowship that allowed me to complete this book. ...