Which event is most often treated as the starting point of the Native American Renaissance?
AThe publication of Love Medicine in 1984
BN. Scott Momaday's House Made of Dawn winning the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1969
CThe founding of a Native American writers' academy in 1920
DThe first English translation of the Popol Vuh
House Made of Dawn (1968) and its 1969 Pulitzer drew national attention to Native writing and was followed by a wave of new books. Love Medicine came later in the same period.
Question 2 True / False
Native American authors first began publishing written literature in English in the 1960s.
TTrue
FFalse
Answer: False
Native writers published in English long before. Samson Occom, William Apess, Zitkala-Ša and D'Arcy McNickle are examples. The 'renaissance' label refers to a period of new visibility and growth, not a first beginning.
Question 3 Multiple Choice
In Ceremony, how does Silko use traditional Laguna stories?
AShe places them in an appendix for readers who want background
BShe sets them in verse between prose sections, so the old stories run alongside Tayo's recovery and help shape it
CShe avoids them entirely to write a purely realist novel
DShe uses them only as chapter titles
The verse passages are part of the novel's structure. Tayo, a Laguna veteran of the Second World War, heals through a ceremony that connects his life to those stories, so the form enacts the book's claim that stories have power.
Question 4 Short Answer
Some scholars question the word 'renaissance' for this period. Why?
Think about your answer, then reveal below.
Model answer: 'Renaissance' suggests a rebirth after a death, but Native storytelling and writing never stopped. The term can hide earlier writers and continuing oral traditions, even though it accurately marks a rise in publication and attention.
The debate is about framing. Kenneth Lincoln's label describes the visibility of these books to a national readership, while critics stress continuity with older oral and written traditions.