Wordcraft Circle
Award Recipients
1997
WORDCRAFTER OF THE YEAR: Robert J. Conley (UKB Cherokee) and Otilia Sanchez (Yaqui)
MENTOR OF THE YEAR: Patricia Penn Hilden (Nez Perce) Daniel F. Littlefield (Cherokee)
INTERN OF THE YEAR: Kent Blansett (Cherokee) and Stuart Hoahwah (Comanche/Arapaho)
WRITER OF THE YEAR, CREATIVE
Autobiography: William S. Penn (Nez Perce)
Non-Fiction: C. Blue Clark (Muscogee)
Fiction: Linda Hogan (Chickasaw)
Children's Literature: Cheryl Savageau (Abenaki)
Poetry: Carol Lee Sanchez (Laguna Pueblo)
WRITER OF THE YEAR, ACADEMIC
Bibliography: A. LaVonne Brown Ruoff (Non-Native)
Anthology/Collection: Clifford E. Trafzer (Wyandot)
Reference: D. L. (Don) Birchfield (Choctaw)
Doctoral Dissertation: Paul Rathbun (Non-Native)
WRITER OF THE YEAR, TECHNICAL: Ronald Rowell (Choctaw/Kaskaskia/Chickasaw)
SPECIALTY
Radio/Television Anchoring: Harlan MacKosato (Sac and Fox)
Book Cover Illustration: Murv Jacob (Kentucky Cherokee)
Theatre Playwriting/Scriptwriting: Diane Glancy (Cherokee)
Recording CD/Audiocassette: Joy Harjo and Poetic Justice (Muscogee)
Journalism: Terry Hansen (Nebraska Winnebago)
Art Exhibition/Presentation: Pahdopony (Comanche)
STORYTELLER OF THE YEAR
Lecture/Speaking: Debbie LaCroix (Sisseton-Shapeton Sioux)
Traditional Native Stories: Gayle Ross (Cherokee)
Contemporary Native Stories: Gregg Howard (Cherokee/Powhatan)
Readings/Performance: Craig S. Womack (Muscogee/Cherokee)
PUBLISHER OF THE YEAR: University of Oklahoma Press (Norman OK)
LITERARY AGENT OF THE YEAR: Cherry Weiner Manalapan NJ (Non-Native)
FOUNDATION OF THE YEAR: The Bay Foundation Robert Ashton, Executive Director (Manhattan NY)
1998
WORDCRAFTER OF THE YEAR: Karen M. Strom (Non-Native) and Pamela D. Rentz (California Karuk)
MENTOR OF THE YEAR: Geary Hobson (Cherokee/Quapaw/Chickasaw) and Cheryl Savageau (Abenaki)
INTERN OF THE YEAR: Ronald S. Harnage (Georgia Cherokee)
WRITER OF THE YEAR, CREATIVE
Autobiography: Joseph Bruchac
Poetry: Joy Harjo (Muscogee)
Personal and Critical Essays : Louis Owens (Choctaw/Cherokee)
WRITER OF THE YEAR, ACADEMIC
Master's Thesis: Chip Livingston (Florida Creek)
Research Paper: Steve Russell (Cherokee)
Anthology/Collection: William S. Penn (Nez Perce)
Reference: Kenneth M. Roemer (Non-Native)
Bibliography: Daniel F. Littlefield and James Parins (Cherokee)
WRITER OF THE YEAR, TECHNICAL: Michael Gray (Seneca)
SPECIALTY
Radio/Television Producing: Frank Blythe (Eastern Cherokee/Sisseton-Whapeton Dakota)
Recording CD/Audiocassette: Rayna F. Green (Cherokee)
Theatre Playwriting/Scriptwriting: Annette Arkeketa (Otoe-Missouria/Muscogee)
Literary Journal Editing: Greg Young-Ing (Cree)
STORYTELLER OF THE YEAR
Traditional Native Stories: Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki)
Lecture/Speaking: James Bruchac (Abenaki)
PUBLISHER OF THE YEAR: Taurean Horn Press, William Vartnaw, Publisher (San Francisco CA)
FOUNDATION OF THE YEAR: Haskell Foundation, Suzanne Arkeketa, Director (Lawrence KS)
SOVEREIGN NATION OF THE YEAR: Mashantucket Pequot Nation (CT)
1999
WORDCRAFTER OF THE YEAR: Carol Snow Moon Bachofner (Abenaki) and Cornel Pewewardy (Comanche/Kiowa)
MENTOR OF THE YEAR: LaDonna Harris (Comanche) and John B. Herrington (Chickasaw)
INTERN OF THE YEAR: Jonella Seymour (Acoma Pueblo/Salish)
WRITER OF THE YEAR, CREATIVE
Fiction : Robert J. Conley (UKB Cherokee)
Nonfiction: Jack Forbes (Powhatan-Renape)
Poetry: Laura Tohe (Navajo)
Children's Literature: Richard Van Camp (Dogrib)
Personal and Critical Essays: Vine Deloria Jr. (Lakota)
Autobiography: Darryl Babe Wilson (Achumawe/Atsugewi)
WRITER OF THE YEAR, ACADEMIC
Research Paper: Julia M. Coates (Cherokee)
Doctoral Dissertation: Thurman Lee Hester Jr. (Choctaw)
Reference: Paulette Fairbanks Molin (White Earth Anishinaabe)
Anthology/Collection: Duane Champagne (Turtle Mountain Anishinaabe)
SPECIALTY
Theatre Directing: Patricia Melody
Film Producing: Sherman Alexie and Chris Eyre (Spokane/Coeur d'Alene)
Book Cover Illustration: Michael LaCapa (Hopi/Apache/Tewa)
Journalism: Gary Farmer (Cayuga)
Art Exhibition/Presentation: Melanie Printup Hope (Tuscarora)
STORYTELLER OF THE YEAR
Traditional Native Stories: Robert Owens (Lakota)
Contemporary Native Stories: Jesse Bruchac (Abenaki)
Readings/Performance: Luci Tapahonso (Navajo)
Lecture/Speaking: Kimberly Blaeser (White Earth Anishinaabe)
PUBLISHER OF THE YEAR
Regional Publisher: Muh-he-connew Press (Grisham WI)
Small Press: West End Press, John Crawford, Publisher (Albuquerque NM)
National Publisher: AltaMira Press (Walnut Creek CA)
University Press: Michigan State University Press (Lansing MI)
LITERARY AGENT OF THE YEAR: Barbara Kouts Long Island NY (Non-Native)
FOUNDATION OF THE YEAR: Marshall Foundation, Houston TX (Jon Marshall, Chairman)
2000
WORDCRAFTER OF THE YEAR: Carol Young (Pawnee/Kiowa)
MENTOR OF THE YEAR: Annette Arkeketa (Otoe-Missouria/Muscogee)
INTERN OF THE YEAR: Randi'L Teton (Shoshone/Bannock)
WRITER OF THE YEAR, CREATIVE
Nonfiction: Winona LaDuke (Mississippi Anishinaabe)
Fiction : Robert J. Conley (UKB Cherokee)
Poetry: Deborah Miranda (Esselen/Chumash)
Autobiography: Carter Revard (Osage)
Personal and Critical Essays: Craig Womack
Children's Literature: Louise Erdrich (Turtle Mountain Anishinaabe)
Academic Research Paper: Kimberly Roppolo
WRITER OF THE YEAR, ACADEMIC
Research Paper: Kimberly M. Roppolo (Cherokee/Choctaw/Creek)
Anthology/Collection: Simon Ortiz (Acoma Pueblo)
Doctoral Dissertation: R. J. Tudor (Chickasaw)
WRITER OF THE YEAR, TECHNICAL: Maria Williams (Tlingit)
SPECIALTY
Journalism: Dan Agent (Cherokee)
Recording CD/Audiocassette: John-Carlos Perea (Mescalero Apache)
Literary Journal Editing: Samuel J. Corrigan and Don McCaskill (Non-Native)
Film Directing: Valerie Red-Horse (Cherokee/Sioux)
Theatre Playwriting/Scriptwriting: Carmelita Topaha (Navajo)
Film Narration: Wes Studi (Cherokee)
Book Cover Illustration: Murv Jacob (Kentucky Cherokee)
Film Directing: Chris Eyre (Arapaho)
STORYTELLER OF THE YEAR
Lecture/Speaking: Marge Bruchac (Abenaki)
Traditional Native Stories: Jake Chanate (Kiowa)
LITERARY AGENT OF THE YEAR: Cherry Weiner Manalapan NJ (Non-Native)
FOUNDATION OF THE YEAR: John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Chicago IL (John Fenton, President)
SOVEREIGN NATION OF THE YEAR: Cherokee Nation - Honorable Chad Smith, Principal Chief (Tahlequah OK)
SPECIAL HONORS: Brother Benet (Non-Native)
ELDER RECOGNITION AWARD: Maurice Kenny
2001
WORDCRAFTER OF THE YEAR: Kimberly Roppolo (Cherokee/Choctaw/Muscogee)
MENTOR OF THE YEAR: Allison Hedge Coke (Huron/Cherokee)
INTERN OF THE YEAR: Jay Goombi (Kiowa/Apache-Kiowa)
WRITER OF THE YEAR, CREATIVE
Poetry: Adrian Louis (Lovelock Paiute) for Ancient Acid Flashes Back
Prose Fiction: Geary Hobson (Cherokee/Quapaw/Chickasaw) for The Last of the Ofos
Prose Non-Fiction: Shari Huhndorf (Cook Inlet Yupik) for Going Native: Indians in the American Cultural Imagination
Children's Literature: Joy Harjo (Muscogee) for The Good Luck Cat and Cynthia Leitich Smith (Cherokee) for Rain is Not My Indian Name
Anthology Collection: John Purdy and James Ruppert for Nothing But The Truth: An Anthology of Native American Literature
Autobiographical Essays: Arnold Krupat and Brian Swann for Here First: Autobiographical Essays by Native American Writers
WRITER OF THE YEAR, ACADEMIC
Master's Thesis: Sierra Adare (Cherokee) for "Stereotypical Indian Images in TV Science Fiction"
Doctoral Dissertation: Virginia Carney (Cherokee) for "A Testament to Tenacity: Cultural Persistence in the Letters and Speeches of Eastern Band
Cherokee Women"
WRITER OF THE YEAR, TECHNICAL
Workbook/Manual: Carolyna Smiley-Marquez (San Juan Pueblo) for Omaha Managers Workbook
Guide: Robert M. Nelson for "ASAIL Guide to Native American Studies Programs in the United States and Canada"
SPECIALTY
CD Recording: Wade Fernandez (Menominee) for "Wiciwne Apis-Mahwaew in 2000"
Cookbook: Gail Gottlieb Minturn (Laguna Pueblo) for In Our Grandmother's Kitchens: A Family Memoir and Cookbook
Editor
Journal Editing: Devon Mihesuah (Choctaw) for editing AIQ (American Indian Quarterly)
Mixed Media: Lee Maracle (Stoh:lo First Nation of British Columbia) and Sandra LaRonde (Teme-aguma Anishinabe First Nation) for "My Home As
I Remember"
Syndicated Column: Jim Northrup (Anishinabe) for "The Fond du Lac Follies"
STORYTELLER OF THE YEAR
Traditional Stories: Gayle Ross (Cherokee)
Contemporary Storytelling: Tim Tingle (Choctaw)
PUBLISHER OF THE YEAR
Small Press: rENEGADE pLANETS pUBLISHING - MariJo Moore (Cherokee), Publisher
National Publisher: Harcourt Brace - Children's Books, New York NY - Paula Wiseman, Executive Editor
University Press: American Indian Lives Series, University of Nebraska Press - Gary Dunham, Editor
Outside U.S. Publisher: Kegedonce Press - Kateri-Akiwenzie Damm (Nawash First Nation), Publisher for Skins: Contemporary Indigenous
Writing--American Indian, Inuit, First Nations, Aboriginal and Maori
FOUNDATION OF THE YEAR: Lannan Foundation, Santa Fe NM (J. Patrick Lannan, Jr., President)
SOVEREIGN INDIGENOUS NATIVE NATION OF THE YEAR: Citizen Band Potawatomi, Shawnee OK (Honorable John A. Rocky Barrett, Chairman)
SPECIAL HONORS:
Louise Abeyta (Laguna Pueblo)
Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve (Rosebud Lakota)
Karen M. Strom (Non-Native)
2002
WORDCRAFTER OF THE YEAR: Kimberly Blaeser (White Earth Anishinaabe)
MENTOR OF THE YEAR: Janet McAdams (Alabama Creek) and Steve Russell (Cherokee)
INTERN OF THE YEAR: Beth Bretl (Non-Native)
WRITER OF THE YEAR, CREATIVE
Prose: Kimberly Blaeser, Pax Riddle
Creative Prose: Linda Hogan
Fiction: Donna Dean (Cherokee), LeAnne Howe (Choctaw), MariJo Moore (Cherokee), W. S. (Bill) Penn (Nez Perce/Osage), Craig Womack (Creek/Cherokee)
Nonfiction: Jace Weaver (Cherokee) and Ron Welburn (Gingaskin Assateague/Cherokee)
Poetry: Carolyn Dunn-Anderson (Muscogee/Seminole/Cherokee) and Karenne G. Wood (Monacan)
Children's: Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki)
Critical Analysis: Thomas Lee Hester, Jr. (Choctaw), Helen Hoyt (Non-Native)
Personal Essay: Kimberly Blaeser (White Earth Anishinaabe)
Reference Work: Win Blevins (Cherokee)
Historical: Margaret Bruchac (Missiquoi Abenaki)
Anthology/Collection: Larry Evers and Barre Toelken, Clara Sue Kidwell (Choctaw/Anishinaabe), Homer Noley (Choctaw), George E. Tinker (Osage)
Memoir: Linda Hogan (Chickasaw)
Reference Work: Emory Dean Keoke (Standing Rock Lakota) and Marie Porterfield (Non-Native)
Oral History: Antone Treuer (Red Lake Anishinaabe)
WRITER OF THE YEAR, ACADEMIC
Master's Thesis: Nicolle Dragone (Lakota)
WRITER OF THE YEAR, TECHNICAL: Sandra Trupp (Non-Native)
SPECIALTY
Newsletter Editing: Mitchell Bush (Onondaga)
Literary Magazine Editing: Gabrielle David (Non-Native)
Periodical Editing: Rick Hill (Tuscarora)
Literary Quarterly Editing: Malea Powell (Indiana Miami)
Literary Journal Editing: Kathryn W. Shanley (Assiniboin Fort Peck Nakota)
Literary Series Editing: A. LaVonne Brown Ruoff (Non-Native)
STORYTELLER OF THE YEAR
Lecture/Presentation: Jennifer Nez Denetdale (Navajo)
Professional Theatrical Road Tour: Lee Francis IV (Laguna Pueblo)
Contemporary Stories: Geraldine Keams (Navajo), Stella Long (Choctaw)
Traditional Stories: Chuna McIntyre (Yupik), Dovie Thomason (Lakota/Kiowa-Apache), Robert Vann (Cherokee)
Acting: Michael D. Nephew (Cherokee)
PUBLISHER OF THE YEAR
Regional Press: Minnesota Historical Society Press, Ted Genoways (Non-Native) (St. Paul MN)
Small Press: That Painted Horse Press, Carolyn Dunn-Anderson (Muscogee/Seminole/Cherokee) (San Pedro, California); Aunt Lute Books, Joan
Pinkvoss (Non-Native) (San Francisco CA)
University Press: University of New Mexico Press, Luther Wilson (Non-Native)
FOUNDATION OF THE YEAR: Indian Community School Foundation, Milwaukee WI (Jone Stromberg, President)
SOVEREIGN NATION OF THE YEAR: Comanche Nation - Honorable Jonny Wauqua, Chairman (Anadarko OK)
SPECIAL HONORS: Joe Sando (Jemez Pueblo)
2003-2004
WORDCRAFTER OF THE YEAR: Marijo Moore
WRITER OF THE YEAR
Prose: Don Birchfield and Sara Sue Hoklotubbe
Poetry: Joy Harjo
Academic: Marge Bruchac
Journalism: Steven Newcomb
Editor: Carol Snow Moon Bachofner for Online Editing
Visual Arts: Hulleah
Screenplay: Diance Glancy
STORYTELLER OF THE YEAR: Joy Harjo and Orvel Baldridge
MENTOR OF THE YEAR: Heid Erdrich
INTERN OF THE YEAR: Louis Whitehead
PUBLISHER OF THE YEAR: Janet McAdams, Salt Publishing (UK)
FOUNDATION OF THE YEAR: Western Heritage Museum, Billings MT
SOVEREIGN NATION OF THE YEAR: Eastern Cherokee Qualla Boundary
2005
WORDCRAFTER OF THE YEAR: Jay T. Goombi
MENTOR OF THE YEAR: Kim Shuck and David Pego
INTERN OF THE YEAR: Tania Big Throat
WRITER OF THE YEAR
Poetry: Allison Hedge Coke, Off Season City Pipe (Coffeehouse Press, 2005)
Playwriting: Tomson Highway, Ernestine Shuswap Gets Her Trout
Journalism: Scott Richard Lyons, "The Termination and Removal of Ward Churchill" (Indian Country Today, 17 Feb 2005)
Film Script: Joy Harjo, A Thousand Roads (2005)
Editor: Malea Powell, SAIL
Children: Deborah Duval, Rabbit and the Bears (UNM Press, 2004)
Autobiography: Woody Kipp, Viet Cong at Wounded Knee (2005)
Research: Devon A. Mihesuah, So You Want to Write About Indians? (2005) and Emory Dean Keoke and Kay Marie Porterfield, American Indian
Contributions to the World (5 volume set, 2005)
Illustration: Murv Jacob, Rabbit Goes Duck Hunting (UNM Press, 2005)
STORYTELLER OF THE YEAR
Radio: John Ghahate, Native America Calling
Film - Direction: Catherine A. Martin, The Spirit of Annie May (2004)
Film - Production: Restless Natives Productions, American Indian Graffitti (2004)
Storytelling: Clayton Earl Duncan
Acting : Paul Rathbun
Lecture/Presentation: Depree ShadowWalker
Performance: Arigon Starr
PUBLISHER OF THE YEAR: Salt Publisher
FOUNDATION/ORGANIZATION OF THE YEAR: Oyate.org
SOVEREIGN NATIONS OF THE YEAR: The Nations of the Blackfoot Confederacy
LEE FRANCIS III MEMORIAL AWARD (High School Student): Channing Concho
ELDER RECOGNITION AWARD: Hunter Grey
SPECIAL AWARD OF APPRECIATION: Candace Jesson
2005-2006
WORDCRAFTER OF THE YEAR: MariJo Moore
MENTOR OF THE YEAR: Tomson Highway
INTERN OF THE YEAR: L. Rain Cranford
WRITER OF THE YEAR
Poetry: LeAnne Howe, Evidence of Red
Autobiography/Fiction Mixed Genre: Johnny Rustywire (Norman Cambridge), Navajo Spaceships
Playwriting: Turtle Gals Performance Ensemble (Jani Lauzon, Monique Mojica and Michelle St. John), The Scrubbing Project
Journalism: Stephanie Hedge Coke, "Cherokee high court rejects challenge to lesbian marriage," Workers World , 30 Jan 2006 and "Six Nations fight
for their lands in Canada," Workers World, 27 Apr 2006
Children: Simon Ortiz, The Good Rainbow Road and Marge Bruchac, Malian's Song
Research
Thesis: Louis George Whitehead, "SDSU--An Era of Free Native American Press: Tim Giago and The Lakota Times, Indian Country Today, and
The Lakota Journal 1981-2003"
Academic Book: Eds. Doris Seale and Beverly Slapin,
A Broken Flute: The Native Experience in Books for Children
Reference: Ken Roemer, Ed., The Cambridge Companion to Native American Literature
Illustration: Murv Jacob, Rabbit Goes to Kansas
STORYTELLER OF THE YEAR: Eugene Blackbear, Jr.
STORYTELLING
Film Direction and Production: Heather Rae, "Trudell"
Performance: Blood Rez Playz (Carl Big Head, Sandra Lamouche, Kimberly Roppolo,
Andrea Fox, and Gordon Fox) and Blood Rez Productions (Ramona Big Head)
PUBLISHER OF THE YEAR: Salt Press and Janet McAdams
ART CURATOR: Louis Esme Cruz
ARTIST: Robin McBride Scott
ELDER RECOGNITION AWARD: Eugene Blackbear, Sr.
THE CANDACE JESSON AWARD OF APPRECIATION: Gwen Griffin
2006-2007
WORDCRAFTER OF THE YEAR: Karen M. Strom and Joy Harjo
MENTOR OF THE YEAR: Kate Shanley
INTERNS OF THE YEAR: Mark Anderson, Rodney Big Bull, Collette Big Swallow, Marcia Black Water, Tisha Bromley-Wadsworth, Laverne First Rider, Cody Hall, Christopher Hibbard, Sandra Lamouche, Denae Richards, Nicole Tailfeathers, and Irene Young Pine
WRITER OF THE YEAR
Poetry: Allison Hedge Coke, Blood Run
Non-Fiction: Robert J. Miller, Native America, Discovered and Conquered
Fiction: Philip Red Eagle, Red Earth (as republished by Earthworks) and Win Blevins, A Long And Winding Road
Autobiography/Fiction Mixed Genre: Lois Beardslee, Not Far Away: The Real Life Adventures of Ima Pipiig
Journal Issue: Ed. Allison Hedge Coke, To Topos -- Ahani: Indigenous American Poetry, Fall 2006
Film Script: Sterlin Harjo, "Four Sheets to the Wind"
Website: Debbie Reese, American Indians in Children's Literature
Editor: Susan Deer Cloud, Confluence
Children: James Blue Wolf, Speaking for Fire
Young Adult: Sherman Alexie, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Thesis: Shirley Brozzo, "Tapestry: Threads of Endurance" (Northern Michigan U) and Doug Kiel, "The Oneida Resurgence: Land, Sovereignty, and
Identity on a Wisconsin Indian Reservation, 1921-1974" (U Wisconsin, Madison)
Doctoral Dissertation: Marge Bruchac, "Historical Erasure and Cultural Recovery: Indigenous People in the Connecticut River Valley" (U
Massachusetts, Amherst)
Native Language Resource: Margaret Noori, Noongwa e-Anishinaabemjig: People Who Speak Anishinaabemowin Today
Academic Book: Susan Berry Brill de Ramirez, Native American Life-History Narratives: Colonial and Postcolonial Navajo Ethnography
Academic Article: Lawrence W. Gross, "Assisting American Indian Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan Cope with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder:
Lessons from Vietnam Veterans and the Writings of Jim Northrup." American Indian Quarterly 31.3 (Summer, 2007): 373-409
STORYTELLER OF THE YEAR: Richard Van Camp
STORYTELLING
Radio: Blaine Greenwood
Acting: James Duval
Lecture/Presentation: Janet McAdams
Performance: Sherwin Bitsui
FOUNDATION/ORGANIZATION OF THE YEAR: Lannan Foundation
SOVEREIGN NATION OF THE YEAR: Chickasaw Nation
ELDER RECOGNITION AWARD: Simon Ortiz