Craig Womack is an author and professor of

Native American literature Native American literature encompasses both oral literature, oral and written works produced by Native Americans in the United States (distinct from Indigenous First Nations writers in Canada), from pre-Columbian times through to today. Famous aut ...

. He self-identifies as being of

Creek A creek in North America and elsewhere, such as Australia, is a stream that is usually smaller than a river. In the British Isles it is a small tidal inlet. Creek may also refer to: * Creek people, a former name of Muscogee, Native Americans * C ...

and

Cherokee descent Individuals with some degree of documented Cherokee descent who do not meet the criteria for Cherokee tribal citizenship may describe themselves as "being of Cherokee descent" or as "being a Cherokee descendant". These terms are also used by non-Na ...

, but is not enrolled with any Native American tribe. Womack wrote the book ''Red on Red: Native American Literary Separatism'', a book of

literary criticism A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature's ...

which argues that the dominant approach to academic study of Native American literature is incorrect. Instead of using

poststructural Post-structuralism is a philosophical movement that questions the objectivity or stability of the various interpretive structures that are posited by structuralism and considers them to be constituted by broader systems of power. Although diffe ...

and

postcolonial Postcolonialism (also post-colonial theory) is the critical academic study of the cultural, political and economic consequences of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the impact of human control and extractivism, exploitation of colonized pe ...

approaches that do not have their basis in Native culture or experience, Womack claims the work of the Native critic should be to develop tribal models of criticism. In 2002, Craig won Wordcraft Circle Writer of the Year Winner. Along with

Robert Allen Warrior Robert Warrior (born 1963, Osage), is a scholar and Hall Distinguished Professor of American Literature and Culture at the University of Kansas. With Paul Chaat Smith, he co-authored ''Like a Hurricane: The Indian Movement from Alcatraz to Wounded ...

, Jace Weaver and

Greg Sarris Gregory Michael Sarris (born February 12, 1952) is the Chairman of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria (since 1992) and the recent Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Smithsonian Institution, Smithsonian's National Museum of the American ...

, Womack asserted themselves as a nationalist (American Indian literary nationalism), which is part of an activist movement. The movement significantly altered the critical methodologies used to approach Native American literature. Womack has also produced a novel, ''Drowning in Fire'', about the lives of young gay Native Americans. Currently, Womack is employed as a professor at

Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...

, specializing in Native American literature.

Personal life

Womack said that both of his parents were "mixed-blood native people" of

Muscogee The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek or just Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language; English: ), are a group of related Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands Here they waged war again ...

and

. He is not enrolled in any Muscogee or Cherokee tribe. Despite having no legal status as Native American, Womack has said he considers his physical appearance to "fit the phenotypical stereotypes of indigenous peoples". He has claimed that police and authorities have subjected him to racism because they can always tell he is "Indian" by his appearance.

Bibliography

Books

*'' Drowning in Fire'', 200/1 *''Red on Red: Native American literary separatism'', 1999. * Teuton ''Reasoning Together: The Native Critics Collective'' University of Oklahoma Press, 2008. * Art as performance, story as criticism: reflections on native literary aesthetics University of Oklahoma Press, 2009.

Presentations

*
Baptists and Witches: Multiple Jurisdictions in a Muskogee Creek Story
''Southern Spaces''. July 17, 2007.
"Cosmopolitanism and Nationalism in Native American Literature: A Panel Discussion."
''Southern Spaces'', 21 June 2011.

References

External links

Womack's University of Oklahoma listing
article in the

American Indian Quarterly The ''American Indian Quarterly'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering studies on the indigenous peoples of North and South America. It is published by the University of Nebraska Press and was established in 1974. The editor-in-ch ...