This is an accessible, informed and informative guide to current Native American writing which will be of use to all students embarking on a study of this often contested subject.

Rebecca Tillett's introduction claims her focus as being “the complex and problematic socio-political status of contemporary Native Americans as colonised peoples within a colonial state” (1). As Tillett points out, the term “Native American” is itself disputed and the United States has both colonial and postcolonial status.

Tillett's study begins with an essay on the earliest European–Indian interactions in the sixteenth century. She rightly asserts that the Europeans quickly developed dual attitudes to America's indigenous people – a combination of “hostility and philanthropy” (7).

Due attention is paid to early Christian Indians, such as Samson Occom and William Apess, and their acts of cultural assertion; their interventions are presented as the beginnings of civil rights activism. The vexed question of authenticity is debated with reference to texts by Apess, Winnemucca, Standing Bear and Black Elk; Tillett analyses them as examples of “inter-cultural negotiation” (17).

The guide continues with a chronological interpretation of nineteenth century Native American texts before concentrating on the Renaissance of 1968–77, featuring work by Scott Momaday, James Welch and Leslie Silko. Helpful critiques are presented of crucial texts by each writer – House Made of Dawn (Momaday, 1968), Winter in the Blood (Welch, 1974), Ceremony (Silko, 1977) – as well as an insightful introduction to the Renaissance phenomenon as a whole.

From 1980 to 2000, Native American women writers become much more prominent, with their emphasis on the communal – a theme introduced initially by Silko. This concern with re-establishing female roles destroyed by colonialism coincided with the development of Third World feminism, itself a reaction against the racist–sexist nature of Euro-American culture. In this context, Tillett examines the writing of Louise Erdrich, Anna Lee Walters and Luci Tapahonso, again singling out key works for interpretation.

The guide makes clear that the situation of Native American men is distinct from that of women; although male writers are also concerned with the complexities of native identity, the emasculation of native culture and the lack of a movement similar to feminism meant that male writing lacked both a voice and a readership. Simon Ortix, (Acoma), Louis Owens (Choctaw/Cherokee) and Gerald Vizenor (Chippewa) consequently experimented with diverse literary forms and made use of the trickster figure to challenge cultural stereotypes. This discourse has been defined by Vizenor as “trickster hermeneutics” (103).

Tillett concludes this introduction to contemporary Native American Literature with a section on recent Native writing. In this context, Sherman Alexie (Spokane/Coeur d'Alene) is considered as an Indian enfant terrible whose work displays both humour and anger. Alexie deals brutally with continued American racism; his novel Indian Killer (1996) fails to provide “even a tentative resolution of the important issues it raises” (Arnold Krupat 152). Thus, in spite of his penchant for comedy, Alexie's vision is ultimately a bleak one.

The study ends with a brief survey of new directions in Native writing, mentioning, for example, David Treuer (Ojibwe), Irwin Morris (Navajo), Deborah Miranda (Esselen/Chumash), and Janet McAdams (Creek), among other significant figures.

Although critics may have their own reservations about the choice of writers and/or the organization of the text, this guide works well on its own terms and demonstrates a wealth of knowledge and understanding on the part of the author. It will be the standard critical work for many years to come.