A Gathering of Spirit
Encyclopedia
A Gathering of Spirit: A Collection of Writing and Art by North American Indian Women was the first published collection of Indigenous women's writing in North America, as well as the first anthology edited by an aboriginal woman.
The book was edited by Mohawk
author and anthologist Beth Brant
. It was first published in 1983 as a special issue of the lesbian
literary magazine Sinister Wisdom
. The collection was subsequently published in 1988 by New York
's Firebrand Books
, and republished in 1989 by Women's Press in Toronto, Ontario. The anthology featured literary contributions from women aged 21–65, both lesbian and heterosexual, and representing 40 native nations.
Contributing authors included
The book was edited by Mohawk
Mohawk nation
Mohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
author and anthologist Beth Brant
Beth Brant
Beth E. Brant is a Mohawk writer.-Life:...
. It was first published in 1983 as a special issue of the lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
literary magazine Sinister Wisdom
Sinister Wisdom
Sinister Wisdom is a multicultural, lesbian literary & art journal by and for lesbians. The magazine is the oldest surviving lesbian literary journal; now more than 30 years in print...
. The collection was subsequently published in 1988 by New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
's Firebrand Books
Firebrand Books
Firebrand Books, was established in the early 1980s by Nancy K. Bereano---a lesbian/feminist activist in Ithaca, NY. It is a feminist and lesbian publishing house and among the many which grew out of the Women's Press Movement. Other presses of that period include Naiad Books, Persephone and...
, and republished in 1989 by Women's Press in Toronto, Ontario. The anthology featured literary contributions from women aged 21–65, both lesbian and heterosexual, and representing 40 native nations.
Contributing authors included
- Barbara Cameron (HunkpapaHunkpapaThe Hunkpapa are a Native American group, one of the seven council fires of the Lakota Sioux tribe. The name Húŋkpapȟa is a Sioux word meaning "Head of the Circle"...
) - ChrystosChrystosChrystos is a Menominee rights activist and poet. Prior to being published, she worked as a home caretaker, and an activist for Turtle Mountain Band of Chipewa, Norma Jean Croy , and Leonard Peltier....
(MenomineeMenomineeSome placenames use other spellings, see also Menomonee and Menomonie.The Menominee are a nation of Native Americans living in Wisconsin. The Menominee, along with the Ho-Chunk, are the only tribes that are indigenous to what is now Wisconsin...
) - Paula Gunn AllenPaula Gunn AllenPaula Gunn Allen was a Native American poet, literary critic, lesbian activist, and novelist.Born Paula Marie Francis in Albuquerque, Allen grew up in Cubero, New Mexico, a Spanish-Mexican land grant village bordering the Laguna Pueblo reservation...
- Janice Gould (Koyangk'auwi Maidu)
- Terri Meyette (Yaqui)
- Mary Moran (MétisMétisA Métis is a person born to parents who belong to different groups defined by visible physical differences, regarded as racial, or the descendant of such persons. The term is of French origin, and also is a cognate of mestizo in Spanish, mestiço in Portuguese, and mestee in English...
) - Kateri Sardella (Micmac)
- Vickie Sears (CherokeeCherokeeThe Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
) - Anita Valerio (BloodBloodBlood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
/Chicana) - Midnight Sun (Anishnawbe).