Sophia Alice Callahan | |
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| Born | January 1, 1868 Sulphur Springs, Texas |
| Died | January 7, 1894 (aged 26) Muskogee, Creek Nation, Indian Territory |
| Nationality | American, Muscogee (Creek) |
| Occupation(s) | Teacher, novelist (one book) |
| Years active | 1876–1895 |
| Known for | First Native American female novelist |
| Notable work | Wynema, a Child of the Forest |
Sophia Alice Callahan (1 January 1868 – 7 January 1894) was a novelist and teacher of Muscogee heritage. Her novel, Wynema, a Child of the Forest (1891) is thought "to be the first novel written by a Native American woman."[1] Shocked about the Massacre at Wounded Knee at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, which took place about six months before she published her book, Callahan added an account of this and the 1890 Ghost Dance of the Lakota to her book in the first fictional treatment of these subjects.[2] This may have been "the first novel written in Oklahoma," which was at the time Indian Territory.[1] Callahan wrote in a romantic novel style but she also clearly intended what has been called a "reform novel," identifying many wrongs suffered by Native Americans in United States society. After being discovered in the late 20th century, the novel was reprinted in 1997. It has been the subject of scholarly studies.
- ^ a b Van Dyke, Annette (1992). "An Introduction to Wynema, A Child of the Forest, by Sophia Alice Callahan". Studies in American Indian Literature. Series 2. 4 (2/3): 123–128. JSTOR 20736606.
- ^ "Behind the Shadows of Wounded Knee: The Slippage of Imagination in 'Wynema: A Child of the Forest'", Lisa Tatonetti, Studies in American Indian Literatures, Volume 16, Number 1, Spring 2004, pp. 1-31 | 10.1353/ail.2004.0015