Press Release
May 30, 2023
Contact: Jessica Brogdon
Oklahoma Historical Society
Office: 405-522-0780
jessica.brogdon@history.ok.gov
www.okhistory.org
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Kiowa Author N. Scott Momaday to be Honored at Oklahoma History Center
OKLAHOMA CITY — N. Scott Momaday (Kiowa) will be honored during a legacy reception at the Oklahoma History Center on Thursday, June 1, starting at 5:30 p.m.
Momaday is an internationally renowned poet, novelist, artist, teacher and storyteller whose works celebrate and preserve American Indian heritage. His novel “House Made of Dawn” was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1969, making him the first Indigenous writer to win this award. Momaday received the National Medal of Arts from President George W. Bush in 2007. A longtime professor of English and American literature, Momaday earned his Ph.D. from Stanford University and retired as a Regents Professor at the University of Arizona. He lives in New Mexico.
The ceremony will include the Black Leggings Color Guard and a welcome speech by Kiowa Tribal Chairman Lawrence SpottedBird. Kiowa Tribal Vice Chairman Jacob Tsotigh will serve as master of ceremonies. Momaday’s family will also be in attendance.
The Oklahoma History Center is a division of the Oklahoma Historical Society and is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, National Archives and is an accredited member of the American Alliance of Museums. The mission of the Oklahoma Historical Society is to collect, preserve and share the history and culture of the state of Oklahoma and its people. Founded in 1893 by members of the Territorial Press Association, the OHS maintains museums, historic sites and affiliates across the state. Through its research archives, exhibits, educational programs and publications the OHS chronicles the rich history of Oklahoma. For more information about the OHS, please visit www.okhistory.org.
