David Treuer facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
David Treuer
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Treuer in 2019
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| Born | 1970 (age 54–55) Washington, D.C., United States |
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| Alma mater | Princeton University (BA) University of Michigan (PhD) |
| Parent | Margaret Treuer |
| Relatives | Anton Treuer (brother) |
David Treuer (born in 1970) is an American writer, critic, and professor. He has written many books, including The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present. This book was a finalist for a National Book Award in 2019. His writings are often recognized as some of the best each year.
David Treuer and his brother, Anton Treuer, are also working to save the Ojibwe language. They are creating a grammar guide for it.
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Growing Up and Learning
David Treuer was born in Washington, D.C. His mother, Margaret Seelye, was an Ojibwe woman. She first worked as a nurse and later became a lawyer. His father, Robert Treuer, was a Jewish survivor of the Holocaust from Austria.
David's parents met when his father was teaching high school on his mother's reservation. While in Washington, his father worked for the government. His mother went to law school at Catholic University.
The family later moved back to the Leech Lake Reservation in Minnesota. David and his two brothers and one sister grew up there. Their mother became a judge for the Ojibwe tribal court.
David Treuer went to Princeton University. He graduated in 1992. He wrote two major papers, one in anthropology and one in creative writing. He studied writing with famous authors like Toni Morrison, who won a Nobel Prize. In 1999, he earned his Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Michigan.
Teaching Career
David Treuer has taught English at several universities. These include the University of Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. He also taught creative writing at Scripps College. Since 2010, he has been a Professor of Literature at the University of Southern California. There, he teaches in the Creative Writing & Literature PhD program.
Writing Books and Stories
Treuer has written stories and essays for many well-known magazines and newspapers. Some of these include Esquire, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and The New York Times.
He published his first novel, Little, in 1995. This book tells the story from many different characters' points of view. His second novel, The Hiawatha, came out in 1999. It is named after a famous train and a long poem. This novel is about a Native American family who moved to Minneapolis in the mid-1900s.
In 2006, Treuer published his third novel, The Translation of Dr Apelles. This book is about a Native American professor who translates an unknown language. The story challenges common ideas about Native American characters. Critics said the book was about how fiction can be like a game.
That same year, Treuer also published a book of essays called Native American Fiction: A User's Manual. This book caused some discussion. He argued that "Native American Fiction" should be seen as part of all English literature. He felt it should not just be seen as a "cultural artifact" of old Indian culture. He believed that these stories should be read as literature, not just as studies of culture.
He also said that Native American characters are sometimes shown in ways that are too "precious" or stereotypical. He felt that some well-known authors, like Sherman Alexie and Louise Erdrich, sometimes used stereotypes. He believed that Native American literature needed to move beyond these old ideas.
In 2012, Treuer published Rez Life: An Indian's Journey Through Reservation Life. This book mixes his own experiences with reporting about life on reservations. He shares his personal stories and looks at issues on other reservations. These issues include government policies and tribal self-governance.
Saving the Ojibwe Language
David Treuer is very interested in the Ojibwe language and culture. He is working with his older brother, Anton Treuer, to create a grammar guide. This is a way to help keep the language alive and used. His brother has been studying Ojibwe since high school.
Treuer believes that Native American cultures need their own languages to continue. He has written that stories written in English by people whose only language is English are not truly "Indian stories." He thinks that if writers only use English, it threatens Native American cultures.
Awards and Recognition
David Treuer has received several awards for his writing:
- In 2014, he received a NACF Literature Fellowship.
- He has won a Pushcart Prize.
- His novel Little won the Minnesota Book Award in 1996.
- He has also received an NEH Fellowship and a Guggenheim Fellowship.
- His book The Translation of Dr Apelles was named a "Best Book for 2006" by several publications. These include The Washington Post and Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Books by David Treuer
- Little: A Novel (1995)
- Native American Fiction: A User's Manual (2006)
- Prudence (2015)
- The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present (2019)
Articles by David Treuer
- "A language too beautiful to lose", Los Angeles Times, 2008.
- "Return the National Parks to the Tribes", The Atlantic, 2021.
- "'A Sadness I Can't Carry': The Story Of The Drum", New York Times, 2021.
- "Portrait of the Coyote as a Young Man", Harper's Magazine, 2021.
- "Adrift Between My Parents' Two Americas", New York Times, 2022.
- "Do We Have the History of Native Americans Backward?", New Yorker, 2022.
See also
