The founding idea of "America" has been based largely on the
expected sweeping away of Native Americans to make room for
EuroAmericans and their cultures. In this authoritative study,
David L. Moore examines the works of five well-known Native
American writers and their efforts, beginning in the colonial
period, to redefine an "America" and "American identity" that
includes Native Americans. That Dream Shall Have a
Name focuses on the writing of Pequot Methodist minister William
Apess in the 1830s; on Northern Paiute activist Sarah Winnemucca in
the 1880s; on Salish/Métis novelist, historian, and activist D'Arcy
McNickle in the 1930s; and on Laguna poet and novelist Leslie
Marmon Silko and on Spokane poet, novelist, humorist, and
filmmaker Sherman Alexie, both in the latter twentieth and
early twenty-first centuries. Moore studies these five
writers' stories about the conflicted topics of sovereignty,
community, identity, and authenticity—always tinged with irony and
often with humor. He shows how Native Americans have tried from the
beginning to shape an American narrative closer to its own ideals,
one that does not include the death and destruction of their
peoples. This compelling work offers keen insights into the
relationships between Native and American identity and politics in
a way that is both accessible to newcomers and compelling to those
already familiar with these fields of study.