UIC Library's New American Indian Literature Collection Honors Native American Heritage
The Richard J. Daley Library of the University of Illinois at Chicago has received a 1,400-volume collection of American Indian literature from Michigan real estate developer Irwin T. (Toby) Holtzman and his wife, Shirley.
Highlights of the collection include works by the Cherokee poet John
Rollin Ridge (1827-1867) and Sherman Alexie, a contemporary Spokane/Coeur D'Alene Indian and author of the recent "Ten Little Indians." Also represented is Potawatomi Chief Simon Pokagon's (1830-1899) "O-Gi-Maw-Kwe Mit-I-Gwa-Ki" (Queen of the Woods), published posthumously in 1899. Other well-known authors in the collection are Louise Erdrich, Martin Cruz Smith and Gerald Vizenor.
The collection is distinguished by the excellent condition of materials dating from 1900 through last year. Holtzman collected works of literature, drama, and poetry in all editions and formats, including video and audiotapes as well as monographs, literary periodicals, short magazines, fine-print books, and a few broadsides and manuscripts. Annual additions will keep the collection current.
Brian Hosmer, UIC associate professor of history and director of UIC's Native American history program, said, "In its breadth and variety, the Holtzman collection stands as a significant addition to the library's holdings in American Indian literature. With Holtzman's help, the UIC library has moved to a position of prominence among academic libraries with important holdings in this field."
This gift adds to a strong collection of research materials in Native American studies in the UIC Library. An online research guide directs readers to books, journals and government publications in this subject area. Most of the titles in the Irwin T. and Shirley Holtzman American Indian Collection also are in the Library's circulating collection; click on UICCAT from the Library's home page to search for specific authors or titles or subject headings such as Indians of North America-Fiction.
