These sixteen stories ten of which have not been previously published represent the work of one of the most influential Native American writers of the twentieth century held by many to be the most important Native Americans to write fiction before N. Scott Momaday. Birgit Hans's introductory essay provides a brief biography of McNickle, sets the stories in the context of his better known work, and provides insights into their literary significance. Together, they constitute a collection essential to an adequate understanding of McNickle and of the development of Native American...

William DArcy McNickle was born in 1904 in Montana to a father of Scottish-Irish heritage and a French-Canadian Cree mother. His mixed-blood heritage and his parents rocky marriage and subsequent divorce would strongly influence the future versions of his first novel "The Surrounded."

"The Hungry Generations" is an early, handwritten version of McNickle's groundbreaking and semi-autobiographical novel "The Surrounded" and consists of three distinct parts. Part one is set in McNickle's native Montana and has the protagonist, Archilde, reconciling with his father. This part corresponds most...