N. Scott Momaday (1934– ), poet, novelist, playwright, and nonfiction writer, has spent his life teaching and writing about Native American folklore, history, and mythology. Proud of his Native American heritage, the author grew up on Kiowa, Navajo, Apache, and Pueblo Indian reservations. After graduating from the University of New Mexico, Momaday earned a doctorate in English literature at Stanford University. He currently teaches English at the University of Arizona.

In 1969, Momaday won the Pulitzer Prize for his novel House Made of Dawn, which tells the story of a young Native American torn between his ancestral roots and twentieth-century mainstream society. In his best-known work, The Way to Rainy Mountain (1969), the author combines history, personal anecdotes, and myths imagistically. His 1971 essay "The American Land Ethic" drew attention to the tradition of respect for nature practiced by Native Americans. This essay was followed by two volumes of poetry, Angle of Geese and Other Poems (1974) and The Gourd Dancer (1976). His more recent books include The Ancient Child (1989), In the Presence of the Sun (1991), and The Native American: Indian Country (1993). Also an artist, Momaday has illustrated some of his books.