Clark, Ann Nolan

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CLARK, Ann Nolan

Born 1898, Las Vegas, New Mexico; died 13 December 1995

Daughter of Patrick F. and Mary Dunn Nolan; married Thomas P. Clark, 1919

A shy young girl, Ann Nolan Clark first attended convent schools and later majored in education at Highland University. Her early life in Las Vegas was inculcated with the attitudes and lifestyles of four distinct cultural groups: Indian, Spanish, French, and Anglo-European. This influence later contributed to Clark's belief in cultural understanding and to her acceptance of divergent peoples. Her interest in minority children caused her to enter the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1930 as a junior high school teacher. Since then Clark taught Indian children throughout the Southwest, completed education-oriented UNESCO assignments in South America, and authored several children's books.

Clark's first significant books were published by the Bureau of Indian Affairs as bilingual texts after she began working as a teacher for the Tesuque Pueblo Indian children. Written in English and Tesuque, these simple stories reflect Indian culture, traditions, and history. In simple, poetic, rhythmic prose, these early stories relate the lifestyles of the Plains Indians, the Papapa, the Pueblo, and the Navaho.

One of Clark's early Navaho readers, In My Mother's House (1941), was published in a trade edition, and helped Clark gain national recognition. It reflects the Navaho respect for nature and pride in their culture. Throughout her works Clark has maintained a reverent attitude toward minority cultures and has depicted them as quiet people with great human dignity. Their cultural heritage always remains intact, and the pride within the group is finally acclaimed by the new generation. Clark's primary concern is to inform her young readers of the strengths found within the many different ethnic groups living in the U.S. She is intent upon portraying each group as a strong, positive culture whose only threats come from outside.

Winner of the Regina Medal for her continued distinguished contribution to children's literature and of the Newbery Medal for her book The Secret of the Andes (1953), Clark maintained a high standard. In her adult book Journey to the People (1969), she says "I believe children need children's books that have been written with honesty, accuracy, and reality … that enrich imagination and foster appreciation." Some of her finest later works (e.g., Circle of Seasons, 1970; Year Walk, 1975) concern the yearly patterns of a cultural group, and depict a changing community whose rituals, goals, and aspirations are being affected by other nationalities within their particular geographic region.

Clark's early books were heralded for their honesty and their sympathy with Native American Indians in a period when there were no valuable children's materials written that espoused the Indian's viewpoint. Her early books remain eloquent, lasting portraits of American Indians and of South Americans. Clark's books in the later 1970s deal with immigrants to the U.S. and their adjustments, including Spanish (Year Walk, 1975), Finnish (All This Wild Land, 1976), and Vietnamese (To Stand Against theWind, 1978) peoples. While these stories contain the same positive theme of respect and understanding, they are less significant to children's literature. Her earlier stories, which were written largely for nonreading Indian children, are more skilled in plot, characterization, and tone. Her early writing style reflects the quiet simple attitudes of American Indian tribes and helps young readers to respect and understand Native Americans.

Other Works:

The Slim Butte Raccoon (1942, 1996). Little Navajo Bluebird (1943). Bringer of the Mystery Dog: A Story of a Young Boy, Who in His Quest for Bravery Brought the First Horse to His People, the Antelope Band, a Plains Indian tribe, About the Year 1700 (1943, 1996). Young Hunter of Picuris (1943, 1996). Blue Canyon Horse (1954). Third Monkey (1956). The Little Indian Basket Maker (1957). Santiago (1957). There Still Are Buffalo (1958, 1996). The Pine Ridge Porcupine (1958). Little Boy with Three Names (1959). A Santo for Pasqualita (1959). A Child's Story of New Mexico (1960). World Song (1960). Looking-for-Something (1961). The Desert People (1962). Paco's Miracle (1962). A Keepsake (1963). Bear Cub (1963). Brave Against the Enemy (1963). Medicine Man's Daughter (1963). Tia Maria's Garden (1963). Father Kino; Priest to the Pimas (1963). Who Wants to Be a Prairie Dog? (1964, 1996). This for That (1965). Little Herder in Autumn (1965). Little Herder in Summer (1965). Brother Andre of Montreal (1967). Summer Is for Growing (1968). Sun Journey; A Story of Zuni Pueblo (1968, 1988). Little Herder in Winter (1969). Along Sandy Trails (1969). These Were the Valiant; A Collection of New Mexico Profiles (1969). Little Herder in Spring (1970). Hoofprint in the Wind (1972). Ann Nolan Clark Manuscripts (mixed materials, 1962).

Bibliography:

Miller, B. M., and E. W. Field, eds., Newbery Medal Books: 1922-1955 with Their Authors' Acceptance Papers and Related Material Chiefly from the Horn Book Magazine (1955). Whitehouse, J. C., "The Early Life of Ann Nolan Clark: A Contextual Biography" (thesis, 1987).