8 - “Coyote Conquers the Campus”: Thomas King's Presence in Education

Summary

Introduction: Research Project

King's importance to Indigenous literatures is well established throughout Canada and the United States, and he is one of the best-known Cherokee authors outside of North America. In his essays and fiction, King often challenges Western stereotypes of Indigenous peoples and provides literary concepts, characters, symbols, and narratives that more accurately represent the complex context of Indigenous literatures. Indeed, King's works have been groundbreaking for the study of Indigenous issues not only in Canadian society, but also as they relate to colonial histories in countries around the world. However, although King's works are often taught in schools, it is difficult to find hard statistics on his presence in education, and there is no comprehensive teaching guide to his works. While this chapter does not seek to be a teaching guide, it does attempt to elucidate the reception of King's works in schools, universities, and colleges in selected countries.

I first gathered data on the frequency and contexts in which King's works have been taught over the last several years by consulting university, college, and association websites throughout Canada, the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Within Canada, the Association of Canadian College and University Teachers of English (ACCUTE) proved very helpful in providing a comprehensive list of links to English departments across Canada, while the International Council for Canadian Studies (ICCS) provides an intricate network of links to Indigenous and Canadian Studies associations within Canada and related associations outside of Canada.