ABQ Times

Sarah Hernandez, an associate professor in the Department of English Language and Literature, has received an honorable mention for her book from the Modern Language Association (MLA). The MLA is a leading national association dedicated to scholars of literatures, cultures, and languages.

Hernandez's book, "We Are The Stars: Colonizing and Decolonizing the Oceti Sakowin Literary Tradition," was recognized under the "6th Modern Language Association Prize for Studies in Native American Literatures, Cultures, and Languages" category. Published in 2023 by the University of Arizona Press and the University of Regina Press in Canada, it highlights the role of Oceti women as traditional culture bearers and explores themes such as settler colonialism, literature, nationalism, and gender.

"I'm incredibly honored to receive the MLA Prize for Studies in Native American Literatures, Cultures, and Languages for We Are the Stars,” said Hernandez. “This recognition is a testament to the strength of Oceti Sakowin literary tradition and the vital role women and land play in strengthening our tribal nations. This literary recovery project is about reclaiming our rich intellectual traditions, challenging colonial narratives, and pushing back against a history of erasure. I'm grateful to the committee for this recognition and to all who continue the work of preserving and perpetuating our longstanding literary traditions."

The MLA committee praised Hernandez’s work: “Sarah Hernandez’s We Are the Stars: Colonizing and Decolonizing the Oceti Sakowin Literary Tradition illuminates how settler missionaries, policies, teachers, and writers worked to colonize Oceti Sakowin literary practice by attacking its foundations—Oceti Sakowin women and land. It then reconstructs an Oceti Sakowin literary tradition over a long period of time commonly understood as one of loss and lack. Hernandez first reveals the links between literary colonization and land colonization... before turning to how Oceti Sakowin authors—largely women—later revitalized their literary traditions by decolonizing settler land narratives with attention to language, land knowledge, and women’s authority. Hernandez models a powerful method of literary recovery in the context of a colonized literary tradition.”

At UNM (University of New Mexico), Hernandez also serves as director of the Institute for American Indian Research (IFAIR) and holds a position with Oak Lake Writers Society—a non-profit organization led by Oceti Sakowin writers focused on Nakota, Dakota, and Lakota authors. In her role there as literature and legacy officer she supports initiatives like "#NativeReads: Great Books from Indigenous Communities."

The MLA prize allows anyone to nominate books; however authors must be members or join before nomination deadlines. The association boasts over 20 thousand members across 100 countries since its founding year 1883 offering opportunities sharing teaching experiences alongside scholarly findings within humanities publications program maintained at high standards.

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