SOU faculty member a finalist for Oregon Book Awards
SOU faculty member and alumna Brook Colley has been named a finalist for this year’s Oregon Book Awards in the category of general nonfiction for her book, “Power in the Telling: Grand Ronde, Warm Springs and Intertribal Relations in the Casino Era.”
Colley, an assistant professor for SOU’s Native American Studies program, is one of five finalists for the Frances Fuller Victor Award for General Nonfiction.
Her book examines – in historical, social and political terms – a conflict between the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs and the Confederated Tribes of Grande Ronde over the Warm Springs tribe’s unsuccessful 15-year effort to develop a casino in Cascade locks. The book was published last April by the University of Washington Press.
“Ultimately, Colley’s engaging examination explores strategies for reconciliation and cooperation, emphasizing narratives of resilience and tribal sovereignty,” a description on Google Books said.
The Oregon Book Awards will be announced at an April 22 ceremony in Portland, hosted by Cheryl Strayed – author of the bestseller-turned-movie “Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail.”
The annual awards are presented by the nonprofit organization Literary Arts, Inc., to recognize the best work of Oregon writers in the areas of fiction, poetry, literary nonfiction, drama, graphic literature and literature for young readers. The nonfiction category includes two awards: the Frances Fuller Victor Award for general nonfiction and the Sarah Winnemucca Award for creative nonfiction.
Out-of-state judges are assigned to name award recipients in each category, based on literary merit.
Finalists for the Frances Fuller Victor Award are:
- .Katrine Barber of Portland, “In Defense of Wyam: Native-White Alliances and the Struggle for Celilo Village,”University of Washington Press
- Kenneth R. Coleman of Portland, “Dangerous Subjects: James D. Saules and the Rise of Black Exclusion in Oregon,”OSU Press
- Brook Colley of Phoenix, “Power in the Telling: Grand Ronde, Warm Springs and Intertribal Relations in the Casino Era,” University of Washington Press
- Mary DeMocker of Eugene, “The Parents’ Guide to Climate Revolution: 100 Ways to Build a Fossil-Free Future, Raise Empowered Kids and Still Get a Good Night’s Sleep,”New World Library
- Noah Strycker of Creswell, “Birding Without Borders: An Obsession, a Quest and the Biggest Year in the World,” Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Frances Fuller Victor, who died in 1902, spent 35 years traveling throughout Oregon to interview pioneers and write the region’s history.
Colley was a member of the Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program at SOU, which prepares non-traditional students for post-graduate education. She received bachelor’s degrees in sociology and political science at SOU in 2007, then earned her doctorate in Native American Studies at the University of California-Davis before returning to SOU as a faculty member in 2015.
