Which N. Scott Momaday novel won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1969?

Which N. Scott Momaday novel won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1969? House Made of Dawn won the prize.

Published in 1968, House Made of Dawn follows Abel, a young Native American returning to Jemez Pueblo after military service in World War II. The novel moves between Indigenous traditions, Catholic influence, urban dislocation, memory, ceremony, and the difficult process of rebuilding identity.

N. Scott Momaday, a Kiowa writer, drew heavily on his knowledge of life at Jemez Pueblo. The book’s structure developed through several stages: Momaday first conceived it as poetry, reshaped it as stories, and ultimately formed it into a novel. Its poetic language and shifting perspectives distinguish it from a straightforward chronological narrative.

The Pulitzer helped bring Native American literature to a much wider mainstream audience. Critics often identify the award as an important spark for the Native American literary renaissance. A later film adaptation was released in 1972, with Momaday involved in writing the screenplay.