Which novel by Oliver La Farge won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1930?

Which novel by Oliver La Farge won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1930? The answer is Laughing Boy.

First published in 1929, Laughing Boy follows a young Navajo man in the American Southwest as he seeks adulthood, respect, and a place within his changing community. The novel is set in 1915, when automobiles and other forces of modern American society were increasingly reaching Native lands.

Its central relationship is with Slim Girl, a Navajo woman whose experiences in government-run Indian boarding schools have distanced her from traditional culture. Through their conflict and affection, La Farge explored pressures of assimilation, cultural survival, and the effects of federal education policies on Native families.

Laughing Boy won the Pulitzer Prize in 1930, when the category was officially called the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel. It was later adapted into a 1934 film starring Ramón Novarro and Lupe Vélez. The title should not be confused with La Farge’s nonfiction and anthropological writing about Native American cultures.