Wynema

Originally published in 1891,Wynemais the first novel known to have been written by a woman of American Indian descent. Set against the sweeping and often tragic cultural changes that affected southeastern native peoples during the late nineteenth century, it tells the story of a lifelong friendship between two women from vastly different backgroundsWynema Harjo, a Muscogee Indian, and Genevieve Weir, a Methodist teacher from a genteel Southern family. Both are firm believers in women's rights and Indian reform; both struggle to overcome prejudice and correct injustices between sexes and races. Callahan uses the conventional traditions of a sentimental domestic romance to deliver an elegant plea for tolerance, equality, and reform.

S. Alice Callahan (1868-94) was a mixed-blood of Muscogee descent and became a Methodist teacher for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation in Oklahoma.