Samson Occom's A Sermon Preached at the Execution of Moses Paul, an Indian (1772) and A Choice Collection of Hymns and Spiritual Songs: Intended for the Edification of Sincere Christians, of All Denominations (1774) are believed to be the first two books published in English by a Native American. A. LaVonne Brown Ruoff, noting that the sermon has appeared in at least nineteen editions, calls it "the first Indian best-seller." Occom's account of his own life, dated 17 September 1768 (published in 1994), is probably the earliest autobiography written by a Native American. As an educator, Occom taught his students literacy in a second language through singing and through games he invented using cedar chips and verses on cardboard. Julia Clark's publication in 1993 of Occom's diaries makes available a forty-six-year record of observations about "Indian ways of everyday life, housing, travel, communication, legal status, politics, and dress."

Occom, a Mohegan, was born in...