As the National Book Awards celebrated its 63rd anniversary, the ceremony packed about 670 guests into the lavish Cipriani restaurant on Wall Street. Ms. Erdrich accepted the award partly in her Native American tongue. She wanted to acknowledge "the grace and endurance of native women," she said.
She added, "This is a book about a huge case of injustice ongoing on reservations. Thank you for giving it a wider audience."
Ms. Erdrich is the author of 14 novels, including "Love Medicine," which was published in 1984. In April 2009, her novel "The Plague of Doves" was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
