Scholars who once thought Native American literatures were solely oral narratives recorded by missionaries or anthropologists now understand this body of work to consist of both oral literatures and the written works of Native American authors, who have been publishing since 1772.

• AScholars who once thought Native American literatures were solely oral narratives  
• BScholars thinking of Native American literatures once solely as oral narratives, and  
• CScholars who once had thought of Native American literatures solely as oral narratives and  
• DNative American literatures, which some scholars once thought were solely oral narratives  
• ENative American literatures, which some scholars once, thinking they were solely oral narratives