1992 - N. Scott Momaday
Kiowa-Cherokee | Tucson, AZ

1993 - Simon J. Ortiz
Acoma Pueblo | Tucson, AZ

1994 - Leslie Marmon Silko
Laguna Pueblo | Tucson, AZ

1995 - Joy Harjo
Creek | Albuquerque, NM

1996 - Vine Deloria, Jr.
Sioux, Standing Rock | Boulder, CO

1997 - James Welch
Blackfeet-Gros Ventre | Missoula, MT

1998 - Linda Hogan
Chickasaw | Idledale, CO

1999 - Joseph Bruchac
Abenaki | Greenfield Center, NY

2000 - Louis Erdrich
Chippewa | Minneapolis, MN

2001 - Paula Gunn Allen
Laguna Pueblo | San Pablo, CA
- & -
Gerald Vizenor
Chippewa | Berkeley, CA

2002 - Maurice Kenny
Mohawk | Saranac Lake, NY

2003 - Geary Hobson
Cherokee-Arkansas Quapaw | Norman, OK

2004 - Lee Francis III
Laguna Pueblo | Albuquerque, NM

2005 - Carter Revard
Osage | St. Louis, MO

2006 - Luci Tapahonso
Navajo | Tucson, AZ

2007 - Elizabeth Cook-Lynn
Sioux, Crow Creek Res. | Rapid City, SD

2008 - Robert J. Conley
Cherokee | Cullowhee, NC

2009 - Jack D. Forbes
Powhatan-Delaware | Davis, CA

2010 - Sherman Alexie
Spokane-Coeur d'Alene | Seattle, WA 

2011 - Wilma Mankiller
Cherokee | Stilwell, OK

2012 - LeAnne Howe
Choctaw | Urbana, IL

2013 - D.L. Birchfield
Choctaw-Chickasaw | Lethbridge, AB/Oklahoma City, OK

2014 - Diane Glancy
Cherokee | Kansas City, MO

2015 - Allison Hedge Coke
Huron/Metis-Cherokee | Oklahoma City, OK

2016 - John Trudell
Santee Dakota | Santa Clara, CA
- & -
Jim Northrup
Ojibwe, Fond du Lac Res. | Fond du Lac, MN

2017 - Duane Niatum
Klallam | Seattle, WA