As American Indian literature continues to push the boundaries of creativity, its counterpart in criticism has remained content with the narrowest, most parochial focus. "Tribal secrets" lays the groundwork for a new and richer American Indian critical studies. In a comparative interpretation of the works of Vine Deloria, Jr., and John Joseph Mathews, two American Indian intellectuals of this century, Robert Allen Warrior recovers a Native American intellectual tradition with profound implications for contemporary Indian critical thought. Warrior presents a narrative account of the literary productions and political and cultural interactions of American Indian writers of this century. This neglected history provides a context for Deloria and Mathews, whose work points away from assimilation and accommodation that was favored by their predecessors. Reading these writers, particularly Mathews' novel "Sundown", Warrior identifies new strategies and categories for making sense of American Indian fiction. Throughout, Warrior argues that the contemporary reality of Indian people - including issues of economic class, gender inequality, and sexual orientation - can and should be part of a critical understanding of the past, present, and future of Indian America.