BOONE, N.C. — Two Appalachian State University faculty members — Dr. Melissa Birkhofer, assistant professor in the Department of English, and Dr. Paul Worley, professor of Spanish and chair of the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures — have received an Honorable Mention from the Association for the Study of American Indian Literatures (ASAIL) for their edited collection, Teresa Martín & Luisa Menéndez: Indigenous Women from Appalachia in the Spanish Colonial Record.
ASAIL, founded in 1972, is a professional academic organization dedicated to promoting the study and teaching of Indigenous written, oral, and visual literary traditions. Teresa Martín & Luisa Menéndez was nominated for the 2026 Carter Revard Legacy Award for Best Edited Collection. The award recognizes scholarly edited volumes that bring together multiple voices to meaningfully shape the field of Indigenous literary studies. The award honors the spirit of Carter Revard's work, which emphasizes collaboration and community within Indigenous literary scholarship.
In her notification letter, award committee chair Dr. Tereza Szeghi wrote that the committee was struck by how the editors' recovery of these Indigenous women's voices "promises to prompt important interventions and alterations to ways that early Indigenous and colonial literatures of the Americas are understood." She also noted that the book's combination of primary and secondary documents forms "a truly innovative and provocative collection."
The edited collection centers on two Indigenous women, Teresa Martín and Luisa Menéndez, who provided testimony in 1600 to the Spanish governor of La Florida. Their firsthand accounts, translated and published in full for the first time, offer rare insight into La Tama, a paramount chiefdom in the Piedmont region of present-day Georgia, and into early colonial interactions in the interior of North America.
Birkhofer and Worley analyze these documents through the lens of Latin American testimonio, using critical essays and contextual analysis to extend the timeline of Indigenous literatures written in Latin script to the sixteenth century. Their work highlights longstanding ties between the nations of Turtle Island and Abiayala and presents a more nuanced history of Indigenous and Latinx presence in the southeastern United States.
The Honorable Mention will be formally recognized during ASAIL's online awards ceremony on Friday, Oct. 23.
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About the Department of English
The Department of English at Appalachian State University is committed to outstanding work in the classroom, the support and mentorship of students, and a dynamic engagement with culture, history, language, theory, and literature. The department offers master’s degrees in English and rhetoric and composition, as well as undergraduate degrees in literary studies, film studies, creative writing, professional writing, and English education. Learn more about the Department of English
About the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
The Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures offers courses that enhance students’ understanding of other cultures and languages as well as their own, making them prepared for lifelong learning in a multicultural world. Learn more about the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
About the College of Arts and Sciences
The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) at Appalachian State University is home to 17 academic departments, two centers, and one residential college. These units span the humanities and the social, mathematical, and natural sciences. CAS aims to develop a distinctive identity built upon our university's strengths, traditions, and locations. The college's values lie not only in service to the university and local community, but through inspiring, training, educating, and sustaining the development of its students as global citizens. More than 6,800 student majors are enrolled in the college. As the college is also largely responsible for implementing App State's general education curriculum, it is heavily involved in the education of all students at the university, including those pursuing majors in other colleges. Learn more about the College of Arts and Sciences
By Lauren Gibbs
September 9, 2026
BOONE, N.C.
Two people stand outdoors in front of a brick academic building. The man on the left wears glasses, a brown blazer, light blue shirt, tan pants, and a cream-colored scarf with fringe. The woman on the right wears glasses, a gray blazer, dark jeans, and a multicolored scarf in shades of red, purple, and orange. Both are smiling, and the background shows a tree, grass, and a walkway.
Dr. Paul Worley (left) and Dr. Melissa Birkhofer (right) have received an Honorable Mention from the Association for the Study of American Indian Literatures for their edited collection, Teresa Martín & Luisa Menéndez: Indigenous Women from Appalachia in the Spanish Colonial Record. Photo by Chase Reynolds