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In 1951, Downing returned to Atoka and cared for his elderly parents in his family home. He began a new career as a high school teacher in Atoka. He also wrote newspaper articles on the
Choctaw language and he periodically taught Choctaw at the college level. In 1971, the Bureau of Indian Affairs
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student at the
University of Oklahoma, where he studied languages and earned a Bachelor's degree in 1924 and a Master's in 1928. He spoke five languages: Choctaw, English, Spanish, French, and Italian. As a student and following graduation, he wrote book reviews for
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as an interpreter, was a member of the
Oklahoma statehood delegation to Washington, D.C., and a member of the Choctaw Tribal Council. He married, Todd Downing's mother, Maude Miller, in 1899.
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Agent Hugh
Rennert. In the space of nine years, Downing published six Hugh Rennert novels, two mysteries featuring the character Sheriff Peter Bounty, and a non-fiction book,
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26:, was one of the first commercially published mystery writers of Native American descent and one of the first successful mystery writers from Oklahoma.
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After finding some success as a writer, Downing moved to New York City and then
Philadelphia, where he worked in advertising, including for a time at
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in 1830. She married George T. Downing and their son, Samuel, was born in the
Choctaw Nation in 1872. Samuel, Todd Downing's father, served in the
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When
Downing died in 1974, his books were out of print and little remembered. In 1996, the University of Oklahoma Press reissued
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Clues and
Corpses: The Detective Fiction and Mystery Criticism of Todd Downing (Coachwhip Publications)
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with a critical introduction by
Wolfgang Hochbruck. In recent years, Coachwhip Publications, the
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379:"Mexican Indigenismo, Choctaw Self-Determination, and Todd Downing's Detective Novels"
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347:"Downing, George Todd | The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture"
318:"Downing, George Todd | The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture"
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254:(Choctaw Bilingual Education Program, Southeastern State College, 1973)
435:"Reading for a Winter's Night: The Detective Fiction of Todd Downing"
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Recent scholarship suggests the
Downing, who never married, was gay
248:(Area Office of the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1971)
486:"Chahta anompa : An introduction to the Choctaw language"
78:. He also led tours to Mexico, which inspired his first book,
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have brought Downing's mystery novels back into print.
294:"Search the Dawes Rolls | Oklahoma Historical Society"
74:. From 1928 to 1934, he was the business manager for
156:(G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1933). A Hugh Rennert mystery.
22:(March 29, 1902 – January 9, 1974), a member of the
113:published some of his Choctaw language writings as
246:Chahta Anampa: An Introduction to Choctaw Grammar
200:The Last Trumpet: Murder in a Mexican Bull Ring
109:, but it closed after just seven performances.
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462:"The life and works of Florencio Sanchez"
242:, 1941). A Sheriff Peter Bounty mystery.
226:, 1938). A Sheriff Peter Bounty mystery.
105:was adapted into a Broadway play at the
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34:Downing was born on March 29, 1902, in
232:(Doubleday, Doran, 1940). Nonfiction.
82:, featuring the recurring character,
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190:The Case of the Unconquered Sisters
575:20th-century American male writers
90:, telling Mexican history from an
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555:Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma people
510:"Cultural traits of the Choctaw"
377:Cox, James H. (September 2010).
216:, 1937). A Hugh Rennert mystery.
206:, 1937). A Hugh Rennert mystery.
196:, 1936). A Hugh Rennert mystery.
186:, 1935). A Hugh Rennert mystery.
176:, 1935). A Hugh Rennert mystery.
166:, 1934). A Hugh Rennert mystery.
600:20th-century American novelists
565:20th-century American educators
433:Dirda, Michael (4 March 2015).
259:Further reading and scholarship
252:Cultural Traits of the Choctaws
16:Native American mystery writer
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585:University of Oklahoma alumni
560:Schoolteachers from Oklahoma
580:People from Atoka, Oklahoma
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590:American mystery novelists
413:Internet Broadway Database
220:Death Under the Moonflower
24:Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
570:Native American novelists
236:The Lazy Lawrence Murders
595:American male novelists
540:Novelists from Oklahoma
264:Evans, Curtis (2013).
145:The Life and Works of
48:Choctaw Trail of Tears
101:. In 1942, his novel
605:Choctaw male writers
180:Murder on the Tropic
170:Vultures in the Sky
150:(M.A. thesis, 1928)
107:Martin Beck Theatre
57:Todd Downing was a
20:George Todd Downing
397:– via JSTOR.
383:American Quarterly
122:The Mexican Earth,
99:N. W. Ayer and Son
409:"The Cat Screams"
351:www.okhistory.org
322:www.okhistory.org
298:www.okhistory.org
272:978-1-61646-145-4
230:The Mexican Earth
210:Night Over Mexico
147:Florencio Sánchez
88:The Mexican Earth
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154:Murder on Tour
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94:perspective.
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59:Phi Beta Kappa
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517:. Retrieved
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84:U.S. Customs
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76:Books Abroad
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65:Books Abroad
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52:Rough Riders
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550:1974 deaths
545:1902 births
446:7 September
418:7 September
534:Categories
519:2022-09-07
495:2022-09-07
471:2022-09-07
356:2022-09-07
327:2022-09-07
303:2022-09-07
280:References
92:indigenous
30:Biography
395:40983423
68:and the
44:Oklahoma
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128:, and
391:JSTOR
42:(now
36:Atoka
448:2022
420:2022
268:ISBN
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