From: Beverly Slapin <oyate>
Date: Wed, 13 Oct 1999 14:18:06 +0000

When we talk about children's responses to books like , I think about the Indian children who are forced to sit in classrooms day after day, hurt, humiliated, betrayed, their stomachs and hearts aching. Some children are not able to tell their parents about their pain. This happens over and over again, and has happened for as long as Indian children have been in school, including the Indian boarding school era. I want to share with you two stories: one is from a child named Raven, and the other is from a child named Monica. The books in question were not the books, but they may as well have been.

"My Name is Raven. When I was in third grade, our class read <The Courage of Sarah Noble>. In this book they said Indian people were savages and murderers, they chop your head off and eat you alive and that we were not really people. When the class put on the play for the whole school, the kids started taunting me, calling me 'stinky' and asking me how many people I've eaten. Nobody would play with me or even sit next to me in class.... I felt so ashamed. Finally, I told my mother I didn't want to go back to school."

"I really don't like the fake cartoon and illustration in Indian books that are here in the school library. My name is Monica and my tribe is Navajo, Laguna, Kiaoni and Pueblo, all full blooded. It makes me mad when children make fun of my culture. It makes the kids think we do that when we don't. When the children grow up I don't want them to think that Indians put feathers in their hair and dance around the fire. We don't do that. And I don't think that it is right for the kids to look at the silly things they put in those silly books. One day I saw a kid running around with a feather in their hair and putting their hand to their mouths and making weird noises and I cried when that happened. So what I want you to do is to put those books away and learn about our real history."

 . . <Caddie Woodlawn>. .
. <My Heart Is On the Ground>. Five of these have been used in classrooms for decades. One of them is newly published. They are in virtually every library, virtually every classroom. They are being taught as history as well as literature.
  is a beautifully written piece of historical fiction. It is a wonder, a healing, and antidote to the poison. But let's make no mistake?it will take 500 books like to undo what has been done, and continues to be done, to Indian children in the classroom.

Elizabeth is a special child. She is growing strong, because she has a strong mom. But even Debbie can't protect her from the almost?ily assaults on her dignity; she can only help her withstand them. Please let's think about Elizabeth, and Raven, and Monica, and the other Indian children as we continue this discussion. Thank you.

Beverly
______________ Beverly Slapin Oyate 2702 Mathews St. Berkeley, CA 94702
(510) 848g00
(510) 848H15 fax oyate at oyate.org www.oyate.org
Received on Wed 13 Oct 1999 09:18:06 AM CDT