From: Tattercoat at aol.com <Tattercoat>
Date: Thu, 14 Oct 1999 15:45:30 EDT

Thank you Beverly and Debbie for bringing the Indian child to the forefront in our discussion.

Two weeks ago I attended the wedding of one of my college students. I sat at dinner with a brilliant, sensitive, aware young Indian man (Yurok) who had dropped out of school in the 9th grade. I asked him why he dropped out. He said, "I heard so many lies there, lies about my people, lies about the world. I had to choose between those lies and what I knew to be true--how my elders teach me to live and what really happened to my people."

Reading the Birchbark House this past week, I thought so often of this beautiful young man. What choices might he have made if this, and many other books like it, had been part of his school experience? How can we re-conceive our literature and our classroom culture to include and to honor authentic native voices? What does it take to change our classrooms and libraries into places that nurture Indian children, all children? No one should have to choose between their cultural identity/true history and an education.

I am also the descendent of white settlers and have raised white children in a (thankfully) culturally mixed environment. I want my children to feel good about who they are, to know their history and forebears, but not at the expense of other children or of the truth. How can we present our shared history honestly and help our children live together without prejudice today? I worry very much about well meaning non-Indian writers presenting a softened view of Indian experience, one that goes down easy. Would we accept historical fiction written by whites about Black experience of slavery that softened that cruel race?sed institution?

The Birchbark House was just nominated for the National Book Award, youth category. Thanks Eliza for giving us all a truly wonderful reading experience.

Carolyn Lehman Humboldt State University
Received on Thu 14 Oct 1999 02:45:30 PM CDT