CCBC-Net Archives
Responding to a serious question
- Contemporary messages sorted: [ by date ] [ by subject ] [ by author ]
From: Sharron L. McElmeel <smcelmeel>
Date: Fri, 29 Oct 1999 15:20:09 -0500
Every child needs to see/hear their face/voice in the literature they read but more importantly those around them, and those who have not met them need to see/hear faces/voices of a diverse population. Two of my grandchildren are Native Americans. I have difficulty finding books for them which do have their faces/voices -- more importantly my non-native grandchildren do not see their cousins in books either.
When a book does deal with Native Americans -- they are shown as "rabbits"
(Ten Little Rabbits -Grossman) or puts them in the past. It's interesting to me that non-fiction titles such as those in the "My True Book about ..." puts a native child on the cover in "Indian" attire -- my grandson owns a porcupine quill bustle (I think that's what it is called) and I have seen him dance in Pow-wows, his sister as well. However, that is not the defining factor in these young people's lives so the emphasis on this aspect in book after book after book is disconcerning. We need to see their faces/voices in settings in the present day -- settings that have them playing, eating, laughing, going to school like any other child -- but with respect to their heritage.
I know there are some well-written, accurate titles but very little relatively speaking dealing with Native Americans in a contemporary setting. Even the book that has been highly discussed in this forum is historical fiction -- a place often into which Native American Indians are often slotted.
So I find all of this discussion swirling around the Birchbark House extremely interesting -- and I am looking forward to reading it to my nine-year-old granddaughters. BTW my own children loved the Laura Ingalls Wilder books but even as children did recognize the perspective and prejudicial comments about the Native Americans -- while I didn't like the portrayal, that background helped my son understand his wife's reluctance to involve herself with others who were not Native Americans. Her being forced to attend an abusive boarding school might have had something to do with it all too.
Sharron McElmeel
Sharron L. McElmeel writer/editor 3000 N. Center Point Rd. Cedar Rapids, IA 52411?48 http://www.mcelmeel.com
Received on Fri 29 Oct 1999 03:20:09 PM CDT
Date: Fri, 29 Oct 1999 15:20:09 -0500
Every child needs to see/hear their face/voice in the literature they read but more importantly those around them, and those who have not met them need to see/hear faces/voices of a diverse population. Two of my grandchildren are Native Americans. I have difficulty finding books for them which do have their faces/voices -- more importantly my non-native grandchildren do not see their cousins in books either.
When a book does deal with Native Americans -- they are shown as "rabbits"
(Ten Little Rabbits -Grossman) or puts them in the past. It's interesting to me that non-fiction titles such as those in the "My True Book about ..." puts a native child on the cover in "Indian" attire -- my grandson owns a porcupine quill bustle (I think that's what it is called) and I have seen him dance in Pow-wows, his sister as well. However, that is not the defining factor in these young people's lives so the emphasis on this aspect in book after book after book is disconcerning. We need to see their faces/voices in settings in the present day -- settings that have them playing, eating, laughing, going to school like any other child -- but with respect to their heritage.
I know there are some well-written, accurate titles but very little relatively speaking dealing with Native Americans in a contemporary setting. Even the book that has been highly discussed in this forum is historical fiction -- a place often into which Native American Indians are often slotted.
So I find all of this discussion swirling around the Birchbark House extremely interesting -- and I am looking forward to reading it to my nine-year-old granddaughters. BTW my own children loved the Laura Ingalls Wilder books but even as children did recognize the perspective and prejudicial comments about the Native Americans -- while I didn't like the portrayal, that background helped my son understand his wife's reluctance to involve herself with others who were not Native Americans. Her being forced to attend an abusive boarding school might have had something to do with it all too.
Sharron McElmeel
Sharron L. McElmeel writer/editor 3000 N. Center Point Rd. Cedar Rapids, IA 52411?48 http://www.mcelmeel.com
Received on Fri 29 Oct 1999 03:20:09 PM CDT
