From: Eliza T. Dresang <edresang>
Date: Sun, 31 Oct 1999 01:01:22 -0400

Hello Everyone:

Today is Sunday, October 31 -- and that has a wide variety of meanings for those of us on CCBC-net: (1) Halloween (2) the end of Daylight Savings Time (3) only one more month of the hurricane season (!), and (4) the drawing to a close of our discussion on Evaluating Books By and About American Indians. For me this means stepping down as "guest moderator," a job that taught me much that I will carry with me into other walks of life. But as I step down, I will share a few parting words.

Parting Words: Part One

This second half of the month has highlighted the talents and commitment of Abenaki author, Joseph Bruchac. A special thanks is due to him for giving his time and sharing his personal perspective with our community. Another special thanks goes to Cindy Kane and Paula Wiseman, editors of several Bruchac books, for their insights into his work and into the author/editor relationship.

Of Bruchac's autobiography, Bowman's Store, one of the two Bruchac books upon which we focused this month, Cindy Kane says, ". . . it's an important book that touches on so many issues of vital importance to young adults--identity, racism, family, the transforming power of love. I think it's a remarkable piece of writing and I know, from letters Joe has shared with me, that it touched many readers very deeply." Connie Rockman concurs:
" What struck me most about this autobiography was the seamless way in which he wove together three very distinct voices - the voice of thechild he was, the voice of the man he has become, and the timeless voice of the storyteller."

Bruchac in his CCBC-Net interview tells us that all of his books have autobiographical elements, including the novel, Heart of a Chief. Kane emphasizes this, also, when she says "I think reading Bowman's Store together with the contemporary novel Heart of a Chief would be extremely valuable if you are interested in knowing how much of the fictional story is based on Joe's own experiences. I definitely see the young Joe (Sonny) whom he describes so vividly in Bowman's Store--a too-smart, scared, likable kid whose mouth sometimes runs ahead of him--in Chris Nicola, the sixth-grade hero of HOAC. "

The CCBC-net community has discussed at length this month the inclusion of harsh realities in books for children. Bruchac's Heart of a Chief provides an example of how this can be done in a sensitive, yet candid manner. Says Kane, "When Joe and I started talking about his writing a novel set on a contemporary Native American reservation, I wondered how he would handle the sensitive issues of casino gambling, alcoholism, and poverty without seeming to pinpoint a particular group. He certainly drew on firsthand experience in creating Chris Nicola's environment. However, he chose to create a fictional reservation as his setting. I thought that was a brilliant idea; it freed him to deal with the issues openly."

Paula Wiseman articulated a glaring truth that has come through this month:
"There is so much that we cannot know about Native history, as so little was recorded and so much as been lost." We will all look forward to the upcoming publication of Sacajawea: The Story of Bird Woman and the Lewis and Clark Expedition by Joseph Bruchac as one book that will help set the record straight.

Although those books were our focus, participants responded to the invitation to share joys of other Bruchac's books. In addition to those books mentioned in the last summary, Debbie Reese points one of her favorites, Eagle Song, a story with a contemporary Native boy as protagonist and cultural elements skillfully woven into universal themes. Robin Smith shared one of experiences with a Bruchac book, " I love the tone of A Boy Called Slow especially. It is such an easy book to read to children. The words are crafted by a true storyteller and help me, the simple reader, feel like a storyteller as well. When Slow's true identity is revealed to be the great Lakota warrior, Sitting Bull, the children are always surprised and pleased."

Beverly Slapin points to Fox Song, a story of a young contemporary American Indian girl coping with the death of her grandmother, edited by Wiseman and soon out in paperback, as a Bruchac book she particularly admires. "What I like especially is the way Joe's words and Paul Morin's pictures give a wholeness to the story, including what is not said.. . . On Jamie's dresser top-a double-page spread-there is an Abenaki birch?rk basket, a bracelet, a necklace, and a French doily. This says more about who Jamie is than any words could."

 Karen Wendt tells us that her teenage daughter chose "The Great Ball Game" as one of two stories she wants her to share with her friends at an upcoming party. Katy Horning reminds us of Bruchac's picture book biography, Seeing the Circle. . . . and so it would go if we had time to discuss each of Bruchac's books.

The careful research of a scholar, his daily immersion in Native culture, the commitment to share what he knows in poetry, play, picture, and novel are special gifts for all of us. It is an intentional giving, for Joseph Bruchac told our community, "If there is one way that I would want to remembered it would be as a voice for the people rather than as one who spoke for himself. Whatever gifts I've been given have been given to me for a reason. No matter how much I give back, it could never be enough."


_________________________________________________________ Eliza T. Dresang, Associate Professor School of Information Studies/ Florida State University
                             Tallahassee, Florida 32306!00 e-mail: edresang at mailer.fsu.edu Phone: 850 644 5877 (w) FAX: 850 644 9763 (w)
Received on Sun 31 Oct 1999 12:01:22 AM CDT