From: Debbie Reese <debreese>
Date: Sat, 25 Apr 2009 07:02:01 -0500

Read two items of interest. First, an interview with Alexie at FAILBETTER.COM where he says he's set aside his second YA novel, RADIOACTIVE LOVE to work on a sequel to DIARY. The sequel is Arnold in sophomore year, a romance with Penelope.

Here's the link: http://failbetter.com/31/AlexieInterview.php?sxnSrc=ltst

And here's an excerpt, about his appearance on the Colbert Report:

------------- You were on the Colbert Report in October?one of the only guests who?s ever been able to make Stephen Colbert speechless. What was it like being on the show?

It was great, but it?s funny because Indians are so invisible and because my career has gotten so big that I think people they don?t forget that I?m Indian, but it becomes very secondary to the success. When I was on Colbert I had a double consciousness or triple consciousness about it I was in the moment but then I was also thinking that this is really revolutionary for Indians a rez boy holding his own verbally with one of the best in the business. It was big. I was proud that I also have that artistic ability. It was fun. He was a great guy. He came into the green room afterwards and congratulated me, which was very decent of him.
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Second, a piece in the NY Times about bullying that includes statistical data about why kids are bullied/teased. The author of the article begins by talking about two eleven year old boys who committed suicide.

Here's the link: http://blow.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/24/two-little-boys/

I'm still thinking about DIARY and words used therein. In part, it feels hypocritical for me to say that Hoffman's AMAZING GRACE must be set aside because of its stereotypical illustration
(Grace being "Hiawatha"). I recall vividly Violet Harris saying that she couldn't embrace a book that helps one group (African American girls) at the cost of another (American Indians). Learning of Stephanie Fryberg's research on the effects of stereotypical imagery on the self esteem of Native and non-Native students scares the crap out of me. Her article appeared in BASIC AND APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY in 2008, and is titled
"Of Warrior Chiefs and Indian Princesses: The Psychological Consequences of American Indian Mascots," by Stephanie Fryberg, Hazel Rose Markus, Daphna Oyserman and Joseph M. Stone.

Here's the abstract:

Four studies examined the consequences of American Indian mascots and other prevalent representations of American Indians on aspects of the self-concept for American Indian students. When exposed to Chief Wahoo, Chief Illinwek, Pocahontas, or other common American Indian images, American Indian students generated positive associations (Study 1, high school) but reported depressed state self-esteem (Study 2, high school), and community worth (Study 3, high school), and fewer achievement-related possible selves (Study 4, college). We suggest that American Indian mascots are harmful because they remind American Indians of the limited ways others see them and, in this way, constrain how they can see themselves.

Still thinking about DIARY, with no conclusions.

Debbie



Visit my Internet resource: American Indians in Children's Literature http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.net

Debbie A. Reese (Namb? O'-ween-ge') Assistant Professor, American Indian Studies University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Native American House, Room 2005 1204 West Nevada Street, MC-138 Urbana, Illinois 61801

Email: debreese at illinois.edu TEL 217-265-9885 FAX 217-265-9880
Received on Sat 25 Apr 2009 07:02:01 AM CDT