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[CCBC-Net] Vampire stories
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From: Debbie Reese <debreese>
Date: Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:31:16 -0500
A little late chiming in here on the Vampire thread...
What bothers me about the TWILIGHT series is Meyer's use of Quileute stories. Mis-use, that is, but also the way that she writes about Native culture, treaties especially. It is clear to me that she doesn't know what treaties are and why they are important to us (I'm Native, tribally enrolled at Nambe Pueblo in northern New Mexico). As some of you may know, Americans are sorely under-educated with respect to American Indians, and I view Meyer as contributing to that misinformation. Her "treaty" between the vampires and some of the Quileute's is a mind bender for me.
It is also fascinating to me how few people (fans or critics) even note the Native content in the stories. I don't know if that content is invisible to them, or, if it is just a cool part of the story. As a Native reader, it leaps out at me.
Do you recall the part where she has Jacob driving, with a tribally issued license to drive? NOT TRUE. Some tribes do, in fact, issue license tags for vehicles. I checked with a handful of them to see if they are issuing driver's licenses, and they're not. It might seem a small thing to readers of the books, but to me, this muddies already muddy waters. These are affairs of state that she's misrepresenting.
I've written on my site about the books. Most recently, there is a response from the Quileute's to the series. http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/2009/07/quileute-response-to-twilight.html
I'm not a fan of vampire stories myself, but I do read what Native writers write, and two have vampire stories. One is Cynthia Leitich Smith, who someone has already mentioned. She does not have Native content in her vampire stories. I enjoyed reading her vampire books.
The other is NIGHT WANDERER by a Canadian and Ojibwe writer, Drew Hayden Taylor. Cynthia interviewed Drew last year. I wrote about the story, too, and linked to her interview. Drew's book is scarier than Cynthia's. His is set on a First Nations reserve, with Native characters. REALLY GOOD STUFF. http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/2008/11/cynthia-leitich-smith-interviews-drew.html
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 Fri 10 Jul 2009 12:31:16 PM CDT
Date: Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:31:16 -0500
A little late chiming in here on the Vampire thread...
What bothers me about the TWILIGHT series is Meyer's use of Quileute stories. Mis-use, that is, but also the way that she writes about Native culture, treaties especially. It is clear to me that she doesn't know what treaties are and why they are important to us (I'm Native, tribally enrolled at Nambe Pueblo in northern New Mexico). As some of you may know, Americans are sorely under-educated with respect to American Indians, and I view Meyer as contributing to that misinformation. Her "treaty" between the vampires and some of the Quileute's is a mind bender for me.
It is also fascinating to me how few people (fans or critics) even note the Native content in the stories. I don't know if that content is invisible to them, or, if it is just a cool part of the story. As a Native reader, it leaps out at me.
Do you recall the part where she has Jacob driving, with a tribally issued license to drive? NOT TRUE. Some tribes do, in fact, issue license tags for vehicles. I checked with a handful of them to see if they are issuing driver's licenses, and they're not. It might seem a small thing to readers of the books, but to me, this muddies already muddy waters. These are affairs of state that she's misrepresenting.
I've written on my site about the books. Most recently, there is a response from the Quileute's to the series. http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/2009/07/quileute-response-to-twilight.html
I'm not a fan of vampire stories myself, but I do read what Native writers write, and two have vampire stories. One is Cynthia Leitich Smith, who someone has already mentioned. She does not have Native content in her vampire stories. I enjoyed reading her vampire books.
The other is NIGHT WANDERER by a Canadian and Ojibwe writer, Drew Hayden Taylor. Cynthia interviewed Drew last year. I wrote about the story, too, and linked to her interview. Drew's book is scarier than Cynthia's. His is set on a First Nations reserve, with Native characters. REALLY GOOD STUFF. http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/2008/11/cynthia-leitich-smith-interviews-drew.html
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 Fri 10 Jul 2009 12:31:16 PM CDT
