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[CCBC-Net] Vampire stories
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From: Nel <nelcward>
Date: Sun, 12 Jul 2009 11:47:15 -0700
I appreciate the question of accuracy because of where I live and also because of some picture books I've read lately. Looking forward to answers from the group.
Nel Ward Newport, Oregon
----- Original Message ----- From: "Rosanne Parry" <rosanneparry at comcast.net> To: "Debbie Reese" <debreese at illinois.edu> Cc: <ccbc-net at lists.education.wisc.edu> Sent: Sunday, July 12, 2009 11:26 AM Subject: Re: [CCBC-Net] Vampire stories
I agree with you here, Debbie. The portions of Twilight dealing with the Quileute seemed off to me as well.
I'm better aquatinted with the Quinault who have a reservation just south of the Quileute and the Makah who are to the immediate north. Although all three tribes have many things in common. It struck me as not so much a misrepresentation as a missed opportunity to add depth to her own story while conveying Quileute culture in slightly more detail. The tribes of the northwest have a vast body of their own literature. What a shame to see so little of it.
I also found her representation of the climate and ecosystem a little off. For example, there are no grizzly bears on the Olympic Peninsula, but plenty of smallish, chubby black bears. Also it is not possible for anyone, even with supernatural powers, to walk, let alone run, through the rainforest where there is no path. Her development of the setting is sufficient for the purposes of her story, but again, a missed opportunity in terms of representing the unique features of the only temperate rainforest in North America.
So here's a question for the collective wisdom of the teachers and librarians on this list. For genre books like Twilight, which will not be taught in a classroom, do you have a lower expectation in terms of historical/geographical/cultural accuracy than you have for historical fiction in particular and literary fiction in general? The amount of research Meyer would need to do for more accurate representation of the Quileute would likely take months and some guidance from the tribe, which they may or may not be willing to give. Is it reasonable to expect the highest level of accuracy for this type of story or is a well-intentioned but somewhat shallow spoonful of culture enough?
Rosanne Parry HEART OF A SHEPHERD, Random House www.rosanneparry.com www.classof2K9.com
On Jul 10, 2009, at 10:31 AM, Debbie Reese wrote:
> 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
>
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> CCBC-Net mailing list
> CCBC-Net at lists.education.wisc.edu
> Visit this link to read archives or to unsubscribe...
> http://lists.education.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/ccbc-net
_______________________________________________ CCBC-Net mailing list CCBC-Net at lists.education.wisc.edu Visit this link to read archives or to unsubscribe... http://lists.education.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/ccbc-net
Received on Sun 12 Jul 2009 01:47:15 PM CDT
Date: Sun, 12 Jul 2009 11:47:15 -0700
I appreciate the question of accuracy because of where I live and also because of some picture books I've read lately. Looking forward to answers from the group.
Nel Ward Newport, Oregon
----- Original Message ----- From: "Rosanne Parry" <rosanneparry at comcast.net> To: "Debbie Reese" <debreese at illinois.edu> Cc: <ccbc-net at lists.education.wisc.edu> Sent: Sunday, July 12, 2009 11:26 AM Subject: Re: [CCBC-Net] Vampire stories
I agree with you here, Debbie. The portions of Twilight dealing with the Quileute seemed off to me as well.
I'm better aquatinted with the Quinault who have a reservation just south of the Quileute and the Makah who are to the immediate north. Although all three tribes have many things in common. It struck me as not so much a misrepresentation as a missed opportunity to add depth to her own story while conveying Quileute culture in slightly more detail. The tribes of the northwest have a vast body of their own literature. What a shame to see so little of it.
I also found her representation of the climate and ecosystem a little off. For example, there are no grizzly bears on the Olympic Peninsula, but plenty of smallish, chubby black bears. Also it is not possible for anyone, even with supernatural powers, to walk, let alone run, through the rainforest where there is no path. Her development of the setting is sufficient for the purposes of her story, but again, a missed opportunity in terms of representing the unique features of the only temperate rainforest in North America.
So here's a question for the collective wisdom of the teachers and librarians on this list. For genre books like Twilight, which will not be taught in a classroom, do you have a lower expectation in terms of historical/geographical/cultural accuracy than you have for historical fiction in particular and literary fiction in general? The amount of research Meyer would need to do for more accurate representation of the Quileute would likely take months and some guidance from the tribe, which they may or may not be willing to give. Is it reasonable to expect the highest level of accuracy for this type of story or is a well-intentioned but somewhat shallow spoonful of culture enough?
Rosanne Parry HEART OF A SHEPHERD, Random House www.rosanneparry.com www.classof2K9.com
On Jul 10, 2009, at 10:31 AM, Debbie Reese wrote:
> 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
>
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> CCBC-Net mailing list
> CCBC-Net at lists.education.wisc.edu
> Visit this link to read archives or to unsubscribe...
> http://lists.education.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/ccbc-net
_______________________________________________ CCBC-Net mailing list CCBC-Net at lists.education.wisc.edu Visit this link to read archives or to unsubscribe... http://lists.education.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/ccbc-net
Received on Sun 12 Jul 2009 01:47:15 PM CDT
