From: Debbie Reese <debreese_at_illinois.edu>
Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 06:01:40 -0600

Good morning,

In addition to the American Indian Library Association book award, consider those Wordcraft Circle designates as distinctive. Wordcraft is a Native organization that has been recognizing Native writers for a long time. (They recently added an award for websites. My site, American Indians in Children's Literature, won the award a few years ago.)

On my site, I link to the Wordcraft Awards. I also link to the Lacapa Spirit Prize, named for Michael Lacapa. Books considered for that award must be set in the southwest. That award was given in 2007 and 2008. There's also the First Nations Read program, based in Canada, focused on First Nations writers.

I'm providing links to them here, but if you forget to bookmark them, you can always find them on my site.

it-prize.html

I also want to follow up on Megan's post. She said that we can turn to best-of-the-year lists, children's choice awards, state awards, association awards, but that we don't know if people who put those books on their lists, or awarded those books, assess them carefully in terms of cultural accuracy and authenticity.

I'll add other considerations, which are, respect and sensitivity for the religious and spiritual practices, sensitivity to appropriation of the appropriation, misappropriation, and misrepresentation of that spirituality.

Inspired by the work of the Oyate and CCBC, I've spent several years doing critical analysis of books that get onto those best-of- the-year lists, children's choice, state awards, etc. AND those that win the big awards, too, like the Newbery.

A couple of weeks ago, I did a close reading of Sharon Creech's WALK TWO MOONS, focusing on the ways that she uses and presents American Indian culture. It won the Newbery in 1995, and I would like to think it would not win that award today, but I'm not so sure! I say that based on the inclusion of A SEASON OF GIFTS on the Battle of the Books slate. Here's my review of WALK TWO MOONS: -sharon-creechs-walk-two.html

I think we have to go back to those old books, looking at them again and again if the quality of the literature we read, and then select for distinction, is EVER to stop messing with Native people. We have to accept that, for example, Sharon Creech tried her best, but society let her down because it gave her a narrow view, and all the research that she did, written by outsiders to Native culture, also let her down. Instead of defending her and, as one librarian said recently, "dump her
 into the trash" when I raise these concerns, we've got to stop being fans of authors, and remember our responsibilities to the young people in front of us.

Professional associations miss the mark, too, and their weight as associations of EDUCATORS makes their recommendations a serious problem. The national social studies association selected Gina Capaldi's biography of Carlos Montezuma as distinctive, but, my analysis of it finds it seriously flawed.

I'm on a roll here. I hope you're still with me!

Our society has to change in order for its treatment of American Indians to get better. There's occasional glimmers of hope. Recently on NPR, there was a story about a Dine (Navajo) soldier who was killed while on patrol. An NPR reporter was with his unit and her story focused on him and his death. NPR did not tell the family this story would run. Following its broadcast, the family contacted NPR and told them about their cultural restrictions on speaking the name of someone who has died. You can read about that story here:

So, what I'm saying is that Megan is right. We should remember that people who nominate or create lists often do them without consideration of factors that do matter tremendously to Native children who are reading these books. There is a book about Navajo people and the seasons that is a huge violation of their cultural restrictions regarding religion and, ironically, the seasons that certain aspects of their religion can be presented. I'd like people to take a critical stance of any book with Native content, whether it is a passing reference, or the heart of the book. That passing reference affirms misrepresentations, and, it should be called out by the teacher using the book. My case in point for that is the use of "injun" in CALPURNIA TATE.

An assigned reading in my AIS 101 course at UIUC is one by Elizabeth Cook-Lynn, a Lakota professor, now retired. Her article is about how Americans tell the Lewis and Clark story, as a celebration. Several lines in her article stand out. I'll share one here.

"Indians and whites alike have become the victims of this kind of history..."

Cook-Lynn is telling us that we've all been led down a certain, very biased path that privileges one peoples experience at the cost of another peoples experience. With simplified histories that narrowly present very complex moments in history, we're all ignorant. And that ignorance is hurtful to all of us. One of my students said in class, "this is like Iraq!" That is the connection I want them my students to make. When stories deny the humanity of one people, deny the voice (dump Debbie in the trash) of Native people, make light of their issues, etc., we become a society that is vulnerable and willing to believe that 'other' is dangerous and a threat to America.

We need, as Arnold said in his follow-up to Megan, to be reeducated.

Debbie

(P.S. I'll gladly send Cook-Lynn's article to you if you send me an email off-list.)

Visit my Internet resource: American Indians in Children's Literature

Debbie A. Reese (Nambй 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 12 Mar 2010 06:01:40 AM CST