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Re: why citations matter
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From: Debbie Reese <debreese_at_illinois.edu>
Date: Thu, 21 Oct 2010 07:13:41 -0500
I want to see that Virginia textbook---to see
what it says about American Indians. Does anyone on CCBC have access to it? People who write that particular content are repeating the same bias and error of those who write children's books. James Loewen has done some terrific writing (Lies My Teacher Told Me) about content in textbooks.
As for vetting, there are several examples in which the publisher did not use the information provided by the vetter because that info would change the story in ways the author didn't want to change it. I'm thinking specifically of Rinaldi's book about boarding school, and one of Banks' INDIAN IN THE CUPBOARD books. Both are works of fiction, but, obviously, the author/editor/publisher was aware that the "Indian" content needed to be checked. Still, we all lose when the information provided is not used, and the book goes forward as-is.
INDIAN IN THE CUPBOARD is quite powerful as a story that shapes ideas. I read an account by an editor who loved that book, and, a book she edited has ambiguous Indian content in it---and
THAT book is marketed as nonfiction.
It isn't just citations, it is sources.... When our sources (books that inform/shape our thinking) are books like INDIAN IN THE CUPBOARD, our products and our selection process is in trouble.
While at the public library a few days ago, I saw on the new books shelf (and checked out) SCHOLASTIC ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN. I flipped to the back matter and was pretty disappointed with the Resources list. It included works of fiction, none of which are by Native writers. And, it includes ANPAO! (I'm hoping everyone on CCBC knows that Jamake Highwater was not Native. Though ANPAO won lot of distinction, it and his other works have been soundly criticized by scholars in American Indian Studies.) Highwater is even listed in the "Fakes and Frauds" entry in Hoxie's Encyclopedia (the one I referenced earlier this week).
Debbie
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 Thu 21 Oct 2010 07:13:41 AM CDT
Date: Thu, 21 Oct 2010 07:13:41 -0500
I want to see that Virginia textbook---to see
what it says about American Indians. Does anyone on CCBC have access to it? People who write that particular content are repeating the same bias and error of those who write children's books. James Loewen has done some terrific writing (Lies My Teacher Told Me) about content in textbooks.
As for vetting, there are several examples in which the publisher did not use the information provided by the vetter because that info would change the story in ways the author didn't want to change it. I'm thinking specifically of Rinaldi's book about boarding school, and one of Banks' INDIAN IN THE CUPBOARD books. Both are works of fiction, but, obviously, the author/editor/publisher was aware that the "Indian" content needed to be checked. Still, we all lose when the information provided is not used, and the book goes forward as-is.
INDIAN IN THE CUPBOARD is quite powerful as a story that shapes ideas. I read an account by an editor who loved that book, and, a book she edited has ambiguous Indian content in it---and
THAT book is marketed as nonfiction.
It isn't just citations, it is sources.... When our sources (books that inform/shape our thinking) are books like INDIAN IN THE CUPBOARD, our products and our selection process is in trouble.
While at the public library a few days ago, I saw on the new books shelf (and checked out) SCHOLASTIC ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN. I flipped to the back matter and was pretty disappointed with the Resources list. It included works of fiction, none of which are by Native writers. And, it includes ANPAO! (I'm hoping everyone on CCBC knows that Jamake Highwater was not Native. Though ANPAO won lot of distinction, it and his other works have been soundly criticized by scholars in American Indian Studies.) Highwater is even listed in the "Fakes and Frauds" entry in Hoxie's Encyclopedia (the one I referenced earlier this week).
Debbie
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 Thu 21 Oct 2010 07:13:41 AM CDT
