American Indians and Bias in Cataloging (Shelving)

I've had a couple of questions lately, about shelving of books about American Indians. It led me to ask my colleagues in the American Indian Library Association about the sorts of things they learn in library school, about shelving these books.

I was referred to a bibliography about the topic. If you're interested in it, I encourage you to read Holly Tomren's paper, "Classification, Bias and American Indian Materials."

She reviews previous studies of cataloging of American Indian materials, noting that they are generally assigned to the 970 "General History of North America" section, even if they're not necessarily history. In that area, you'll find art and religion. Bias is unavoidable, but, she asks, how might a Native student feel when, in looking for info about his tribe, the librarian sends him to the history shelves? That student obviously knows his people are not extinct, but does his non-Native peer know that? Does finding the material in the history section affirm the idea that we've all vanished?

Tomren also discusses the Library of Congress subject headings and drawbacks in them, too, and she describes alternative systems developed by Native people in the US and Canada.

Her article is definitely worth reading. It's a little technical in parts, but overall, much can be learned about the ways that bias is present in shelving systems.
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Eve Bunting's CHEYENNE AGAIN

Below is a review of Eve Bunting's book, Cheyenne Again. The review is written by Beverly Slapin at Oyate, a Native not-for-profit organization. This review of Cheyenne Again originally appeared in A Broken Flute: The Native Experience in Books for Children. As you read the review, you will see that it is not a book that could be used to educate children about American Indians and boarding schools they attended. In A Broken Flute, you will find reviews of books that can be used for that purpose. A Broken Flute is available from Oyate for $35. In it, over 700 children's books are discussed and/or reviewed. I highly recommend it. The review below may not be published elsewhere without written permission from its author, Beverly Slapin.

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Bunting, Eve, Cheyenne Again, illustrated by Irving Toddy (Navajo). New York: Clarion (1995). 32 pages, color illustrations; grades 2-3; Cheyenne

In Cheyenne Again, Bunting tells the story of a 10-year-old Cheyenne boy who, in the late 1880s, is taken far from his family and sent to Carlisle Indian Industrial School, more than 1,000 miles away, to “learn the White Man’s ways.” “The corn is drying out,” his father says. “There will be food in this place they call school. Young Bull must go.” 

Toddy’s acrylic and oil paintings are perfect for a boarding school story, especially when he contrasts the open, light expanse of the Great Plains with the depressingly dark confines of the school. The child’s pain also, as Young Bull’s hair is forcibly cut while others, with short hair, look on. And his running away, with only a thin blanket for cover, into a blizzard. Toddy has been there. As a former student at Intermountain Indian School in Utah, he holds the stories in his heart.

In Bunting’s telling, on the other hand, conditions appear far better than they were. “Kill the Indian, save the man”—Captain Richard Henry Pratt’s harsh motto—was much more indicative of the treatment meted out to the lonely, miserable children than Bunting cares to reveal. Children whose parents voluntarily sent them to Carlisle went there, not to “learn the White Man’s ways,” but to learn English. Bunting does not mention the many deaths—from malnutrition, from diseases, from beatings, from broken hearts. Nor does she mention the jail cells and the arbitrary punishment such as having lye rubbed into young mouths for the sin of not knowing what was expected. She whitewashes the abject wretchedness of the children’s lives.

There would have been no kindly teacher to offer “salve to sooth the place the chain has rubbed,” to console a child by telling him, “Never forget that you are Indian inside. Don’t let us take your memories.” Pratt’s “teaching” methodology was designed to force the children to deny—and later, forget—their Indianness, inside and out. Any teacher encouraging a child to remember who he was would have been fired on the spot.

On the last page, Young Bull, having drawn pictures in a ledger book of warriors riding on painted ponies, breaks through “the lines across the page” and rides once again with his relatives “across the golden plain.” He has again become, as Bunting so facilely makes possible, “Cheyenne again.”

By ending the story here, Bunting is able to sidestep, not only the misery of the boarding schools, but also their legacy. It’s ongoing, and many people still bear the scars.

—Beverly Slapin

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Note from Debbie: To learn more about boarding schools, visit these websites:

Carlisle Indian Industrial School, located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

Paula Giese's essay about Cheyenne Again provides in-depth information about Intermountain Indian School.

The word "read" in Native languages

Was reading Cynthia Leitich Smith's blog this morning and saw this graphic. Isn't it nifty? If you click on the graphic, a larger image of it will open in another window.

Cyn's first three books are perfect for November reading.

• They are works of fiction by a Native author.
• They are about Native kids and their families.
• They are set in the present day.

Cyn has extensive info about each one at her web page. Click on the title to get to her page on each one:

• Picture book: Jingle Dancer
• Early Reader Short Stories: Indian Shoes
• YA: Rain is Not My Indian Name

I said "perfect for November" because this is designated as "Native American Month" but... Read her books all year long! Don't confine them or any/all of your reading/teaching about American Indians to November... Do your part to bring us out of the past and into the present.
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Anne Rockwell's THANKSGIVING DAY

A few days ago, I said I'd discuss children's books about Thanksgiving. Today, the focus is on Anne Rockwell's Thanksgiving Day. It is a popular book. My local library had five copies on the shelf.

If you're a regular reader, you know that I think we do a disservice in teaching children that "Pilgrims and Indians" had a wonderful feast together. It's a feel-good-about-America story. While I understand the need to provide children with feel-good moments, you can do that at Thanksgiving without using "Pilgrims and Indians" material.

Anne Rockwell's book provides multiple opportunities to see why that romanticized Thanksgiving story is problematic. I'll discuss some of them here. My analysis of the story is in bold text.

The characters in Rockwell's book are children. The story itself is told from the perspective of an African American child who asks his parents:

Do you know why we celebrate Thanksgiving? Do you know why we always eat turkey, corn bread, and cranberry sauce on Thanksgiving Day? I do. I learned why in school.

The next double-page spread is of a storytime in a classroom. Seated on the floor on carpet squares are ten children. One is the African American boy. The illustrations indicate the author/illustrator want to show a diverse group of children. Some look to be Asian. Three are blonde, two are red-heads, and the remaining two have dark hair (can't see their faces; their back is to the reader.)

Debbie's analysis: It is good to see picture books that demonstrate the diversity that exists in today's classrooms. And, as a former kindergarten and first grade teacher, I like seeing children gathered around for storytime. Teachable moment: When you call your students to the rug for storytime, I hope you do not ask them to "sit Indian-style." We all know what that means, but it is one of those stereotypical ideas associated with Native people that I think ought to drop out of use. Ask them to sit "like a pretzel" instead.

The teacher sits on a low chair holding up a book she is reading, called "The First Thanksgiving." Behind her is a wooden stand that holds four puppets: one turkey, an Indian man, a Pilgrim man, and a Pilgrim woman.

Debbie's analysis: Puppets are terrific and should be in classrooms, but not these ones... or at least, not the Indian one. Question for you.... If I'd said "Indian" but not "man" what image would come to your mind? One of a man, or a woman? My guess is most of you would think of a man. Why? Because that is what you see most often. In my dissertation, I found that the majority of images of Indians in children's picture books are of Indian men. And, when children play Indian, they play Indian men, not women.

Turning the page, we see the teacher's hands as she holds open the book she's reading to the children. The page shows a Wampanoag family and a Pilgrim family. The Wampanoag family is wearing fringed buckskin. The man and boy wear trousers and a loincloth, are are shirtless. The woman is wearing a furry cape over a dress. All wear boots. All three have one or two feathers in their hair. The text reads:

We learned about the Wampanoag people who were already in this land, and the Pilgrims who came across the sea from England.

Debbie's analysis: Wonderful to see the word "Wampanoag" in this book! Not the generic "Indian," but an actual tribal name. And, it is the name of the tribe with whom the people on the Mayflower came into contact with.


Next, the children are gathered around a craft table making what will be the costumes they will wear in their play. Two are wearing brown paper bag bests and headbands with one or two feathers in them.

Debbie's analysis: Teachers are adept at figuring out how to do things at low cost. Using paper bags to make Indian vests, though, encourages the idea that all American Indians wore/wear fringed buckskin. The text says "Wampanoag" --- but the items the children are making are not specific to the Wampanoag people.

The story moves on to tell what part children performed in the play. Here's the text:

Evan was a Wampanoag named Samoset. He was thankful for all the wild turkeys that lived in the land his people called Massachusetts.

and,

Pablo was Squanto. He was thankful that all the kernels of corn the Wampanoag people planted sprouted and grew tall and green.

and,

Sam was thankful that Squanto told him wild turkeys were good to eat and taught him how to hunt them.

and, after several pages (which I'll discuss later):

Eveline was Chief Massasoit. She told how the Wampanog and Pilgrim people shared their harvest feast one autumn day.

Debbie's analysis: Being thankful for game (turkeys) and plants (corn). That's fine. But... Samoset, Squanto, and Massasoit... Problems? Samoset was not Wampanoag. He was Abenaki.

Are children taught that Squanto (his Wampanoag name was actually Tisquantum, not Squanto) was kidnapped by Thomas Hunt, the captain of one of the boats in John Smith's group, and taken to Europe to be sold as a slave? That he was rescued by a priest who tried to convert him to Christianity? That he learned English, and eventually made his way back home, only to find his village had been devastated by European disease?

By the time the Mayflower pilgrims arrived, the Native people already regarded them as a threat... Samoset, who was visiting the Pokanokets and Nemaskets, was sent to see what was up with the colonists (after that first winter)... Finding the colonists friendly to him, Samoset returned with Squanto, who taught them how to use fish fertilizer, and, helped arrange a treaty alliance among the Pokanokets, Nemaskets, and colonists.

Squanto then lived among the colonists and helped establish other treaty relationships, but was not well thought of by the Native people. He was not trustworthy, misleading Natives and colonists. He so angered Massasoit, that the colonists had to protected him from Massasoit.

Did Massasoit tell anyone about how the Wampanoag's and Pilgrims shared a feast? Not likely.

Going back now, to the pages I skipped.

Michiko was thankful that she and all the other Pilgrims were greeted kindly by the Wampanoag people, who shared the land with them.

and,

Kate was thankful that her new neighbors were peaceful Pilgrims looking for a new land to live in, and not mean people looking for someone to fight with. Jessica was thankful that the beautiful land of Massachusetts had enough good things for everyone.

Debbie's analysis: Wow. And wow again. Through Michiko and Kate, we get outrageously simplistic descriptions. Greeted kindly? Shared the land? And not mean people looking for someone to fight with?! Only Jessica's words have some semblance of truth, but they, too, are problematic. Her words carry the weight of the idea that there was plenty of land, and that the Indians weren't using it properly, so it was only fitting that the more industrious Europeans should take and own it...

This seemingly sweet book is really quite loaded. Loaded in its false message of comradery between the colonists and the Wampanoags. Loaded in its efforts to hide the conflict from the child reader...


I was at a lecture two nights ago and met a professor from a nearby university (hey Susan!) Her students read my blog. We talked about the "do no harm" principle in medicine, and that it should apply to a child knowledge base.

First, do no harm.

In teaching a happy feel-good Thanksgiving lesson, teachers may be harming the self-esteem of Native children in their classrooms. And, they are mis-educating the non-Native children. In a way, it is like the tooth fairy, or Santa Claus. These are things of childhood, that, at some point, children learn aren't real. The difference is, American Indians are real.

First, do no harm.

Note: My source for the information on Squanto, Samoset, and Massasoit are Neil Salisbury's Manitou and Providence: Indians and Europeans, 1500-1643, and his chapter on Squanto in David G. Sweet and Gary B. Nash's book, Struggle and Survival in Colonial America.

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Comments posted to this post as of March 7, 2010:

On Wednesday, November 14, 2007, Anonymous/Stephanie said:

Thank you for this post. I was going to read this book at my storytime but now I see why it's better not to. I like your motto of "do no harm". It's now mine too.

On Thursday, December 13, 2007, Emma said:

I am a former library assistant and African-American. I used Rockwell's book for a Thanksgiving storytime with pre-schoolers. I wish I had read your blog first. I was happy to see some diversity in the book, so that's why I used it. I realize I should read, and re-read children's books from a pan-ethnic perspective.

Keep up the good work.

On Tuesday, March 25, 2008, Anne Rockwell said:

To anonymous and emma: Please read my comments on Debbie's blog about her upcoming Lois Lenski interview. 

[Note: Rockwell asked Stephanie and Emma to read her comments. Click here to get to the page she's referencing.]

Stereotypes, Children's Books, and the Mental Health and Well Being of ALL Children

Earlier this morning I listened to a speech (on the radio) given by a clinical psychologist to an audience in Indiana. He was there to talk about the mental health and well-being of children.

Right after he was introduced, he said something like "I'm glad to be here... Just for you, I'll put on my Cleveland Indians baseball cap." His remarks were greeted with laughter and applause.

I understand his gesture, an effort to connect with his audience, but that particular gesture indicated that he has not considered the effects of these mascots on American Indian people. It was especially troubling because, as I listened to his speech, he spoke of the need for mental health workers to become culturally competent so they are better prepared to serve diverse populations.

I can be cynical and label him a hypocrite, but I don't think he is a hypocrite. I think that he---like most Americans---has never critically looked at stereotypes of American Indians, nor has he considered the effect of those stereotypes on American Indian children.

The American Psychological Association, and the American Sociological Association, both issued statements calling for an end to the use of American Indian imagery in sports mascots.

The APA's statement reads, in part:

Self-esteem is an important ingredient in resiliency and positive mental health adjustment. It is important that a group does not feel compromised in this important area of psychological functioning, as impairment of self-esteem can contribute to negative behaviors such as substance use and abuse, self-harming, and interpersonal violence (Witko, 2005; Cook-Lynn, 2001; Coombs, 1997).

It also reads:

For American Indian people, whose history is not often portrayed accurately in public education systems, the stereotypes that mascots, symbols, images, and personalities portray become the norm and miseducate American Indians and non-American Indians about American Indian culture, society, and spirituality (Gone, 2002; Connolly, 2000; Moses, 1996; Churchill, 1994, Nuessel, 1994; Banks, 1993).

And here's part of the statement by the American Sociological Association:

WHEREAS the American Sociological Association recognizes that racial prejudice, stereotypes, individual discrimination and institutional discrimination are socially created phenomena that are harmful to Native Americans and other people of color;

WHEREAS the American Sociological Association is resolved to undertake scholarship, education, and action that helps to eradicate racism;

WHEREAS social science scholarship has demonstrated that the continued use of Native American nicknames, logos and mascots in sport reflect and reinforce misleading stereotypes of Native Americans in both past and contemporary times;

WHEREAS the stereotypes embedded in Native American nicknames, logos and mascots in sport undermine education about the lives of Native American peoples;

These statements are issued by professional associations, and both address stereotypes in the form of mascots. I think it necessary for we, as educators, to look at stereotypes of American Indians in children's books. They are rampant this month, in the children's books about Thanksgiving, in the lesson plans about "Pilgrims and Native Americans," in the bulletin boards teachers are putting up this month, and in the decorations going up in your local grocery stores.

It is easy to feel defensive if you're using stereotypical materials. It may feel like a personal attack on your decisions. Please know that I view us all as products of a society that "did this" to us all---not in an intentionally harmful way---but in an unthinking way. There is no one place to lay blame for this massive lack-of-knowing, and laying blame is not the purpose of my writing on this blog.

Instead, my purpose is to provide a different perspective on American Indians as taught by books, schools, and society. I ask you to set aside that book, or that lesson plan, or that bulletin board display, and provide your students with solid information about American Indians.
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