Who is this guy?

This is the second time in the last couple of weeks that I have seen this photograph. I first saw it in December of 2010 on the cover of Brenda Stanley's disappointing I Am Nuchu.

This morning, the photo is in my Google Alert for "American Indians." This time, the photo accompanies a article on Mission Network News. The article is about suicide rates of Native youth, and how Ron Hutchcraft Ministries. Photo credit for the photo itself is Ron Hutchcraft Ministries.

Is he Todd, the young man who, through this ministry, turned his life around? Or is he a model? Anybody know?  I'm not home so can't pull out I Am Nuchu to see what the photo credit says. Do you have it? What does it say?

UPDATE: May 20, 2011: See comments! It is a stock photo. A colleague sent me an email, saying the cover credit in the book is to Amy Kolenut. So... an all purpose image. He can be a Native teen in a YA novel, or, he can be "Todd" the Native teen who, thru the ministries of Run Hutchcraft, left his life as a gang leader for a life as a Christian missionary, or "warrior" as Hutchcraft ministries says... 

YA Poetry CD: Moccasins and Microphones

On July 9, 2009 I pointed to the Spoken Word Team from Santa Fe Indian School (SFIS). At the time, they were scheduled to perform at the Newberry Library in Chicago. The team was featured on PBS News Hour, too.

Some background: Santa Fe Indian School was established by the U.S. Government in 1890 as part of an assimilation effort to "kill the Indian but save the man." It was an off-reservation boarding school run by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), but unlike most others, it was located nearby the Pueblo Nations its students came from. As such, students who went there had a different experience from students at schools like Carlisle Indian Industrial School.

In the 1970s, federal policies developed by which tribal nations could take over BIA schools. The All Indian Pueblo Council took over SFIS and curriculum was created such that it became relevant to Pueblo peoples.


Today, I'm writing to point you to their CD, Moccasins and Microphones. Anyone who teaches poetry to young adults will find the CD and their performances compelling. Check out this performance:

You can see more at the Selected Poems page of their website.

And... order the CD! It is on iTunes.