What is going on with COLONIZATION AND THE WAMPANOAG STORY by Linda Coombs?

Update at 12:34PM on October 22: The library met today and reversed their decision. The catalog already reflects the change! Instead of jF Coo, the shelf number is J974.004 Coo. 

As news media reports on the change, I'll be back to update with links. --Debbie

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What is going on with Colonization and the Wampanoag Story by Linda Coombs?

Published at approximately 9:45AM on October 22, 2024; updated at 12:34PM on October 22, 2024.

On October 8, colleagues wrote to let me know that a public library in Texas had made a decision to remove Colonization and the Wampanoag Story by Linda Coombs (Aquinnah Wampanoag) from the juvenile nonfiction shelves to the fiction shelves. I joined efforts to write a letter objecting to that decision and I added the book to my log of Native-authored books that have been challenged or banned. 

Colonization and the Wampanoag Story came out in 2023 from Crown Books for Young Readers, which is an imprint of Random House Children's Books. Here's the book description:

Until now, you've only heard one side of the story: the "discovery" of America told by Christopher Columbus, the Pilgrims, and the Colonists. Here's the true story of America from the Indigenous perspective.

When you think about the beginning of the American story, what comes to mind? Three ships in 1492, or perhaps buckled hats and shoes stepping off of the Mayflower, ready to start a new country. But the truth is, Christopher Columbus, the Pilgrims, and the Colonists didn't arrive to a vast, empty land ready to be developed. They arrived to find people and communities living in harmony with the land they had inhabited for thousands of years, and they quickly disrupted everything they saw.

From its "discovery" by Europeans to the first Thanksgiving, the story of America's earliest days has been carefully misrepresented. Told from the perspective of the New England Indigenous Nations that these outsiders found when they arrived, this is the true story of how America as we know it today began.

I've followed and recommended Coombs's work for years. She has done excellent work over many decades, as a tribal historian for the Aquinnah Wampanoag and in writings through which she tries to help teachers create educational materials. I read her book last year and included it in our annual Best Books list. 

The decision to recategorize the book was taken by the "Citizens Review Committee" that is appointed by the county commissioner. When initially formed, that committee had five citizens and five librarians, but in March of 2024, Montgomery County officials decided the librarians could no longer weigh in on reviews of children's and young adult books that residents had challenged. Why they removed the librarians is not clear to me. Professional training in book selection was essentially set aside in favor of "common sense" of the local community (see Montgomery County Adopts Citizen-Led Library Book Review Policy for use of the phrase "common sense."

Montgomery County Memorial Library System is in Texas, north of Houston. That system includes 7 different locations. Yesterday morning when I went to their catalog and entered the book title, this is what I saw:

In the first column are the names of the libraries that have a copy. The second column is "Material Type" where each library has it listed as "Juvenile books, circulating." The third column, "Shelf Number" for all the libraries is "jF Coo" which means juvenile Fiction, Coombs. In the 4th column, "Status" you see "Material being cataloged" at five libraries. From what I've read in news reports, the libraries had to complete the move by October 17, which was 5 days ago. I assume "material being cataloged" means librarians are working on moving the book, changing the information in the catalog, and doing all that needs doing in order to keep track of books in a catalog. 

Here's a fact based on my experience:

A lot of people in the United States don't know we (Native peoples) exist anymore. I've read accounts in which someone says "there's no Indians here" and that books or educational materials about them are not needed in this or that location. 

But here's the thing: we are here, in spite of all that was done over hundreds of years to get rid of us. Did you know, for example, that L. Frank Baum (he wrote The Wizard of Oz) wrote an editorial calling for "the total annihilation of the few remaining Indians." Books by Native writers ought to be in every school and public library. There are more, today, than ever before. When libraries choose to put our nonfiction books in the fiction section, they are continuing efforts to remove us from existence. There's obvious harm to Native kids who look for books that accurately reflect who we are, but there's harm to non-Native kids, too. They'll grow up, mis-educated, and may apply that misinformation to the work they do as adults. 

Why, exactly, did the Citizens Review Committee in Texas make this decision? 

News media states the thinking behind the decision to reclassify the book is not available to the public. I hope reporters will press for the information. 

My guess is that when the committee received a request that Colonization and the Wampanoag be reviewed, they started by looking at the cover and the table of contents. They saw that Coombs structured the book by alternating chapters in an unusual way. Let me explain.

In the book, there is an Introduction, thirteen chapters, an Epilogue, Resources for Young Readers, and a Bibliography. Here's a screen capture of the Table of Contents for my e-copy:

The Introduction is in plain font. Here's a key paragraph:

The book starts with a story, "When Life Was Our Own," which describes Wampanoag life before any European contact. The story was created to relate traditional Wampanoag culture, beliefs, practices, and values based on our oral traditions and research done over many years. There are no written sources of these early times, due to the processes of colonization described in the other parts of the book. An understanding of precontact life brings clarity to the impacts of colonization on Indigenous people. 

Chapter 1, "When Life Was Our Own: Spring and the Time of the New Year" is in italics. Here's a paragraph from there:

Little Bird felt a slight breeze on her face and the sudden warmth of the morning sun, bidding her to open her eyes to a new day. Her body resisted rousing from the warm furs of the bed. Maybe just one more snuggle before getting up! Just yesterday, her family and many others had moved from the winter home to their summer cornfields. Sachem Corn Tassel, the leader of their village, had Little Bird's family return to the same field they'd planted in last year.  

Chapter 2, "Creating Colonies: More than a New Place to Live" is in plain font. Its subtitle is "Some Background Information and Context (Never forget the Context!)." It starts with this paragraph:

This section will discuss three episodes in history that occurred before 1620. These paved the way for the Pilgrims to settle in America. They are the Doctrine of Discovery; the impacts of Christopher Columbus's voyages; and the PPP--Pre-Pilgrim Patterns--which happened along coastal southern New England. 

Chapter 3, "When Life Was Our Own: Summer--Tending to Corn Mother" is in italics, and chapter 4, "PPP: Pre-Pilgrim Patterns" is in plain font. That pattern continues throughout the book. 

In her book, Coombs uses storytelling, or the oral tradition. Is that why the committee decided her book is fiction? Storytelling/oral tradition is a technique that Native people use to pass information from one generation to the next. Coombs uses it to provide a Native perspective on the history the book focuses on. Using that technique she invites readers to be with a Native family, and then in the next chapter she gives readers the information typically found in textbooks. 

I think it is a terrific model. 

And it isn't an unfamiliar one! On Twitter/X, the librarian who writes using ReadingDanger as their name pointed to several books categorized as nonfiction that someone might say 'hey, that's not nonfiction!' One example is the Magic School Bus series. Information in those outstanding books is conveyed by Ms. Frizzle and the kids in her class. A quick look at the catalog tells me those books are cataloged as nonfiction.   

Below I'm providing links to items I've read. I'll add additional links as I can, and additional thoughts as they develop. For starters? I think the book ought to be moved back to the nonfiction section of the library. 

March 26, 2024

Texas county removes librarians from certain book review processes at LoneStar Live. Note from Debbie on Oct 23: As I continue researching how this happened, I'll be adding older items -- like this one from March--that has information about the policy that removed librarians from the committee that was created to review objections to library materials. It reminds me of efforts to denigrate people with expertise as "elites" that are "out of touch" with people. I also want to note that individuals who attended the Montgomery County board meetings to object to books wore red attire.  

October 11, 2024

"American History from an Indigenous Perspective:: Nonfiction or Fiction?" from the Texas Freedom to Read Project. 

October 14, 2024

Texas county sidelines librarians, reclassifies book on abuse of Native Americans as "fiction" by Judd Legum at Popular Information. 

Houston-area library moves Indigenous history book to fiction section at Lonestar Live.

October 16, 2024

Letter to the Montgomery County Commission, signed by American Indians in Children's Literature, and the American Indian Library Association, available at PEN America. 

October 18, 2024

Texas county labels Native American history book a work of fiction, sparking outrage at the San Antonio Current. 

October 19, 2024

We fight book bans in Texas. This county's latest move stunned us at MSNBC.

October 20, 2024

Attacks on People's Stories are Attacks on People. Just Ask a Librarian at Forward Times is an interview with ALA President, Cindy Hohl (Santee Sioux Nation) who has also served as President of the American Indian Library Association.

October 21, 2024

Texas condemned for placing book on colonization in library's fiction section at The Guardian.

October 22, 2024

Texas county reverses classification of history book as fiction by Daniel Wu at The Washington Post. 

Montgomery County library will reclassify book about Native Americans amid pressure at Chron. 

Texas library committee under review after relabeling Indigenous history book as fiction at Lonestar Live.

October 23, 2024

UPDATE: Texas library committee reverses decision to reclassify Indigenous history book as "fiction" reversed by Judd Legum at Popular Information.

Texas county reverses classification of Indigenous history book as fiction in The Guardian

Questions about ABDO's COMANCHE in its "Native American Nations" series

Yesterday, I shared a resolution issued by the Comanche Nation that denounces Gwynne's Empire of the Summer Moon. 

Today I looked for children's books about the Comanche Nation. The one that popped up a lot is published by ABDO. Comanche is part of a "Native American Nations" series they did in which all the books are by "F. A. Bird." It came out in 2022. 

The cover of each book has the name of a tribal nation, the logo for the series, and the author's name:

Who is F. A. Bird? When I got the book, I decided to do this post because there's a lot wrong with this book, and my guess is F. A. Bird made similar errors in the other books. I can't find any information about who F. A. Bird is, anywhere. Help me! If you know who that is, please let me know. 

The series has 10 titles: Algonquin, Apache, Cherokee, Cheyenne, Comanche, Iroquois, Navajo, Nez Perce, Seminole, Sioux. I'll try to get the other books, but for now, I'm looking at the title for the first one: Algonquin. Who is that book about? There is no "Algonquin" tribal nation in what is currently called the US. 

The format for each book consists of thirteen two-page chapters. One of those pages is a photograph; the other has about 3 paragraphs of information. The first twelve chapters are historical in nature and use past tense verbs as if the Comanche people of today don't do any of the things presented on those pages. Let's consider what we see in Chapter 8, "Children." It says their babies "were placed on a cradleboard." Many Native families still use cradleboards. Another example is that "grandparents helped raise the children" and "told their grandchildren stories." That still happens. Grandparents help today, and they tell their grandchildren stories. 

Though the series title includes the word "Nations," it only appears once in the entire book! Chapter 13, "The Comanche Today," is primarily about the "Comanche Nation Homecoming Powwow." How is a teacher meant to teach children the fact of nationhood if that fact is not included in the book? 

Chapter 6 is "Crafts." It is about bows and arrows. Why is that being called a craft? The page is primarily about hunting. In that context, it was not (and is not) a craft. Calling it a craft situates it in a hobbyist space. 

After looking over the information in the Comanche book, I wonder what the Comanche people would want included? How would they want that information presented? Chapter 9 is "Traditions" and talks about "the Great Spirit" and "the Evil Spirit." It tells us that the Evil Spirit was cast out of the "Spirit World" when it refused to recognize humans as "the Great Spirit's best creation." That Evil Spirit hides in fangs and stingers of poisonous creatures. The accompanying photo is of a scorpion. Is that what the Comanche people say in their traditional stories? What is the source for that page of info? 

At the moment, I am full of questions about this book--and the entire series! 

Comanche Nation Denounces EMPIRE OF THE SUMMER MOON

At American Indians in Children's Literature, we occasionally read and recommend books intended for adult readers. We aren't alone in doing that. Within children's literature, the Alex Award is given each year to ten books that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18. 

We often receive emails asking us to read an adult book, and/or if there's anyone doing critical reviews of adult books like the reviews we do at AICL. In answer to the latter, there is not (as far as we know) someone who reads and critiques books for adults. To the former, we sometimes read/critique an adult book because we know it is shaping the ideas that librarians will use to select children's books. We don't have endless time, however. We pretty much stick to children's books. 

One book I've been asked about is S. C. Gwynne's Empire of the Summer Moon: Quannah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches. I didn't read it but am happy to share a resolution from the Comanche Nation of Oklahoma. Dated October 5, 2024, their resolution says, in part:

WHEREAS, Mr. Gwynne purposefully eschewed use of Comanche sources in writing his book, and as a result of his over-reliance on ethnocentric sources, the book repeats many inaccuracies and stereotypes concerning the Comanche people. 

If you are an educator or a parent that is homeschooling their child and using Gwynne's book as a resource, please reconsider using it. Here's the Comanche Nation's resolution (you can also find it on their website):

Native Authors--January Rogers and katherena vermette--On Pretendianism

Have you read news reports about false claims to being Native? Back in 2021 I started Native? Or, not? A Resource List of items I had read and thought others would find helpful. In 2023 I started a second list focused on challenges to groups in Vermont, in particular, because within children's literature, Joseph Bruchac is well known (I no longer recommend his books). 

Today I'm point you to Blood Sport by January Rogers and real ones by katherena vermette. Both are meant for adult readers but if you work with high school students, take a look. They might work in your classroom.

Written as a play, Blood Sport is a satirical comedy about Native identity and who can claim it. The Foreword is by Dr. Kim TallBear. I highly recommend that you read her work on this topic. Several items on my resource list are by her. In Blood Sport, we meet a gameshow host and contestants who answer questions about who they are. It is an intriguing treatment of the topic. 

My copy of real ones arrived a couple of days ago. In places where Native people talk about false claims, we often talk about children of those who make the claim. In vermette's book, there are two sisters whose father is Native. But their mother? Well, she's fabricated a claim. She knows it is not true and her daughters do, too. I've just started reading it and am definitely pulled into the story. A reporter has gotten in touch with the daughters, asking them about their mother's claim. 

Get both books! From what I've seen, Native readers are excited to read them. Excited doesn't feel like the appropriate word. The larger point is that false claims to a Native identity are not innocent. They are harmful to anyone who is taken in by a false claim, and harmful to Native people. Books like these two help us find words to talk about why pretendianism is--to use the word January Rogers used--a crisis. 

Sign up! California Indian Ed for All offers a free series of On-line Book Club meetings with Native Authors

This Thursday (September 12), I am giving a webinar in California Indian Ed for All's online book club series. These webinars are open to the public, and there is no charge for them. They start this week and go all the way to June of 2025. They are live/online from 3:30 to 5:00 Pacific Time. Sign up! 

If you teach courses in children's literature or social studies or literature or history or library services for youth (getting a bit carried away there, but I do think anyone whose work has to do with Native peoples and children should join), consider asking your students to sign up. I think you just need to register once and you'll be enrolled in all of them. A few days prior to each event you'll receive an email with a link to join in. (Note: I don't know if the webinars will be recorded and made available later.)

If you are a teacher, librarian, or parent, please sign up! You'll hear directly from authors of books you can use in your classroom. Knowing them through the webinars will help you impart more substance to the children you work with. 

As you look through the schedule, you'll see children's book authors but you'll also see books from scholars whose books will help you become more knowledgeable about Native peoples. Being more knowledgeable helps you become more adept at teaching children and adults, and they help you see problems like bias and stereotyping.

Sept 12 - Debbie Reese, Selecting and Using Children's Books about Boarding Schools

Sept 26 - Jean Pfaelzer, California: A Slave State

Oct 17 - Traci Sorell, We Are Still Here: Native American Truths Everyone Should Know, Being Home, and Contenders

Oct 24 - Christine Day, We Still Belong, The Sea in Winter, and I Can Make This Promise

Oct 31 - Debbie Reese, Children's Books about Native Youth and their Hair

Nov 7 - Laurel Goodluck, Forever Cousins, Rock Your Mocs and She Persisted: Deb Haaland

Dec 19 - Cynthia Leitich Smith, Hearts Unbroken, Jingle Dancer, and Sisters of the Neversea

Jan 16 - Michaela Goade, Berry Song, Remember, We Are Water Protectors, and Being Home

Jan 23 - Deborah Miranda, Bad Indians: A Tribal Memoir

Feb 13 - Cutcha Risling-Baldy, We are Dancing for You: Native Feminisms and the Revitalization of Women's Coming-of-Age Ceremonies

Feb 20 - William Bauer, California Through Native Eyes: Reclaiming History

Feb 27 - William Bauer, We Are the Land: A History of Native California

Mar 13 - Debbie Reese, Children's Books about Native People in the Sciences

Mar 20 - Dina Gilio-Whitaker, Understanding Stereotypes and Native Americans, Part One: Master Narratives and Root Myths

Mar 27 - Dina Gilio-Whitaker, Understanding Stereotypes about Native Americans, Part Two: Modern Myths

Apr 17 - Carole Lindstrom, We Are Water Protectors, My Powerful Hair, and Autumn Peletier: Water Warrior

April 24 - Monique Gray Smith, My Heart Fills with Happiness, When We are Kind, and You Hold Me Up

May 8 - Laurel Goodluck, Fierce Aunties and Too Much: My Great Big Native Family

June 5 - Debbie Reese, Learn about New Children's Books by Native People

Here's screen caps of the schedule. Each one shows photos of the authors and a list of the books they'll be talking about. They are arranged according to months. Share this post with everyone you know! 

Not Recommended: STORIES CALIFORNIA INDIANS TOLD by Anne B. Fisher

Several readers have asked me about Stories California Indians Told by Anne B. Fisher, illustrated by Ruth Robbins. It came out in 1957 from Parnassus Press in Berkeley, California. 

Whenever I am asked about a book, the first questions I pose are these: Who wrote it? When did it come out? What are the author's sources? What verb tense is used? I also consider the title and what it conveys. 

I'd like everyone to pose those questions, too. 

With this book, we see a problem right away in the title. The problem is the word "told." It implies the stories are not being told today. Switch that past tense word for its present tense form: tell. If the title was Stories California Indians Tell, it conveys a living people. I am not suggesting a simple change in a verb in the title would make this book acceptable. 

As far as I am able to ascertain, the author and illustrator of the book are not Native. 

Its publication date is 1957. What awareness did the author and her editor have, about Native peoples and how we feel about representation? Native people knew we were being misrepresented but did not have access to tools we have today (social media). Since then, the publishing world has become more informed and I doubt this book would get published. 

In the book's Forward, I see that the source is Dr. C. Hart Merriam, who "wrote the tales down just as they were told to him by Indian story-tellers." Merriam then told the stories to Fisher (the author), who "turned them into stories for children and young people." One option a researcher can do is look for the source material and compare the source with how it was adapted (in this case, by Fisher). What was left in? What was not used? But when doing that particular kind of study, you'd need to see how reliable the source (C. Hart Merriam) was. In previous studies I've done, I've found those sources lacking. People who gathered the source material were outsiders looking in, not understanding what they were observing. They sometimes forced their own interpretations on what they observed. 

The Forward is written by an anthropology professor at San Francisco State College. His name: Adan E. Treganza. In the forward, several specific tribal nations are named by geographical location. All through there, however, are past tense verbs. Treganza uses "stories" and "myths" and "tales" to describe the contents of the book. In the final paragraph, Treganza writes that the characters in the myths do things that "appear to be impossible." He continues (p. 6): 

California Indians, like all other people, were imaginative and attempted to explain in their myths the world of nature around them. Animals, reptiles, or insects were often given the ability to think and speak like humans and to exert almost unlimited physical powers. Yet these stories were very real to Indian children and adults, as real as our own legendary tales are to us." 

At the moment, I'm looking at verb tense again. The stories "were" real. Are they not real anymore? It pains me to write something that should be obvious to everyone, but, Native peoples in California tell stories, today. Do they tell the ones in this book? I'm doubtful. Let's look at the first one.

The first story in Stories California Indians Told is "How California Was Made." In it, "the Medicine Man of the Gabrielino Indians" sees leaves falling, which signals that "the time for story telling was here." He paints his body, puts on a headdress, went outside of his hut, and called out "Come sit around the fire and I will tell you a story." From all the huts around his, Indian men and their wives and the Indian boys and girls came running. The people loved stories and they loved Medicine Man to tell them." The story he tells is about how the Great Spirit made land using several turtles, who he told to get in a long north-south line, head to tail, with the three at the southerly end placed more towards the east. "You'll make a wonderful California!" he told them. 

The story goes on but I'll pause there so we can critically analyze the information summarized above. 

In the first story in this book, we're asked to believe that a Native man whose people have lived on this continent since time immemorial is telling his people their creation story -- and calling their land by a name outsiders gave to that land. 

When you search the etymology of the word California, you'll find many sites saying it is from a Spanish novel published in 1510. What did Native peoples of the state currently known as California call that land before Europeans invaded their lands? The story says "Gabrielino" Indians, but what did that particular group call themselves, originally, in their own language? By focusing on "Gabrielino" and "California" we can see the problem. This is outsider perspective, and as such, is not something that should be used to teach anybody about the original peoples of California. 

And what the heck -- all the people in this village came running to hear the story?! Creation stories are sacred. 

In short, Stories California Indians Told is not recommended. 

I encourage educators to read and use On Indian Ground edited by Joely Proudfit as a resource! It'll help you make informed decisions about old and new books. 

Highly Recommended: LET'S GO! haw êkwa! BY JULIE FLETT

Let's Go! haw êkwa!

Written and illustrated by Julie Flett (Cree-Metis)

Published in 2024

Publisher: Greystone Kids

Reviewer: Jean Mendoza

Review Status: Highly Recommended

What a treat I had tonight! While browsing through a shelf of the newest books in the children's department at our library, I came across several by Indigenous writers and illustrators. One of them was this sweet-and-substantial story of skateboarding, inspiration, friendships, and fun by award-winning artist Julie Flett.

Here's how the publisher summarizes the book:

Every day, a little boy watches kids pass by on skateboards, and dreams of joining them. One day, his mother brings a surprise: her old skateboard, just for him! haw êkwa! Let’s go! Together, they practice on the sidewalk, at the park, in Auntie’s yard—everywhere. But when it comes time to try the skatepark, the skateboarders crash down like a waterfall. Can he find the confidence to join them?

There are many, many reasons I like and recommend this book.  Here are four.

Reason #1 for recommending Let's Go! haw êkwa!: The illustrations.

The back matter tells us the illustrations were rendered in pastel and pencil, composited digitally. They have the feel of cut paper collage, without feeling stuck to the page. They remind me of what a good sports photographer can do -- "freezing" the subject in a way that implies continuing action. Two "learning to skateboard" pages show phases of the process, including a mishap, each with its own space. Many other illustrations are two-page spreads; the ones that showcase the fluidity of skateboarding are especially impressive. 

Reason #2: use of the Cree language

The Cree phrase "haw êkwa!" (part of the title) means something like, "Okay then!" according to Flett's note to readers at the end of the story. She explains that she and her son became interested in Cree words to describe the "flow state" skateboarders can experience, so they consulted friends at the Cree Literacy Network, who came through with several words and phrases to share with readers. Intriguing! It's possible I've missed something in other books, but this is the first time I've encountered use of Indigenous words to talk about such complex concepts in a book for young children. Of course there is much to gain in sharing Indigenous names for objects, colors, and numbers; this provides additional layers of respect for and knowledge about an Indigenous language.

Reason #3: all kinds of affirmations 

When one of my young relatives was into skateboarding years ago, they said there was a lot of animosity toward skateboarders. That's probably still the case in some places -- but not in Let's Go! Julie Flett dedicates the book to a young skateboarding enthusiast who sought her out at a book-signing, and to her sons and their friends in their skateboarding community. The protagonist and friends are many shades of brown, reflecting the diversity of their group and contradicting the mistaken notion that skateboarders are primarily white. This appears to be a single-parent family, and it's portrayed as loving and supportive. Not only does Mom give her son her old skateboard -- she also drives the children all over the place to visit skate parks! 

Reason #4: read-aloud potential

Teachers who share the book can invite children to participate in the reading in several ways. At the appropriate times, they can call out, "Let's go! haw êkwa!" They can make the sound of the wheels on pavement: "cacussh, cacussh, cacussh." They can move their bodies as the skateboarders do in the illustrations. After the story, they may want to talk about their own ways of getting involved in an activity. Do they usually jump right in, or do they watch and learn for a while before telling themselves, "Let's go!" They might also want to think about experiences that give them the feeling that they have "become a part of something -- and myself," as the protagonist has.

I am quite a fan of Let's Go! haw êkwa!  I'm hoping every librarian, teacher, and relative of a child reads it and shares it -- and buys multiple copies for their shelves and to give to children.