tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post4091831955153672721..comments2024-03-27T14:08:51.191-05:00Comments on American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL): Subjects not taught: American Indian Activism, and, Code TalkersDebbie Reesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14972409006633565859noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-67183427836329255572010-04-26T21:29:36.175-05:002010-04-26T21:29:36.175-05:00I completely agree with you. What I learned about...I completely agree with you. What I learned about American Indians growing up has been completely inaccurate. I finally began to learn more of the truth when I started college. However, taking a Native American Children’s Literature class has really opened my eyes even more.<br><br />As I read Code Talker and A Broken Flute: The Native Experience in Books for Children I am so disheartened by the way American Indians have been treated all these years and how much inaccurate information is portrayed in hundreds of children’s books. I always believe in teaching children using truthful information and allowing them to form their own opinions. Much richer discussions and authentic learning follows when using the truth.<br><br />I really hope to continue learning more about accurate American Indian history. I also think that children and adults would learn so much more about the history of certain cultures and events if they were not glamorized or fictionalized for the sake of a story.Katrina Hurseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09677258299960703621noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-45156537639114817052008-02-12T11:53:00.000-06:002008-02-12T11:53:00.000-06:00Debbie's right about the stereotype that American ...Debbie's right about the stereotype that American Indians are a piece of America's past and not connected to modern life, especially when it relates to modern activism. It's fortunate that there are several resources available to help explain some of the recent history and injustices still happening because of these stereotypes. Homeland is a great documentary about the environmental activism that some Indians are taking in their own hands - and finally getting support from local and regional organizations. <BR/><BR/>I'm also a non-Native, but growing up in rural Alaska where landless tribes and their members are still battling racism, I realize that it's more important than ever to understand and teach the importance of modern Native social, economic, and environmental movements. I'm a young man, but it was as recent as my father's generation that businesses displayed signs that read, "No Dogs, or Indians". It's important that the next generation of both Native and non-Native students learns about events like Dr. King's Freedom Riders, as well as Unthanksgiving or The Longest Walk.<BR/><BR/>Here are some additional resources about modern American Indian activism and the challenges of urban Indians that I've recently recommended for patrons:<BR/><BR/>Looking Toward Home - DVD<BR/>http://www.visionmaker.org/lth_h.html<BR/><BR/>Incident at Oglala - DVD<BR/>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104504/<BR/><BR/>And for fans of Leonard Peltier:<BR/>Prison Writings<BR/>http://www.amazon.com/Prison-Writings-Life-Sun-Dance/dp/0312263805<BR/><BR/>Have you thought of Leonard Peltier lately?<BR/>http://www.amazon.com/Have-Thought-Leonard-Peltier-Lately/dp/0975443704Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-27032715258491241452008-02-04T07:08:00.000-06:002008-02-04T07:08:00.000-06:00Nancy,Please read the two posts I have on Smelcer....Nancy,<BR/><BR/>Please read the two posts I have on Smelcer. His father doesn't disown him. His father says Smelcer is using the father's identity for personal and professional gain. <BR/><BR/>Smelcer is saying things about his identity that are not true. If you read the newspaper article excerpts, you will see he was under investigation because his application at the University of Alaska also had questionable items in it. <BR/><BR/>Can you flesh out your Italian-American environment parallel? What does it mean to be raised Italian-American in a suburb?Debbie Reesehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14972409006633565859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-78107289622491764922008-02-03T22:53:00.000-06:002008-02-03T22:53:00.000-06:00There was a lot going on in your latest post! I wa...There was a lot going on in your latest post! I want to comment on two things. First, to recommend to your readers Kenji Kawano's photoessay on the Navajo code talkers. Very moving, and highly recommended by Oyate reviewers. Then to say thanks for the recognition for James Fortier's film about Alcatraz. Some of our family members were part of the occupation, including a nephew who was an infant at the time. This was before I knew them. When we inherited letters written by one family member who has passed on, it was a surprise to find that the occupation was the subject of a couple of those letters -- it was clear that though this person had not participated in the occupation, there was a sense of pride and hopefulness generated by the fact that it was happening, and that younger relatives were part of it. I hope people will show Fortier's film to their classes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-74501893747744911732008-02-03T21:21:00.000-06:002008-02-03T21:21:00.000-06:00Please check out "Homelands", a recent set of four...Please check out "Homelands", a recent set of four cases of successful resistance to efforts by corporations to wreak environmental havoc on tribal lands. Here: <A HREF="http://www.katahdin.org/films/homeland/activists.html" REL="nofollow">Homelands</A><BR/><BR/>There are many heroes in these powerful accounts.<BR/><BR/>The effect of this work on students, as well as the accomodating lengths of 25 minutes each, has seriously made me search for similar kinds of effort. It's been a miniseries for my classes this winter.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-12875713538589846812008-02-03T13:48:00.000-06:002008-02-03T13:48:00.000-06:00I'm not Native and it’s not entirely clear what th...I'm not Native and it’s not entirely clear what the Smelcer situation is here. But I am very familiar with adoption issues. It appears that a Native family adopted a non-Native son. That makes him their son, not their adopted son.<BR/><BR/>Smelcer Junior says he was raised in a Native environment. If a boy his adopted into an Italian-American family, then he's raised in an Italian-American environment -- even if the father is in the military and the son is raised in the suburbs. Why is this different? Is it not a *real* Native upbringing if it's only immediate family? Would it be different somehow if the son was a biological son? Because making that distinction is just wrong.<BR/><BR/>The fact that Smelcer Senior seems to want to disown his son is very sad. If the father is Native, how can he say his own son wasn't raised in a Native environment?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com