tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post4455115063830138743..comments2024-03-27T14:08:51.191-05:00Comments on American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL): About Christine Taylor-Butler's Facebook PostDebbie Reesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14972409006633565859noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-42470215883485158332015-09-10T13:28:15.198-05:002015-09-10T13:28:15.198-05:00As educators as well as reviewers, we say what nee...As educators as well as reviewers, we say what needs to be said. It’s not often easy, but to do otherwise would be unethical. <br /><br />Several years ago, I wrote an essay about a certain shameful period in the history of the U.S. The essay, for a respected journal, contained critical reviews of children’s books that showed varying perspectives of this historical event. A close colleague of mine—a wonderful writer and someone well known in the field—had written one of these children’s books, and I applied the same criteria to his book that I do for every book I review. <br /><br />Because we were colleagues (and it didn’t feel like a breach of ethics), I gave him a heads-up while the essay was still in draft form. We had a long talk over the phone and, in the end, we respectfully “agreed to disagree.” The essay was published, and the two of us remain close. <br /><br />Thank you, Debbie, for the difficult—and necessary—work that you do.Beverly Slapinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12822325956522105620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-69506507415308431062015-09-10T10:05:41.782-05:002015-09-10T10:05:41.782-05:00You know, as a writer and an academic, I've ha...You know, as a writer and an academic, I've had my share of negative reviews, often, in my opinion, given on far less important and salient grounds than the reviews you give. And I suck it up and deal with them. Maybe whine a little to a close friend. That's it. Because they're <i>not</i> personal attacks. Writers need to keep perspective--sometimes you get bad reviews, sometimes you even deserve them. Acting as though they're some kind of unbearable scourge instead of part of what happens when people who aren't your mother read your work is infantile.<br /><br />And white people in particular (I know Taylor-Butler is not white, but she seems to be adopting a settler mentality here)need to accept that we will do things wrong, and it is not the job of people of color and/or Native Americans to make us feel OK about it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-27198587840310369712015-09-09T20:59:04.962-05:002015-09-09T20:59:04.962-05:00Oh, my mistake!Oh, my mistake!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04226891209877091887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-54215851926492370912015-09-09T17:50:59.767-05:002015-09-09T17:50:59.767-05:00B Sanders, Christine Taylor-Butler is African Amer...B Sanders, Christine Taylor-Butler is African American.Misrulehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00005874586861016523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-64327778640205080782015-09-09T16:28:38.699-05:002015-09-09T16:28:38.699-05:00The irony that she implied you are the coward when...The irony that she implied you are the coward when she went out of her way to make those comments about her white defensiveness and fragility hard to find, then deleted them and put a 'DO NOT SHARE' on them.<br /><br />I also wonder about these 'kind' coaches she found that were not you. What made them kind? That they absolved her? Told her she wasn't racist? Never disagreed with her? I wonder what she did in return for them to thank them for their input in validating and authenticating her manuscript, if anything, to return their kindness.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04226891209877091887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-28990103543518034882015-09-09T13:37:56.992-05:002015-09-09T13:37:56.992-05:00I appreciate your courage in "making people u...I appreciate your courage in "making people uncomfortable", which is clearly different than making them unsafe or marginal. I look to your work to provide a critical analysis of works that will impact my son, my students, and also the adults who too often unthinkingly perpetuate White supremacy and racism through the stories they continue to tell. I spent a lot of time today reading your last few posts and kept returning to the thought of what this must feel like to say what needs to be said even with the knowledge that you will have to deal with a lot of White attempts to retake the center stage or center their own fears, concerns, etc. as the real issue. I am thankful for the work that you do and value it a great deal. Thank you.Christin D.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-53974961669372736732015-09-09T12:38:33.212-05:002015-09-09T12:38:33.212-05:00I appreciate this blog so much. If authors really ...I appreciate this blog so much. If authors really cared to do research for works of fiction about Native people they would visit reservations and communities and ask permission from Tribal Review Boards and Tribal Councils to write about the tribe. If publishers cared they too would discuss with tribal communities the works to be published and let community members read ARCs and manuscripts before publishing to make sure the tribe was represented accurately. If librarians and teachers would stop buying books about Native people and start buying books by Native authors and Illustrators our libraries and schools would be better places. Understanding comes from asking permission and writing about another culture other than your own is not what we need more of in books. I am writing to express my gratitude to publishers, authors, and reviewers that speak up for good books that don't stereotype or misrepresent our cultures. American Indians are so misrepresented in fiction, non-fiction, and children's literature. Authors don't understand that we are living in the 21st century as doctors, librarians, teachers, nurses, students, farmers, architects, lawyers, grandparents, mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters. I have a dream that one day our voices will be respected and we will be represented in our current context and not as fictional characters. I'm sharing a blog from a student that made such an impact on me. She now works at UCLA, but was a fabulous student here at the University of Denver. https://reallifeindian.wordpress.com May we continue to inspire others to think critically and understand what it means to be American Indian today. Naomihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14743249977128324020noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-49256364222105457862015-09-09T12:10:54.474-05:002015-09-09T12:10:54.474-05:00I find that Robin DiAngelo's article "Whi...I find that Robin DiAngelo's article "White Fragility" (http://libjournal.uncg.edu/ijcp/article/viewFile/249/116) helps to contextualize responses to criticism in situations like thisAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-48440756351109340672015-09-09T10:48:52.888-05:002015-09-09T10:48:52.888-05:00Debbie,
I follow your blog and always leave it wit...Debbie,<br />I follow your blog and always leave it with a heightened sense of awareness. From both you and Christine Taylor-Butler, I learn to take care with my words; to protect them and most important to take care of and protect the children with integrity, honesty and diligence. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27760240.post-70987738997855507672015-09-09T08:46:20.358-05:002015-09-09T08:46:20.358-05:00First, you're not obliged to share on your blo...First, you're not obliged to share on your blog a single author's research progress. Second, the mission of your blog is quite clear. If a book fails particular criteria, I have seen you not only say so but provide examples where the problems lie. As an author, I would find that incredibly useful.Wahiaronkwas Davidnoreply@blogger.com