Tim Tingle and Matt Dembicki at ALA

Tim Tingle, enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, and author of some of my favorite picture books, and Matt Dembicki will be at ALA this year as part of a panel that will discuss Dembicki's graphic novel, Trickster.

According to the ALA press release, a third person on the panel will be Michael Thompson, a high school English teacher in New Mexico. Thompson is a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Tribe. Forty percent of the students in his high school are Navajo.

The panel, "Trickster: Engaging Readers, Honoring Traditions" is scheduled for Sunday from 4 to 5:30 in room 284 o the Morial New Orleans Convention Center. It is sponsored by ALA's Committee on Rural, Native, and Tribal Libraries of All Kinds, the American Indian Library Association (AILA), and, ALA's Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA).

I'm attending ALA this year and am really looking forward to hearing what they have to say!

A comment after today's session at NMLA 2011

This morning I gave a talk at the New Mexico Librarian Association annual conference. I talked about looking critically at American Indians in books. At the end of my session, a participant handed me a note. As I walked into my hotel at the end of the day, I read the note.

Pretty awesome feedback, don't you think?

2011 New Mexico Library Association Annual Conference

On April 26th I'll head home (yeah!) for the 2011 New Mexico Library Association Annual Conference. It will be in Albuquerque. I'm doing a pre-conference workshop there on evaluating books with American Indian content, and a session the next day about books specific to Native peoples in New Mexico.

I'm looking forward to it, and to green chili at the Frontier Restaurant!

2011 Opening Minds Conference - Chicago Metro AEYC

A hearty welcome to people who attended Choosing and Using Picture Books about Native Americans: What's New, What's Good, and What's Best Practice at Opening Minds, the 1011 Chicago Metro AEYC conference in January, 2011. (For those who don't know, the conference is for educators in early childhood).

Jean Mendoza and I are glad that you attended our session, and are happy to provide you with this list of books we discussed. Click on the titles for more information about each one. Some may be available from Oyate. Where possible, I provide a link to the webpage for the publisher. As is always the case with a conference presentation, time is limited, and presenters are never able to say something about every book they want to...  So, this is an incomplete list.

Board and Concept Books

• Welcome Song for Baby, by Richard Van Camp, available from Orca Books.
• I See Me, by Margaret Manuel, published by Theytus Books.
• Boozhoo, Come Play With Us, by Deanna Himango
• Learn the Alphabet with Northwest Coast Native Art, and Learn to Count with Northwest Coast Native Art; and Explore the Animals available from Northwest Coast Books.
• Beverly Blacksheep's board books available from Salina Bookshelf.
• Owl's See Clearly at Night, by Julie Flett, available from Simply Read Books.

Traditional Stories

• Pia Toya: A Goshute Indian Legend, by Children of Ibapah Elementary School (order used copy from your preferred used bookseller).
• Muskrat Will Be Swimming, by Cheryl Savageau, available from Tilbury House. 
• The Story of the Milk Way: A Cherokee Tale, by Joseph Bruchac and Gayle Ross (order a used copy from your preferred used bookseller).

Contemporary Stories

• Thanks to the Animals, by Allen Sockabasin, available from Tilbury House.  
• Two Pairs of Shoes, by Esther Sanderson, available from Oyate.
• The Day Matthew Touched the Sky, by Alyssa Kelly, available from the Salish Language Revitalization Institute.
• Good Luck Cat, by Joy Harjo, available from Oyate.
• Jingle Dancer, by Cynthia Leitich Smith, available from Oyate. 
• Less than Half, More than Whole, by Michael Lacapa, available from Oyate.
• Indian Shoes, by Cynthia Leitich Smith, available from Oyate.
• When the Shadbush Blooms, by Carla Messinger, available from Oyate.

Historical Settings

• Shi-Shi-Etko and Shin-Shin's Canoe by Nicola Campbell, available from Groundwood Books.  
• Crossing Bok Chitto and Saltypie by Tim Tingle. Get Saltypie from Cinco Puntos Press.
• Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich, available from Birchbark Books. 

Nonfiction

• Huckleberry Picking by Rosie Matt, Pat Pierre, Melanie Sandoval and Tachini Pete, available from the Salish Language Revitalization Institute.  
• Children of Clay by Rina Swentzell (order from your preferred used bookseller). 

Internet Resources

• American Indians in Children's Literature
• "How to Tell the Difference: A Guide"
• Teaching Young Children about Native Americans
• Examining Multicultural Picture Books for the Early Childhood Classroom: Possibilities and Pitfalls

Chicago Area Resources

• Title VII Indian Education Program, Chicago Public Schools
• American Indian Center of Chicago