Use/Misuse of the Word "Treaty" or "treaty" in Children's Books

Last week, I had a conversation with an educator who told me about conversations they'd had with teachers about Sign of the Beaver. Here on AICL we've had several posts about the book. I can't recall why I decided to take a look at it again, but I did. 

In particular, I noticed the way that the author used the word "treaty":

On page nine, we see:

Since the last treaty with the tribes, there had not been an attack reported anywhere in this part of Maine. Still, one could not entirely forget all those horrid tales.

The book is set in the 1768; I will try to figure out what treaty the author is having the white character refer to. Obviously the second sentence about "horrid" tales is meant to tell us that white people were being viciously attacked by Native people. There's bias in that passage but use of "treaty" is ok. 

The next use is not. 

On page 30, Matt (the white protagonist) is grateful to Saknis (a Native man) who helped Matt recover from bee stings and a fall. He gives Saknis a book (his copy of Robinson Crusoe). Matt realizes Saknis can't read. Saknis asks Matt if he can read. When Matt says yes, Saknis says:

"Good," he grunted. "Saknis make treaty." 

"A treaty?" Matt was even more puzzled.

"Nkweniss hunt. Bring white boy bird and rabbit. White boy teach Attean white man's signs.

"You mean--I should teach him to read?"

"Good. White boy teach Attean what book say." 

There, the use of treaty is wrong. Treaties are the outcome of negotiations between heads of state. They are not something that a person and another person do. Using the word in that way, Elizabeth George Speare misrepresents their significance of the word. Why did she do that?

Her book won a Newbery Honor in 1984. Did anyone on the Newbery Committee that year notice the word being misused? Did Speare's editor notice? I have not seen any articles that address that point. I do see lesson plans that note the passage, but not in the way I am noting it. The reason Saknis wants Matt to learn to read is so that Native people won't be tricked by words in treaties. I find that a bit ironic because I think readers of Sign of the Beaver are being subtly led to a misunderstanding of the word. That may be due to a lack of understanding (in the author, editor, reviewers, etc) that Native peoples are citizens of nations. Somehow, they seem to be framing a treaty as a cultural artifact specific to Native peoples rather than a political one specific to diplomatic negotiations between heads of state. 

It reminded me of the way that Stephanie Meyer used it in her Twilight series. She has a treaty between vampires and a pack of wolves. She misused it, too. 

With that in mind, I posed a question: how are writers using the word in their books for children/young adults? I asked it, on Twitter, and will use this post to keep track of replies. At some point I hope to write a blog post about what I find. 

If you see the word in a book for children/young adults, let me know and I'll add it below. I am not limiting my question to anything other than books for children and young adults. Fiction, nonfiction, by Native writers, not by Native writers, set in the past or not.... I want it all. An analysis of its use will be interesting! I anticipate lot of misuse but hopefully, some good uses, too! Metaphorically would be fine -- if done carefully. We'll see what turns up, and thank you for suggestions! 

Children's and Young Adult Books that use the word "treaty"

Note: Initial list created on Jan 28, 2023; books added after that date will be noted with "[added on...]"). This is not a list of recommended books; it is a list of books that have the word treaty in them.

• Belin, Esther, Jeff Berglund, and Connie A. Jacobs. The Dine Reader. Published in 2021 by the Arizona Board of Regents.
• Boulley, Angeline. Firekeeper's Daughter. Published in 2021 by Henry Holt.
• Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. Published in 2008 by Scholastic Press.
• Craft, Aimée. Treaty Words: For As Long As the Rivers Flow. Published in 2021 by Annick Press.
• Crawford, Kelly. Dakota Talks About Treaties. Published in 2017 by Union of Ontario Indians.
• Cutright, Patricia J. Native Women Changing Their World. Published in 2021 by 7th Generation.
• Davids, Sharice. Sharice's Big Voice: A Native Kid Becomes a Congresswoman. Published in 2021 by HarperCollins.
• Davis, L. M. Interlopers: A Shifters Novel. Published in 2010 by Lynberry Press. 
• Day, Christine. I Can Make This Promise. Published in 2019 by HarperCollins.
• Dimaline, Cherie. The Marrow Thieves. Published in 2017 by Dancing Cat Books.
• Frank, Anne. The Diary of a Young Girl. Published in the US in 1952 by Doubleday.
• Gansworth, Eric. If I Ever Get Out of Here. Published in 2013 by Scholastic.
• Gansworth, Eric. Give Me Some Truth. Published in 2018 by Scholastic. 
• Gansworth, Eric. Apple Skin to the Core. Published in 2020 by Levine Querido
• Gansworth, Eric. My Good Man. Published in 2022 by Levine Querido.
• General, Sara and Alyssa General. Treaty Baby. Published in 2016 by Spirit and Intent.
• George, Jean Craighead. The Buffalo Are Back. Published in 2010 by Dutton.
• Keith, Harold. Rifles for Watie. Published in 1957 by Harper.
• Marshall, Joseph III. In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse. Published in 2015 by Amulet.
• McManis, Charlene Willing. Indian No More. Published in 2019 by Lee & Low Books.
• Merrill, Jean. The Pushcart War.
• Pierce, Tamora. Alanna, the First Adventure; Wild Magic, First Test, Trickster's Choice. 
• Prendergast, Gabrielle. Cold Falling White.
• Prendergast, Gabrielle. The Crosswood. 
• Sorrell, Traci. We Are Still Here. Published in 2022 by Charlesbridge.
• Speare, Elizabeth George. The Sign of the Beaver. Published in 1983 by Houghton Mifflin.
• Stevenson, Robert Louis. Treasure Island. Published in 1883 by Cassell and Company.
• Tingle, Tim. How I Became A Ghost. Published in 2013 by Roadrunner Press.
• Treuer, Anton. Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask: Young Readers Edition. Published in 2021 by Levine Querido.
• Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Published in 1876 by American Publishing Co.
• Verne, Jules. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Originally published as a serial in 1870 in France.
• Wilder, Laura Ingalls. Little House on the Prairie. Published in 1935 by Harper (Harper Collins).

An Open Letter to Anyone Writing or Editing or Reviewing or Using a Children's Book about Crazy Horse

May 30, 2021

Dear Anyone Writing or Editing or Reviewing or Using a Children's Book about Crazy Horse:

This morning I read an email from a teacher who is asking me about Crazy Horse. She is considering a particular book and wondered if it has merit. My library does not have a copy but I can see the first few pages online. The author of the Crazy Horse biography is Anne M. Todd. She is not Native. Chapter one opens with a quote that she attributes to Crazy Horse: 

"It is a good day to fight! A good day to die! Strong hearts, brave hearts, to the front! Weak hearts and cowards to the rear!"

That quote is what prompted this open letter. When I see something like that, I wonder if that person (in this case, Crazy Horse) said those words? And, I wonder about the source for the quote. 

Because I can't see the whole book, I don't know if the quote is sourced in a bibliography or back matter for the book. I find that quote in Stephen Ambrose's book, Crazy Horse and Custer: The Parallel Lives of Two American Warriors, but he doesn't have a source for it either. So... where did it come from? 

I'm asking that people be mindful of quotes attributed to Native people. Quotes can take on a life of their own. When they're not the words the person actually spoke, that's a problem. 

Let's look at a recent example.

When Eric Carle died last week, a photo of a page that people took for an interview with him began circulating--but the "interview" was a joke in an April Fools 2015 issue of The Paris Review. That interview was cited as if it was something Carle wrote. It was cited on social media, and a passage from the joke also appears in Clare Pollard's book, Fierce Bad Rabbits. Avi Naftali pointed out the mistake and The Paris Review subsequently added a note to the top of the original joke. It says:

This piece was published as part of an April Fool's post in 2015, entitled "Introducing The Paris Review for Young Readers." It is a fictional interview, and intended purely as a parody. It is not intended to communicate any true or factual information, and is for entertainment purposes only.

The difference in the Crazy Horse quote and the Carle/not Carle joke is that we don't know the source of the Crazy Horse quote. Or rather--I don't know the source. I'll keep looking. My point, however, is that when something is repeated enough, it becomes taken as fact. To some people, the Carle/not Carle joke felt similar enough to things Carle said that people took the joke as fact. In the Carle/not Carle case, I think that all the players (so to speak) are white. 

With the Crazy Horse case, we supposedly have the words of a Native man but we don't know who recorded them. If it was a Lakota person who heard his words (presumably spoken in Lakota) who recounted them to someone else, that would feel like an authentic presentation of Crazy Horse. 

I've got doubts, though! That famous speech supposedly given by Chief Seattle is one example of what I'm getting at. He spoke some words but they aren't the ones attributed to him in books like Brother Eagle Sister Sky, by Susan Jeffers.

My doubts are affirmed as I read The Journey of Crazy Horse: A Lakota History by Joseph M. Marshall III. He's Lakota. I strongly recommend you get a copy of his book. Read the Introduction and the Reflections. He rejects Ambrose's characterization of Crazy Horse as an "American warrior" in the subtitle of his book and he does not include the quote in his book. Marshall's middle grade book, In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse, is outstanding. Get a copy of it for your classrooms and set aside all the biographies that might be in your classroom or library. It won the American Indian Library Association's Youth Literature Award in 2016. 

I'll keep looking for the source of the quote. I'm guessing that Anne Todd got it from Ambrose's book. If you find or know the source, let me know! In the meantime, hit your pause buttons when you come across quotes attributed to Native people. Don't be complicit in misattributions. 

Debbie

NOT RECOMMENDED: The Oregon Trail - The Race to Chimney Rock

A few days ago, people started sharing the books that Amazon has listed as "Best Children's Books of 2018." In the ages 6-8 category, Amazon has The Oregon Trail: The Race to Chimney Rock. 

As you might imagine, it is in that category of books that AICL usually describes as NOT RECOMMENDED.

Published on September 4, 2018 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, it is book 1 in a 4-book series. The series is like the "Choose Your Own Adventure" books where readers make a decision about what they want to do at a specific point in the story. Instead of an adventure, readers of this series choose their own trail. The publisher of The Race to Chimney Rock made a marketing decision that people who liked the Choose Your Own Adventure series and/or those who liked playing the Oregon Trail video game, would buy this series. That Amazon lists it as one of the best books of 2018 tells us that the publisher was right. With this series, it is adding to its profit margin--but miseducating children. Of course, that doesn't matter. What matters more and more in the US is $$.

If we were being accurate about history, the information kids get would be different than what they get in this book. Here's the first sentence in the book (p. 7):

You are loading up your covered wagon to head out to Oregon Territory, where a square mile of free farmland awaits your family. 

The first decision point happens several pages later, but if I was editing that book, I'd edit that sentence a bit, add some more information, and offer a decision point right away. It might be something like this:

As you and Pa load your covered wagon to head out to Oregon Territory, he tells you about the square mile of free farmland you are going to claim. You had read Section 4 of the Donation Land Act of 1850, and know that land was only available to certain people. You know it was designed to displace even more Native peoples from their homelands, and that to get land, you had to be a "white settler" or "American half-breed Indian." You know the law is wrong and racist. What do you do?

If you speak up, turn to page __. 

If you decide to keep quiet, turn to page __. 

I don't have an edit or suggestions beyond that, but I wonder what kids would come up with in a class where their teacher helps them map out different choices than the ones in Race to Chimney Rock? The teacher would have to begin by providing students with an in-depth unit about the history of the area that came to be called the Oregon Territory. It would take a lot of preparation, but wouldn't it be interesting to see it, in action?

It'd have content in it kind of like what Joseph Marshall has in his book, In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse. That book is set in the present day. A Lakota grandfather takes his grandchild, Jimmy, on a road trip. At one point, the grandfather asks Jimmy if he's heard of the Oregon Trail. Of course, Jimmy says yes, and his grandpa says (p. 29):

"Before it was called the Oregon Trail, it was known by the Lakota and other tribes as Shell River Road. And before that, it was a trail used by animals, like buffalo. It's an old, old trail." 

Isn't that terrific? I think Marshall's book is terrific, and I wish publishers would stop putting out books about the gold rushes (there was more than one) and the Oregon Trail! Those books glorify periods of history--and in that glorification, mislead readers about the facts of history. Teachers who use the books, uncritically, are mis-educating their students. To conclude, I do not recommend The Oregon Trail: The Race to Chimney Rock. I've got notes stuck in my copy here and there... there's so much wrong! Avoid it. If you already bought it for your child, see if you can get your money back. 

Not Recommended: THE HEART OF EVERYTHING THAT IS: THE UNTOLD STORY OF RED CLOUD, AN AMERICAN LEGEND by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin (adapted by Kate Waters)

In 2013, Simon and Schuster published The Heart of Everything That Is: The Untold Story of Red Cloud, An American Legend. White people loved it. They bought it. They praised it. It became a New York Times Bestseller. White people love The White Man's Indian. 

And so--unsurprisingly--Simon and Schuster decided they ought to make it available to young people, too. The "young readers edition" came out in February of 2017 from Margaret K. McElderry Books. It was adapted for young readers by Kate Waters. 

(An aside: as I write this post, I throw down snark--and then delete it--again and again.)

Shall we take a quick look? First is the subtitle "The Untold Story of Red Cloud, an American Legend." 

Untold? What does that mean?! To me, it means that Drury and Clavin see themselves as saviors. Gonna tell the world, they are, the "untold" story of Red Cloud. Untold... to what person, in particular? 

Oh, I get it... What they mean is a different kind of story about Red Cloud! Their book, we are expected to believe, will be different than the 2,272 books that came up when I searched WorldCat using "Red Cloud" in the search box. 

Is it, though?

I have doubts, because being Good White People means... lot of blind spots! 

Like how Drury and Clavin think of him, right there, on the cover. To them, he is "an American legend." Would Red Cloud call himself an American? 

The dedication page tells us that the book is dedicated to "the children of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation." Oh. Ok. Sounds a lot like all those ways that White people think they honor Native people. Dedicating books to us, donating a percentage of their sales to us, creating stories about us... how nice! (Yeah, that "how nice" is me being snarky). 

So, let's think about a Native kid, maybe even one of "the children of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation" who picks up this book. One thing that kid is going to come across is the word "brave" to refer to Native boys, men, and elders... Here's an example from page 14: 

Veteran braves grunted and yipped in approval.

See that? They grunt. And yip. 

Frankly, I don't want to finish this book. I looked at the professional reviews at Barnes and Noble's website. The unsigned Kirkus review says (all their reviews are unsigned):

This adaptation will diminish Red Cloud's legacy, perpetuate negative stereotypes, and provide incorrect information to young readers: skip." 

I concur with Kirkus. Kudos to their reviewer! The review by Laura Simeon at School Library Journal says: 

"Not recommended for purchase. Consider Joseph Marshall III's In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse instead for a fictional look at a Lakota leader."

Laura is right! Get Marshall's book instead! 

I hope you didn't order this young readers edition because the adult version did so well. You should take a look at this essay in Indian Country Today: The Heart of Everything That Isn't: The Untold Story of Anti-Indianism in Drury and Clavin's Book on Red Cloud.  

In short, I do not recommend the 2013 or the 2017 editions of The Heart of Everything That Isn't by Drury and Clavin. 

_________________
Update: I'm glad people read my blog. Within a half hour of loading this review, I got a comment from Jamalia Higgins that I'll paste here so I can respond to it:

Excuse me? "White people loved it. They bought it. They praised it." Do you have any statistics to back up these claims? Were white people the only buyers of this title? The only ones who loved it? 
I do not disagree with your review of either version of this title, but this language is extremely concerning to me and other POC who are readers, book buyers, library users, and book review readers and writers.

The call for statistics to "back up" a claim is familiar. She does ask a question that I can toss back out as this: does anyone think that it is Native and People of Color who made this 2013 edition a best seller? I could just say "People loved it." Shall I go back and say that? She's right, though. I'm sure some people of color loved it. In children's lit and elsewhere, people disagree about things. Institutionalized racism is everywhere.

Want to support Mní Wičhóni Nakíčižiŋ Owáyawa (Defenders of the Sacred Water School)?

On Monday, August 29, 2016, I wrote about the Standing Rock Sioux and the actions they are taking to protect water. Thousands of Native people are gathering there, standing with them. Over one hundred other Native Nations and organizations have issued letters of support of Standing Rock.

Although most of what you see in the news is adults, there are children there, too. On Monday, people at the camp opened a school for the children. They named it Mní Wičhóni Nakíčižiŋ Owáyawa, which means Defenders of the Sacred Water School.

Among the Facebook pages that you should read to keep up with the school is that of Alayna Lee Eagle Shield. Below are links to her public posts.

She is posting many photos, but please do not repost her photos without permission. Because her posts are public, I believe you can share them on your own pages, but please ask permission to use the photos.

• August 28, 2016: A photo of the daily schedule

• August 29, 2016: A series of photos of the kids at the school, taken on Monday August 28. Note that it includes a list of supplies they need, but they've since received some of that and are working on a new list.

• August 30, 2016 at 8:56 PM: More photos, and, an overview of Tuesday's activities that demonstrate this is an Indigenous gathering of people. Maori people are there, too. The children of the school were able to welcome the totem pole that arrived there yesterday from the Lummi Nation. 

This morning I had email with Joseph Marshall III, author of the outstanding In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse. He has been at the camp and will return there. He's taking copies of his book to the school and will ask about sending other books. For now, here's an option: The Standing Rock Sioux tribe's website has a link to donate to their work if you want to do that.

And if you're on Facebook, you can get updates on the Standing Rock Nation's page. 

If You Care about American Indians... Keep abreast of Native news.

Dear Parents, Teachers, and Librarians,

If you care about American Indians, you're likely aware of what is going on in North Dakota. You may have read David Archambault's opinion piece in the New York Times on August 24th. He's the chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. He began with this:

It is a spectacular sight: thousands of Indians camped on the banks of the Cannonball River, on the edge of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota. Our elders of the Seven Council Fires, as the Oceti Sakowin, or Great Sioux Nation, is known, sit in deliberation and prayer, awaiting a federal court decision on whether construction of a $3.7 billion oil pipeline from the Bakken region to Southern Illinois will be halted.

The decision to say 'no' to the Dakota Access Pipeline is one that matters for Native people and for anyone whose health will be at risk when that proposed pipeline leaks. As the people who are gathering there and elsewhere are saying, this is about water. We all need it. The people of Standing Rock are taking action to protect their rights, and everyone's water. With each day, I see resolutions from tribal councils who declare that they stand with Standing Rock. I'm also starting to see resolutions from entities that aren't Native.

You may have friends, or your children may have friends, who aren't where you are in terms of knowing that we're part of today's society. Far too many people think we no longer exist, and far too many think that if we wear jeans and drive cars, then, we aren't "real" Indians. They don't know what "real" Indians are!

American citizens don't dress like George or Martha Washington, but that doesn't mean we aren't "real" Americans. Somehow, there's this idea out there that if we don't live and dress exactly like our ancestors did, we can't possibly be "real" Indians. That's bogus. There's also this idea out there that Native people have high cheekbones. Or glossy black hair. Dark eyes. That's not accurate, either!

I hope you'll follow the news and tell others to follow it, too, but I also want you to make sure that the books you give to your children and students are ones that don't frame us in narrow, stereotypical ways. Check out, for example, this response from elders and leaders,  to a story at the New York Times that was clearly biased.

If you want to get your child or students a book that accurately depicts someone of the Great Sioux Nation, pick up Joseph Marshall's In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse. The main character in the story is a blue-eyed Lakota boy, on a road trip with his grandfather. It's a winner. 

Joseph Marshall's Acceptance Speech for the 2016 American Indian Youth Literature Award

Photo courtesy of Aaron LaFromboise

American Indians in Children's Literature is pleased to bring you Joseph Marshall III's acceptance speech. He won the 2016 American Indian Youth Literature Award, middle school category for In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse. As is traditional amongst our communities, he was given a blanket.

It is an outstanding book (see AICL's review) and I'm thrilled to learn, by email with Marshall, that he is working on a second book featuring Jimmy and his grandfather. Kids learn a lot of history by reading Marshall's In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse. I wonder what history we'll learn in the new book?

Here is Marshall's speech:

__________

Good afternoon. I can’t think of a better reason for my first ever trip to Orlando, than to accept this award from the American Indian Library Association. Thank you to AILA President Aguilar, and of course to the members of the 2016 American Indian Youth Literature Award jury. I am honored to receive this very special recognition, one that I will always treasure because it comes from my peers, and, of course, native librarians.

Those of us who are native writers know that our purpose is to inform the non-native community about native history and culture, as well as our place in the world today. But just as importantly, if not more, we need to reconnect native young people with their own cultures. This award helps to further that effort.

Thank you, of course, to my friends at Abrams and Amulet Books for publishing my book, to all of you who worked on it. I sincerely appreciate your contributions and your talents which definitely added to what this book is.

The people who were the greatest influence on me, and taught me the art of storytelling, were primarily my maternal grandparents. So the front story in In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse is a glimpse into my childhood on the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation, and of my wonderful relationship with my grandparents, but especially to my grandfather.

Three special “thank yous,” the first to my editor Howard Reeves—my new best friend—for liking the concept for my book, but especially for your patience Howard. In the middle of working on the manuscript I had to ask for a delay when my wife became seriously ill. Howard was kind enough to grant a deadline extension.

Another “thank you” to the phenomenally talented artist for his work on the book’s cover and inside illustrations—my good friend and fellow Lakota, Mr. Jim Yellowhawk.

Finally, to the love of my life, my wife Connie, who was also my literary agent. It was she who insisted on the format for the book. Connie left us for the Spirit World on Valentine’s Day, three years ago, after putting up a valiant fight against colon cancer. Please know that, with this award, you are honoring her as well.

So, as we say in my part of the world: Lila pilamayayapelo. Thank you, very much.

Published in 2015: Books by/about Native peoples

I will be updating this page whenever I read something published in 2015. What it likely means is that a title will be added to the "Not Reviewed" list at the end, and when it is reviewed, it will be moved into the Recommended or Not Recommended list. 

Recommended (N=15)

• Charleyboy, Lisa. (2015) Urban Tribes: Native Americans in the City. Published by Annick Press.
• Marshall, III, Joseph (2015) In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse. Published by Amulet, an imprint of Abrams. 
• Nicholson, Hope. (2015) Moonshot: The Indigenous Comics Collection. Published by AH Comics.
• Older, Daniel José. (2015) Shadowshaper. Published by Scholastic.
• Poleahla, Anita. (2015) Celebrate My Hopi Corn. Published by Salina Press.
• Poleahla, Anita. (2015) Celebrate My Hopi Toys. Published by Salina Press.
• Robertson, Robbie. (2015) Hiawatha and the Peacemaker. Published by Abrams.
• Smith, Cynthia Leitich. (2015) Feral Pride. Published by Candlewick.
• Starr, Arigon. (2015) Super Indian Volume 2. Published by Wacky Productions. 
• Sulurayok, Matilda. (2015) Kamik's First Sled. Published by Inhabit Media.
• Tharpe-Thee, Sandy. (2015) The Apple Tree. Published by Road Runner Press.
• Van Camp, Richard. (2015) Blue Raven. Published by Pearson.
• Van Camp, Richard. (2015) Whistle. Published by Pearson. 
• Van Camp, Richard. (2015) A Blanket of Butterflies. Published by Portage & Main Press.
• Van Camp, Richard. (2015) Three Feathers. Published by HighWater Press.

Not Recommended (N=26)

• Alko, Selina. (2015) The Case for Loving. Published by Scholastic.
• Arnold, David. (2015) Mosquitoland. Published by Viking, an imprint of Penguin.
• Asch, Frank. (1979/2015) Popcorn. Published by Simon and Schuster.
• Bowman, Erin. (2015) Vengeance Road. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
• Carson, Rae. (2015) Walk on Earth a Stranger. Published by Greenwillow, an imprint of HarperCollins.
• Cromwell, Ellen S. (2015) Talasi: A Story of Tenderness and Love! Published by Halo Publishing International.
• Daniels, Danielle. (2015). Sometimes I Feel Like a Fox. Published by Groundwood Books.
• DeFelice, Cynthia. (2015) Fort. Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
• Ellis, Carson. (2015) Home. Published by Candlewick.
• Hites, Kati. (2015). Winnie and Waldorf. Published by Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins.
• Hand, Cynthia. (2015) The Last Time We Say Goodbye. Published by HarperTeen.
• Howath, Naomi. (2015) The Crow's Tale: A Lenni Lenape Native American Legend. Published by Frances Lincoln Children's Books, an imprint of Quatro.
• Jenkins, Emily. (2015) A Fine Dessert. Published by Schwartz & Wade, an imprint of Random House.
• Johnston, E. K. (2015) Prairie Fire. Published by Carolrhoda Lab.
• Merriam-Webster Children's Dictionary (2015) Published by Dorling Kindersley.
• Mayer, Mercer. (2015) Just A Special Thanksgiving. Published by HarperFestival, an imprint of HarperCollins.
• Myers, Stephenie. (2015) Life and Death. Published by Little, Brown. 
• Nelson, S.D. (2015) Sitting Bull. Published by Abrams.
• Rex, Adam. (2015) Smek for President. Published by Hyperion Books for Children.
• Rose, Carolyn Starr. (2015) Blue Birds. Published by G.P. Putnam, an imprint of Penguin.
• Schlitz, Laura Amy. (2015) The Hired Girl. Published by 
• Stirling, Tricia. (2015) When My Heart Was Wicked. Published by Scholastic. 
• Strayhorn, Willa (2015) The Way We Bared Our Souls. Published by Razorbill, an imprint of Penguin Random House. 
• Taylor-Butler, Christine. (2015) The Lost Tribes. Published by Move Books.
• Valente, Catherynne M. (2015) Six Gun Snow White. Published by Subterranean Press.
• Velasquez, Crystal. (2015) Hunters of Chaos. Published by Simon and Schuster.
• White, Tara. (2015). Where I Belong. Published by Tradewind Books.

Not yet reviewed (N=20)

• Bruchac, Joseph. (2015) Walking Two Worlds. Published by 7th Generation.
• Bruchac, Joseph. (2015) Trail of the Dead. Published by Tu Books.
• Burgan, Michael. (2015) Shadow Catcher: How Edgar S. Curtis Documented American Indian Dignity and Beauty. Published by Compass Point, an imprint of Capstone. 
• Coleman, Wim. (2015) Sequoyah and His Talking Leaves. Published by Red Chair Press.
• Cooper, Karen Coody (2015) Woodchuck Visits Algonquian Cousins. Published by Soddenbank Press.
• Florence, Melanie. (2015) Missing Nimama. Published by Clockwise Press. 
• George, Jean Craighead. (2015) Ice Whale. Published by Puffin Books.
• Hicks, Nola Helen. (2015) Hurry Up, Ilua. Published by Inhabit Media. 
• Goble, Paul. (2015) Red Cloud's War. Published by Wisdom Tales.
• Guest, Jacqueline. (2015) Fire Fight. Published by 7th Generation.
• Kristofic, Jim. (2015) The Hero Twins: A Navajo-English Story of the Monster Slayers. Published by UNM Press.
• London, Jonathan. (2015) Desolation Canyon. Published by West Winds Press.
• Lumbard, Alexis York. (2015) Pine and the Winter Sparrow. Published by Wisdom Tales.
• Revelle, Rick. (2015) Algonquin Spring. Published by Dundurn Press.
• Robinson, Gary. (2015) Billy Buckhorn: Paranormal. Published by 7th Generation.
• Schwartz, Simon. (2015) First Man: Reimagining Matthew Hensen. Published by Graphic Universe. 
• Silver, Sarah Dickson. (2015) Dream a Pony, Wake a Spirit: The Story of Buster, a Choctaw Pony Survivor. Published by Luminare Press. 
• Tripp, Analisa. (2015) A Is for Acorn: A California Indian ABC. Published by Heyday Books.
• Williams-Garcia, Rita. (2015) Gone Crazy in Alabama. Published by Harper.
• Zobel, Melissa Tantaquidgeon (2015) Wabanaki Blues. Published by Poisoned Pencil. 

AICL's Recommended/Not Recommended Reads in 2015

This is a list of books I read in 2015, sorted into categories of Recommended (total of 16), and Not Recommended (47 in all). As you see, it is not a list of books that came out in 2015. Grand total: 60 (and counting). There is one writer on the recommended list who is not Native (Daniel José Older) and one on the Not Recommended list who is Native (Tara White). Links go to my review on AICL, and some of the links go to my article at School Library Journal. 

This is not a comprehensive list. There are books that I bought or received but wasn't able to read or finish writing up. One example is Ann Martin's Claudia and the First Thanksgiving. That's a book in the Babysitters Club series. It was one that will end up with a Recommended tag when I write it up. 

Recommended

• Charleyboy, Lisa. (2015) Urban Tribes: Native Americans in the City. Published by Annick Press.
• Marshall, III, Joseph (2015) In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse. Published by Amulet, an imprint of Abrams. 
• Older, Daniel José. (2015) Shadowshaper. Published by Scholastic.
• Paquette, Aaron. (2014) Lightfinder. Published by Kegedonce Press.
• Poleahla, Anita. (2015) Celebrate My Hopi Corn. Published by Salina Press.
• Poleahla, Anita. (2015) Celebrate My Hopi Toys. Published by Salina Press.
• Robertson, Robbie. (2015) Hiawatha and the Peacemaker. Published by Abrams.
• Shuck, Kim. (2005). Smuggling Cherokee. Published by Greenfield Review Press. 
• Smith, Cynthia Leitich. (2015) Feral Pride. Published by Candlewick.
• Smith, Cynthia Leitich. (2001) Rain Is Not My Indian Name. Published by HarperCollins.
• Sulurayok, Matilda. (2015) Kamik's First Sled. Published by Inhabit Media.
• Tharpe-Thee, Sandy. (2015) The Apple Tree. Published by Road Runner Press.
• Van Camp, Richard. (2015) Blue Raven. Published by Pearson.
• Van Camp, Richard. (2015) Whistle. Published by Pearson. 
• Van Camp, Richard. (2015) A Blanket of Butterflies. Published by Portage & Main Press.
• Van Camp, Richard. (2015) Three Feathers. Published by HighWater Press.

Not Recommended

• Alko, Selina. (2015) The Case for Loving. Published by Scholastic.
• Anderson, Teddy. (2014) The Medicine Wheel. Published by Medicine Wheel Education.
• Arnold, David. (2015) Mosquitoland. Published by Viking, an imprint of Penguin.
• Asch, Frank. (1979/2015) Popcorn. Published by Simon and Schuster.
• Bader, Bonnie. (2013) Who Was Christopher Columbus? Published by Grosset & Dunlap, an imprint of Penguin. 
• Benet, Rosemary. (1933/1987) A Book of Americans. Republished in 1987 by Henry Holt. 
• Blyton, Enid. (1944) The Boy Next Door. Published by Angus and Robertson.
• Boone, Martina. (2014) Compulsion. Published by Simon Pulse, an imprint of Simon and Schuster.
• Bowman, Erin. (2015) Vengeance Road. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
• Carson, Rae. (2015) Walk on Earth a Stranger. Published by Greenwillow, an imprint of HarperCollins.
• Cromwell, Ellen. (2015) Talasi: A Story of Tenderness and Love. Published by Halo Publishing International. 
• Danforth, Emily M. (2012) The Miseducation of Cameron Post. Published by Balzar + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins. 
• Daniels, Danielle. (2015). Sometimes I Feel Like a Fox. Published by Groundwood Books.
• DeBrunhoff, Laurent. (2008) Babar Comes to America. Published by Abrams. 
• DeFelice, Cynthia. (2015) Fort. Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
• Ellis, Carson. (2015) Home. Published by Candlewick.
• Federle, Tim. (2013) Better Nate than Ever. Published by Simon and Schuster. 
• Hites, Kati. (2015). Winnie and Waldorf. Published by Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins.
• Goble, Paul. (1992) Crow Chief. Published by Orchard Books.
• Greenwood, Mark. (2014) The Mayflower. Published by Holiday House.
• Hand, Cynthia. (2015) The Last Time We Say Goodbye. Published by HarperTeen.
• Jenkins, Emily. (2015) A Fine Dessert. Published by Schwartz & Wade, an imprint of Random House.
• Jenner, Caryn. (2012) Pocahontas. Published by Dorling Kindersley.
• Johnston, E. K. (2015) Prairie Fire. Published by Carolrhoda Lab.
• Keene, Carolyn. (2010). Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew: Camp Creepy. Published by Simon and Schuster. 
• Keene, Carolyn. (2012) Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew: Thanksgiving Thief. Published by Simon and Schuster.  
• Krull, Kathleen. (2007) Pocahontas: Princess of the New World. Published by Walker Publishing.
• Kyle, Chris. (2012) American Sniper. Published by William Morrow.
• Merriam-Webster Children's Dictionary (2015) Published by Dorling Kindersley.
• Mayer, Mercer. (2015) Just A Special Thanksgiving. Published by HarperFestival, an imprint of HarperCollins.
• Myers, Stephenie. (2015) Life and Death. Published by Little, Brown. 
• Rex, Adam. (2007) The True Meaning of Smekday. Published by Hyperion Books for Children.
• Rex, Adam. (2015) Smek for President. Published by Hyperion Books for Children.
• Rey, H. A. (1963/2013) Curious George Learns the Alphabet. Published in 1963 by Houghton Mifflin.
• Rose, Carolyn Starr. (2015) Blue Birds. Published by G.P. Putnam, an imprint of Penguin.
• Scarry, Richard. (1961) Tinker and Tanker: Out West. Published by Doubleday.
• Schlitz, Laura Amy. (2015) The Hired Girl. Published by 
• Stirling, Tricia. (2015) When My Heart Was Wicked. Published by Scholastic. 
• Strayhorn, Willa (2015) The Way We Bared Our Souls. Published by Razorbill, an imprint of Penguin Random House. 
• Taylor-Butler, Christine. (2015) The Lost Tribes. Published by Move Books.
• Thomas, Cookie. (2014) Cinnamon and the Bat People. Published by TMC London.
• Valente, Catherynne M. (2015) Six Gun Snow White. Published by Subterranean Press.
• Velasquez, Crystal. (2015) Hunters of Chaos. Published by Simon and Schuster.
• Warner, Gertrude Chandler. (1993) The Mystery of the Lost Village (Boxcar Children). Published by Albert Whitman & Company.
• White, Tara. (2015). Where I Belong. Published by Tradewind Books.
• Wilder, Laura Ingalls. (1940) The Long Winter. Published by Harper and Row.
• Wiles, Deborah. (2014) Revolution. Published by Scholastic.

Here's my Recommended/Not Recommended List for 2014. Last year, there were 26 books on the Recommended list, and 35 on the Not Recommended list. Grand total then: 61.

2016 Winners of the American Indian Library Association's Youth Literature Award

I am thrilled to see the winners of the 2016 American Indian Library Association's Youth Literature Awards!

Here's the graphic with the award winning books:

Picture Book Award Winner

Little You 

Written by Richard Van Camp

Illustrated by Julie Flett

Published in 2013 by Orca Book Publishers

Picture Book Honor

Sitting Bull: Lakota Warrior and Defender of His People

Written and illustrated by S.D. Nelson

Published in 2015 by Abrams Books for Young Readers

Middle School Award Winner

In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse

by Joseph Marshall III

Written by Joseph Marshall III

Published in 2015 by Amulet Books

Middle School Honor

Dreaming in Indian: Contemporary Native Voices

Edited by Lisa Charleyboy and Mary Beth Leatherdale

Published in 2014 by Annick Press

Young Adult Winner

House of Purple Cedar

Written by Tim Tingle

Published n 2013 by Cinco Puntos Press

Young Adult Honor

Her Land, Her Love

Written by Evangeline Parsons Yazzie

Published in 2016 by Salina Bookshelf

From the announcement:

"The American Indian Youth Literature Awards are presented every two years. The awards were established as a way to identify and honor the very best writing and illustrations by and about American Indians. Books selected to receive the award will present American Indians in the fullness of their humanity in the present and past contexts."

The jury for the award:

Naomi Bishop (Akimel O'odham) Chair
Grace Slaughter (Cheyenne of Cheyenne & Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma)
Jolena Tillequots (Yakama)
Linda Wynne (Tlingit/Haida)
Melanie S. Toledo (Navajo Nation)
Sunny Real Bird (Apsaalooke Crow Tribe)
Angela Thornton (Cherokee Nation)

Congratulations to the winners! 

~~~~~

Update: Feb 9 2016

Of the six, I've read four, and heartily recommend them. AICL's reviews of them are as follows:

Little You, reviewed on Feb 21, 2013

In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse, reviewed on May 5, 2015

Dreaming in Indian: Contemporary Indian Voices, reviewed on September 8, 2014

House of Purple Cedar, reviewed on December 11, 2014

Reviews of Sitting Bull and Her Land, Her Love are forthcoming.

And--I've asked writers and illustrators for a response to the news that their book was selected for AILA's awards. Here's what I've received:
Tim Tingle's response
Richard Van Camp and Julie Flett's response
Lisa Charleyboy's response