Highly Recommended: WE CAN'T WAIT TO HOLD YOU

We Can't Wait to Hold You

Written by Richard Van Camp, Tłı̨chǫ Dene from Fort Smith, NWT

Published in 2026

Publisher: Orca Book Publishers

Reviewer: Debbie Reese

Review Status: Highly Recommended

****

What a treat! For years, I've adored the board books Richard Van Camp writes. Some are illustrated and some have photographs. Either way, they bring forth quiet, or warm, or jubilant emotions! 

We Can't Wait to Hold You is due out in 2026. A few months ago, I was in that "we can't wait to hold you" place as we waited for the birth of our first grandchild and there were many "can you hurry up" words spoken to her as we waited. That's how We Can't Wait to Hold You starts out. We see a mother and child, their hands embracing the baby in the mother's body. The anticipation in their faces is quiet and filled with love. In the ensuing pages we see photos of babies as we read Richard's words like "We can't wait for your snuggles, hugs, kisses, and giggles." 

We're doing the snuggles and hugs and kisses and giggles, now, and I'm so pleased to see this book and happy to recommend you get it for your home, classroom, school, or public library. It better sit next to some of his other board books! And your collection ought to have his other works for children and teens, too! 

Correcting an error

Good morning,

Today (September 6, 2025) I am following up on the error I made on Sunday, August 31. In that post, I said that "Texas does not extend state recognition to anyone." I was wrong, and as soon as I realized I had made that mistake, I did a strike-thru of the sentence and added this note:

Note from Debbie at 7:31 PM Pacific Time, September 1, 2015. Below, I said that the State of Texas has not recognized any tribes, but I stand corrected. I'm reading about legislation, effective September 1, 2025, that says "The Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas is designated and recognized by this state as a Native American Indian Tribe exercising substantial governmental powers and duties." I apologize for the error. 

As best as I can, I am reconstructing how I ended up writing that sentence in my post, titled Debbie--Have you seen THE ECHO PEOPLE, published by Lee and Low?. 

I had learned of a new children's book by an author, SD Youngblood, who was unfamiliar to me. He was claiming to be from a tribe that was also unfamiliar to me and a few years prior he had claimed a different tribe. A shift in claims, over time, is seen as a red flag by people who study and write about claims to Native identity. 

Both tribes Youngblood claimed said they are Cherokee. That was another red flag for me because there are many groups that claim to be Cherokee tribes. Both of the tribes Youngblood claimed are located in Texas. So, I searched the State of Texas website using the names of the two claimed tribes and got "No search results found" for each one. Then I searched the website for "state recognized tribes." Some state websites have lists of federally and state recognized tribes, but I didn't find a list on the Texas site. In the past, I have used a list created by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) as a resource. I was unable to find their list this time. The last one I saw was from 2020. On that list, it did not list any state recognized tribes in Texas. I was very deep in research on those two groups. Not finding anything led me to write that sentence. 

When I learned that Dr. Darcie Little Badger objected to it, I was in one of those "wait, what?" moments. Over the years we have recommended the work of Darcie Little Badger and most recently, I included her book on a page of Native writers whose books have been banned. She is an enrolled member of the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas. It was a no-brainer that she would object. I would, too, if I was in her shoes. So I made a correction as soon as possible, apologized, and will be more vigilant about such matters in the future. 

--Debbie

Debbie--Have you seen THE ECHO PEOPLE, published by Lee and Low?

Note from Debbie at 7:31 PM Pacific Time, September 1, 2015. Below, I said that the State of Texas has not recognized any tribes, but I stand corrected. I'm reading about legislation, effective September 1, 2025, that says "The Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas is designated and recognized by this state as a Native American Indian Tribe exercising substantial governmental powers and duties." I apologize for the error. 

In recent days, I've seen a lot of promotional material for a new picture book, The Echo People. It caught my eye because the illustrator is Shonto Begay, who is Diné and has done outstanding art for Native writers. 

But, who is the author? "SD Youngwolf" is not someone I am familiar with. When that is the case, I see what I can learn about the individual and the Native Nation they claim. Here's my notes:

The author is "SD Youngwolf." 

In January of 2019, he won the "New Voices" award that Lee and Low gives out. That's a writing contest that is "open to writers of color and Native/Indigenous writers" who are at least 18 years old. And, "In order to enter the Contest or receive the prize award, you must fully comply with the Official Rules and, by entering, you represent and warrant that you agree to be bound by these Official Rules..." 

On their Jan 22, 2019 blog announcement of his award, they say he is "tribally enrolled in the Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokee." I assume they got that information from him or a statement he submitted when he entered the contest.

There's a Jan 24, 2019 article at Valley Courier (a newspaper in Alamosa, Colorado) about him winning the award. There it says he is tribally enrolled in the "Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokee." I assume the reporter got that information from him or from Lee and Low. 

Now (August 29, 2025), on the "About" page at Lee and Low, Youngwolf is identified as "an enrolled citizen of the Tsalagiyi Nvdagi Tribe."  

Why am I noting these names of nations Youngwolf claims? Because it matters!

There are three federally-recognized Cherokee Nations: Cherokee Nation, United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Youngwolf doesn't say he's a citizen of any of the three.

He once claimed to be a citizen of The Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokee, which is apparently located in Texas. [Note: I am striking out the following sentence because it is not correct. See my note at the top of this post. But, the state of Texas does not extend state recognition to anyone. ]

Now he claims to be an enrolled citizen of the "Tsalagiyi Nvdagi Tribe." It is neither a federally recognized or state recognized tribal nation. It strikes me as similar to the groups of people that come together and form what they call a tribe, based on family stories. 

Clearly, I have questions about the Native Nation he claims to be part of now. But, asking again -- who is this person, SD Youngwolf?

I did a bit of searching and found SD Youngwolf's name in a 2013 dissertation titled "Mystics, Radicals, Sinners, and Saints: Freedom, Rebirth, and the American West, where he was one of the people interviewed by Brian King, a PhD student at the University of New Mexico. The abstract for jos dissertation says it is an exploration of "the lives of John Muir, the Taos Society of Artists, Mabel Dodge Lujan, Everett Ruess, Edith Warner, and the Taos hippies who journeyed to the American West in search of freedom" (p. x). 

In the acknowledgments, Brian King thanks "Suri Dass Youngwolf" who is in Chapter 5, titled "Taos Hippies Model an Alternative: Freedom for All?" 

Having read chapter 5, I think it fair to say that in the 1960s SD Youngwolf was a hippy living in a commune in Taos. 

In the dissertation, King's footnotes indicate he interviewed SD Youngwolf on November 30, 2012. King asked Youngwolf what he and the hippies who moved to Taos wanted to accomplish. Youngwolf replied "To live a spiritual life," and said "many of these people had grown up in a very materialistic life in which something was missing and that's why there was the hippie revolution." They "were seeking [...] 'the sacred.'" King asked if they succeeded or failed, and Youngwolf replied that he'd succeeded. He also said that happiness is not a goal, that it is the path and "that's kind of the way I feel, sacred is what you live, day to day" (p. 241-242). Youngwolf experimented with drugs, and that led him to practice yoga and meditation. He wanted to use his artwork to convey "Beauty, bliss, Spirit" and "the sacred, the sacred" (p. 250). 

Nowhere does the dissertation identify Youngwolf as Cherokee. The interview was in 2012. 

For now, I am uneasy with what I have found and doubt that I will review his book. I'm curious about how Lee and Low verifies the identity of a person who submits a manuscript in the New Voices Award when that person says they are Native. I'm going to see if I can find the author of the dissertation. Maybe the interview says something about Youngblood being Cherokee but that didn't make it into the dissertation. I'm also curious how King found Youngblood and decided to interview him. 

Pausing for now, but wanted to share these notes. If you know him and can provide any insights, let me know.

Notes about the Drumbeat Decodable Book Collection (phonics readers) from Lee and Low

New from Lee and Low is the "Drumbeat Decodable Book Collection" of books meant to teach readers short vowels (a, e, i, o, u) in the context of consonant-vowel-consonant words through stories that provide readers with an Indigenous Perspective. The author of the books is Sandra Samatte. She is Anishinaabe, a member of Ne-biimiskonaan (Skownan) First Nation, Treaty 2 Territory. The illustrations are by Julian Grafenauer, who is also Anishinaabe, and a member of Ditibineya-ziibiing (Rolling River) First Nation, Treaty 4 Territory. The books themselves are published in collaboration with Indigenous Education Press. 

These are my notes as I read them:

Duck and Cub shows us a duck and cub playing in the mud, getting muddy, and then playing in a tub to get cleaned up.

Grandfather Rock is about Tom and his dog, Dot. They're out for a jog and see a rock that he likes. A frog tells him not to take it. His mom "comes out of the fog at the bog" and also tells him not to take the rock. The fog swirls around her, making the image of her kind of mystical. Her long black hair flows around her head and shoulders. She's wearing beaded earrings, and a beaded medallion and a belt that has Native designs on it. She's wearing a gray shirt and dark pink sweater, and a muted red skirt. She gives an offering to the rock. On the final page of the story, Tom is holding the rock. The text says he and the dog love Grandfather Rock.  

Jan at Camp is about a young girl named Jan. Her dad has a plan for the day: she is going to go to Culture Camp. She is shown in a ribbon skirt, blouse, and her long dark hair is braided. Her dad has jeans, white shirt, and vest. His long dark hair is in braids and some of it is loose behind his head. The camp is "on the Land near Sand Lake." There, a fat cat lives with Elder Fran, who has long white hair that is worn with elastic bands several inches apart, kind of like a pony tail. At the camp, Elder Fran is shown standing beneath a tree, telling a story, and then she teaches Jan and her dad how to tap a tree for sap. Jan is glad to be on the land, learning from Elder Fran. 

Rhett and Jet is about two boys with black hair. They are out fishing with a net and catch a fish, a gem, and a shell. Inside the shell is a crab. They want it to be their pet. The boys and the crab play in the water. Then they go home, eat, set up a tent, and go to sleep. 

Tim and Robin is about a six-year-old boy and a bird. Tim has black hair, and is shown in a t-shirt and shorts. He watches a robin flying and when it hits its wing, he wants to fix it. He puts it into a can and when Sis (she's got long black hair and is wearing a belted dress) approaches, he hides from her. She finds him and the robin. She asks why the robin is in a can, and on the next page we see the two have brought the robin into their house. They feed it, and it grows and is "now fit." They take it outside and Tim watches it fly. 

And now, my comments:

None of the books tell us the nation/nations the children belong to. Without advance preparation from the teacher using the books, these could be children of any nation. There's not enough context to help children understand that there is tremendous diversity across Native Nations, and there's not enough in the books for me to feel comfortable naming an Indigenous perspective in them. A teacher's guide with tribally specific information could help a teacher make optimal use of the books. Without that, teachers may inadvertently fill their knowledge gaps with incorrect information. An example is the Grandfather Rock book. Why is it called that? Do all Native peoples have reverence for rocks, such that they give them offerings? Is it ok to pick up rocks called Grandfather Rock, as Tom is shown doing on the final page of the story? And, how will a teacher answer questions from children about why the rock is called "Grandfather Rock?" Without that information the books are pan-Indian (which means they're all the same) stories. I have a lot of resources that might help me use them if I was teaching in an elementary school classroom, but would I have the time to do that research? Not likely. 

Two of the characters (Elder Fran and Sis) strike me as romanticized. I do know Native women who look something like them but most do not. And the way fog and light are used on/around them, the effect is to make them mystical rather than realistic Native women. 

The books in this set are meant to be stories with beginnings and endings, but there's gaps in the flow of the text (in the first pages of Grandfather Rock, Tom is not wearing socks but when he's on the dock, he takes off his socks) and sometimes in the clothing the child is wearing (in Tim and Robin he is wearing a yellow t-shirt at the start but later the shirt has a collar).

One good point: the stories with children in them are set in the present day, and they're doing things specific to being Native but they're also doing the sorts of things any kids do (like fishing). The problem as noted above: children will not learn about specific nations. Instead they learn "Indigenous" which can be characterized as a new word for "Indian" which, in effect, depicts us as a monolithic group of people.  Whether shown as children of present or past days, monolithic imagery is unacceptable. 

As you might observe, I'm disappointed. We need phonics books that depict Native children but this one falls too short from important expectations for it to work, educationally. 

Highly Recommended: THE NAVAJO: PEOPLE, CULTURE, AND HISTORY by Jennifer R. Denetdale

For years I have studied the many excellent books and articles by Dr. Jennifer R. Denetdale. She's a citizen of the Navajo Nation and a history professor at the University of New Mexico. When I saw she had done another children's book, I looked forward to seeing it, and here it is! 

The Navajo: People, Culture, and History

Written by Jennifer R. Denetdale, citizen of the Navajo Nation

Published in 2026

Publisher: Capstone

Reviewer: Debbie Reese

Review Status: Highly Recommended

Denetdale's book is in the Indigenous Peoples' series published by Capstone. Years back, Lerner did a series like this--with the authors of each book being citizens or tribal members of the Native Nation the book is about. They went out of print and I'm glad Capstone is doing this series. A few days ago I wrote about The Cherokee: People, Culture, and History by Twila M. Barnes, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation.

In the review of that book, I said something that applies here, too: Regular readers of AICL will also know that I recommend books by Native writers because they bring their lived experience to their writing. They have knowledge that they gained first-hand rather than from resources by outsiders that are too-often flawed, biased, incomplete, or just plain wrong! 

Some things that stand out to me as I read Denetdale's book:

It starts with "About the Navajo." The first paragraph tells us what the Navajo people call their homeland. It tells us that Diné is the name the Navajo people call themselves, and it tells us where their homeland is. Most people don't know that Native people are still here, because so many books confine us to the past. In her first sentences, Denetdale says "call" and "is" -- present tense verbs that do important work in reorienting readers to see us as people of the present day. 

From there Denetdale provides a section called What Is the Navajo Nation? See the word Nation in that question? In addition to use of present tense verbs, it is crucial that everyone -- especially educators -- use the word nation when referring to us. In her answer to that question, Denetdale tells us that the Navajo Nation is a sovereign nation whose leaders negotiated and signed treaties with Spain, Mexico, and then the US. These are important facts! So many nonfiction books for kids ignore the fact that we have had nationhood status for a long time, even before the year when the United States became a nation. 

Page after page is like that. Information that educators should give to children in their classrooms in order for them to have a complete history of this continent. 

I'll point to one more: the pages about Kit Carson. Most history books count him as a hero but those histories leave out his role in the US war against the Diné in 1863. A leader in that war, Carson destroyed livestock, cornfields, and water sources. He burned homes. Does that sound like a hero? Of course not. 

You surely have a lot to learn, and unlearn. Books like The Navajo: People, Culture, and History can help with both. Bring them into your classrooms, whether the children are in elementary school, or high school, or college. Step beyond the idea that children's books are only for children. When the subject is Native peoples and the author is Native, there's a lot that their books can teach you. 

2024 American Indian Youth Literature Award (AIYLA) -- Acceptance Speeches

On January 25, 2025, the American Indian Library Association (AILA) held its Youth Literature Award Ceremony in Phoenix during the American Library Association's LibLearn gathering. With their permission, AICL is pleased to share the remarks delivered by award recipients that were able to travel to Phoenix:

Christine Day (Upper Skagit). We Still Belong and She Persisted: Maria Tallchief

Laurel Goodluck (Mandan & Hidatsa and Tsimshian). Forever Cousins, Rock Your Mocs, and She Persisted: Deb Haaland

Byron Graves (Ojibwe). Rez Ball

Jonathan Nelson. Forever Cousins and A Letter for Bob

Kim Rogers (Wichita & Affiliated Tribes). A Letter for Bob

Traci Sorell (Cherokee Nation). Contenders: Two Native Baseball Players, One World Series and Mascot, and She Persisted: Wilma Mankiller

Arigon Starr (Kickapoo Tribe). Contenders: Two Native Baseball Players, One World Series

A complete list of the award winners is at the AILA website. Click on the year (2024) to see books chosen to receive the AIYLA awards. You can download a pdf of the winners. You can also read the association's Winter 2025 newsletter. Page 3 is an article by Joy Bridwell, who served as the committee chair. 

Highly Recommended: THE CHEROKEE: PEOPLE, CULTURE, AND HISTORY by Twila M. Barnes

A few days ago on social media, I saw Daniel Heath Justice's post about The Cherokee: People, Culture, and History by Twila M. Barnes. Daniel is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and a scholar and professor who has written several terrific books. If you don't have Why Indigenous Literatures Matter, order it today. You can definitely use it to become more adept at evaluating information about Native peoples. And if you work in a library, you can draw from it to update your collection development policy. In his post about The Cherokee: People, Culture, and History he said it is "Authentic, well-sourced, and accurate" and that he couldn't be more excited to see it is finally out. Daniel and Twila are citizens of the Cherokee Nation.

Twila's book is non-fiction, meant for young readers. Here's the cover:

The Cherokee: People, Culture, and History

Written by Twila M. Barnes, citizen of the Cherokee Nation

Published in 2026

Publisher: Capstone

Reviewer: Debbie Reese

Review Status: Highly Recommended

Regular readers of AICL will know why that cover is important: it features a Native--in this case Cherokee--child of the present day. Think back to most books you've seen (or do a Google search) that feature Native people. The covers usually show Native adults in a past tense setting, or in tribal regalia (clothing). Rarely do we see present-day Native children on book covers, wearing something they wear every day. Of course, I love the cover!

I've been reading Twila's blog, Thoughts from Polly's Granddaughter: A Little Cherokee History and Genealogy Mixed in with a Whole Lot of Truth, for years. I've learned a lot from her careful studies there and am delighted that Capstone asked her to write this book. I was also happy to see the interview of her in the Cherokee Nation's newspaper, Cherokee Phoenix. 

Regular readers of AICL will also know that I recommend books by Native writers because they bring their lived experience to their writing. They have knowledge that they gained first-hand rather than from resources by outsiders that are too-often flawed, biased, incomplete, or just plain wrong! 

So, what will you find once you open her book? I see present tense verbs in sentences like "What is a sovereign tribal government?" and "Where are the Cherokee tribal governments located?" They're a textual echo of the cover. Using present tense verbs tells readers that we are still here. And I see the word "nation" several times, in vibrant bold text! 

What else do I see.... hey -- earlier in this post I mentioned the Cherokee Phoenix and right there on page 10 is a photo of the very first issue, which came out in 1828! There's a timeline that has key moments including familiar events like the Trail of Tears, and lesser known ones whose presence invites teachers to look for more information than could be included in a picture book for young readers. I like the page about Cherokee language, and that Barnes did not shy away from saying that the US government and its boarding schools played a large part in loss of language. 

I'll stop there and ask you to get a copy for your classroom, or school or public library if you work in one, and if you're a parent, get a copy for your home. Next time you're at the library, ask them to get it, too. 

In short, The Cherokee: People, Culture, and History by Twila M. Barnes is highly recommended. 

"What if Everything We Know about Sacagawea is Wrong?"

I'll start with a thanks to Carol, a reader who wrote to me about the recent New York Times Magazine article, "What if Everything We Know about Sacagawea is Wrong?" by Christopher Cox. Published on July 23, 2025, Cox tells us about a book written by Dennis and Sandra Fox and several Hidatsa elders. That book is Our Story of Eagle Woman. Sacagawea: They Got it Wrong. The author is listed on the cover as the Sacagawea Project Board of the Mandan Hidatsa & Arikara Nation. Published in 2021, you can get it here. 

I bought the electronic copy and will be reading through it. There's also a children's book available that I ordered and will write about when it arrives:

I'll close by thanking Carol for writing to me about the book, and ask readers not to hesitate to write to me about this or that. I may not reply -- time is limited -- but I do what I can to help us all move to a better place in what we know about Native peoples. 

Stereotypes of Native Peoples in Children's Books - A Report from 1971

How does a society move away from its embrace of stereotypes or biased and incorrect images? Native people and our allies have been calling out stereotyping and bias of Native peoples for hundreds of years, but without widespread dissemination of the problems, they persist. 

This morning, for example, I did a quick search of WorldCat to see if Syd Hoff's Little Chief is still on shelves. I was disappointed to see how many public libraries continue to provide it. And so, I am offering this post to anyone who is unaware of the stereotyping in older books you may have on your shelves. 

The list below is from Carolyn L. Bell's The Pre-School Child's Image of the American Indian.  I don't know Bell or her other work, but this report from 1971 is good. I've done analyses or writings about some of the books in her report. Because her list is concise with book info and a paragraph about each one--and the report is online--I'm listing only the titles she looked at. Go read it! They are a small sample of the many books old and new that have stereotypical and biased images.

All these books would get a NOT RECOMMENDED label if I reviewed them. In 2013, Native children in my home community wrote to me about The Brave Cowboy and I wrote about it then. 

Anglund, Joan Walsh. The Brave Cowboy

Beatty, Hetty Burlingame. Little Owl Indian 

Benchley, Nathaniel. Red Fox and His Canoe

Friskey, Margaret. Indian Two Feet and His Eagle Feather

Friskey, Margaret. Indian Two Feet and His Horse

Hader, Berta de Elmer, Mighty Hunter

Hartman, Virginia. I Can Do Anything Almost

Hoff, Syd. Little Chief

Moon, Grace and Carl. One Little Indian. 

Parish, Peggy. Little Indian

Parish, Peggy. Good Hunting Little Indian 

Parish, Peggy. Granny and the Indians

Teichman, Dorothy. My Friend God

Wiseman, B. Morris is a Cowboy, a Policeman and a Baby Sitter

Art by Rebecca Lee Kunz (Cherokee Nation) on Cover of THE HORN BOOK MAGAZINE

What a delight this morning (July 5, 2025) to see art by Rebecca Lee Kunz (Cherokee Nation) on the cover of the July/August 2025 The Horn Book Magazine! As I study the cover, I see a Cherokee child, reading for a book about a Cherokee family. A rare book, in fact. I think it is the only book written and illustrated by two women of the same Native Nation. 

Kunz's work has layers of meaning and I thoroughly enjoyed reading her Caldecott Medal Acceptance speech. Read it, and get the book she illustrated, Chooch Helped. Written by Andrea L. Rogers (Cherokee Nation), it is heartwarming, delightful, poignant, fun... and I hope the two women collaborate again. Chooch Helped is such a special book!

Highly Recommended: REDress

 

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

REDress: Art, Action, and the Power of Presence
Edited by Jaime Black-Morsette (Metis)
Published by Portage and Main Press

Published in 2025

Reviewer: Jean Mendoza

Review Status: Highly Recommended

Have you seen social media images of Native women with red handprints on their faces? Do you know the symbolism? 

The red handprint is a symbol of protest against violence against Native women and girls. Its meaning  expanded to include violence against LGBTQ+ and Two-Spirit Native people. For decades, Native communities in the US and Canada have tried to call attention to the fact that significant numbers of Native women, girls, and LGBTQ+ people have been disappearing, or been killed, while law enforcement shows little interest in finding perpetrators. In one recent case that made some headlines, families of two missing First Nations women wanted authorities to search a Canadian landfill where they were certain their missing loved ones had been hidden. Officials insisted that would be too expensive. The families  prevailed and the missing women's remains were found. Serial killers and sex traffickers can flourish when law enforcement behaves as if Indigenous victims don't warrant full investigations. The red handprint is one of several symbols of insistence on justice for MMIWG2S.

This is a short-and-sweet review of a 2025 anthology focused on another approach to honoring and raising awareness of the murdered and missing: Jaime Black-Morsette's REDress: Art, Action, and the Power of Presence. 

Here's a description from the publisher:

In 2010, Métis artist Jaime Black-Morsette created the REDress Project—an art installation consisting of placing red dresses in public spaces as a call for justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit people (MMIWG2S). Symbolizing both absence and presence, the red dresses ignite a reclamation of voice and place for MMIWG2S. Fifteen years later, the symbol of the empty red dress endures as families continue to call for action.

In this anthology, Jaime Black-Morsette shares her own intimate stories and memories of the REDress Project along with the voices of Indigenous women, Elders, grassroots community activists, artists, academics, and family members affected by this tragedy. Together they use the power of their collective voice to not only call for justice for MMIWG2S, but honour Indigenous women as keepers and protectors of land, culture, and community across Turtle Island.

And here are four reasons we recommend REDress.

Reason #1: It sheds needed light on the phenomenon of murdered and missing Indigenous people, and on the experience of the people and communities affected by those losses.

Reason #2: It combines visual and verbal images to powerful effect. It's a sobering book, a beautiful, powerful, reverent tribute to Indigenous victims of violence, for (and from) those who are left without them. And take a look at that cover! Wow!

Reason #3: It's a collection of voices.  Essays, poetry, photos, and commentary by more than a dozen Indigenous creators address loss, violence, healing, and the roles art and performance can play on the path toward justice.

Reason #4: The publisher provides a free teaching guide e-book. Discussing the murdered and missing requires preparation and sensitivity. The teaching guide offers structure and suggestions for conversations about the book and the topic.

Reading and discussing REDress can be a powerful experience for older teens and adults. We urge librarians, high school teachers, and arts educators to order multiple copies and share them widely.

Will Native Presence at Alcatraz by removed or covered up by Trump Administration?

Update on Sept 27, 2025: At the end of this original post on June 14, 2025, I am adding changes on the Alcatraz website. 

On June 13, 2025 The New York Times published an article titled National Parks Are Told to Delete Content that 'Disparages Americans.' Here's the first four paragraphs of the article by Lisa Friedman:

The Interior Department plans to remove or cover up all “inappropriate content” at national parks and sites by Sept. 17 and is asking the park visitors to report any “negative” information about past or living Americans, according to internal documents.

It’s a move that historians worry could lead to the erasure of history involving gay and transgender figures, civil rights struggles and other subjects deemed improper by the Trump administration.

Staff at the National Park Service, which is part of the Interior Department, were instructed to post QR codes and signs at all 433 national parks, monuments and historic sites by Friday asking visitors to flag anything they think should be changed, from a plaque to a park ranger’s tour to a film at a visitor’s center.

Leaders at the park service would then review concerns about anything that “inappropriately disparages Americans past or living (including persons living in colonial times),” according to slides presented this week at a meeting with park superintendents. By Sept. 17, “all inappropriate content” would be removed or covered, according to the presentation.

Note the second paragraph says "other subjects." It isn't the first time Native peoples have been characterized by the media as "other." The fourth paragraph says that "inappropriate content" must be removed or covered by September 17th. I wonder what will happen at Alcatraz? 

I went over to the National Park Service page on Alcatraz and got these screen caps. Easy enough to delete web pages but what will they do with the writing on walls and on the water tower? Below are screen captures I did today, from the website.

This one is on the home page:

Scroll down and you'll see this one. Note the "Last updated" timestamp:

Clicking through the image above you'll go to the page that has these options:

What will be on the website between now and September 17th? If you click through those options you'll see many photos of Native statements declaring our presence and about Indian Land. Will those be painted over? Covered up? Or will a court pause these actions? We'll see.   

Update on September 27, 2025 

Since my initial post (above on June 14) I have been checking the website to see if changes have been made. To best show the changes, I am places images next to each other as follows: 

With the exception of the section title being in bold now, the opening paragraph is unchanged:

In June when I scrolled down the page, there was an array of options to click through. On the bottom right was one called Red Power: American Indian Occupation. It has now been replaced with one called Welcome to Indian Land. Here they are:

Back in June when I clicked on the Red Power image, I could watch a video called Perspectives 50 Years Later, or click on a section called About Red Power that had several options within it. Or I could click on the Virtual Exhibition or Commemorative Events, each which had several options, too. Back in June, I shared screen shots of those images. 

Today when I clicked on Welcome to Indian Land, the options are different. I go right to a screen that tells me there is an exhibit opening in September. It is called "Welcome to Indian Land: Resistance, Resilience, & Activism." When I scrolled down I saw a section called "Navigate Welcome to Indian Land. There's two click-through options:

When I clicked through the Virtual Exhibition I saw sections called "We Are Still Here," and "Why Alcatraz?" and "And End... And a Beginning." I don't remember these sections but as I read through them now, they have the sort of language that I think is necessary. Examples:

• "Native peoples were forcibly relocated..."
• "...colonization had a disastrous impact."
• "Native Americans were imprisoned here for resisting or rebelling against the U.S. government"
• "... invaders broke all government treaties with tribes and stole Indian territory for its valuable natural resources."
• "the government moved to seize more lands."
  
  
  

When I clicked through the Frequently Asked Questions, I see one that may explain why the erasures we're seeing across the country are not happening here. The question is "How does the exhibit fit into the GCNRA's legislation and strategic vision?" GGNRA is the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Here's the answer to that question:

Alcatraz Island is a site within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. As referenced in the GGNRA’s Foundation Document, Alcatraz Island is significant partly because of the occupation, which helped ignite the movement for American Indian self-determination. By interpreting this moment in history, the site provides a powerful opportunity to encourage visitors to contemplate their personal views on freedom and civil rights. 

 

Theme 5 of GGNRA's Long Range Interpretive Plan states, "Layers of history within the park challenges us to contemplate the meaning of freedom, justice and equality...the island provides an opportunity to consider the contrasting views on human rights and rehabilitation, as well as civil rights movements and role of political protest."

Golden Gate National Recreation Area is a proud member of the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience. Sites of Conscience enable visitors to make connections between the past struggles and related human rights issues of today. The coalition's goal is to connect past and present to envision a more just and humane future.

I wonder if the island being located within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area--and it being a member of the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience--providing the site a measure of protection from the federal government efforts to whitewash history? I don't know, but I'll keep my eye on the page and see if there are additional changes as time progresses.

Why I am not recommending children's books by Thomas King

Why I am no longer recommending books by Thomas King? Because I am no longer confident that he is Cherokee. 

When I was teaching at the University of Illinois (as a grad student, a post doc, and then an assistant professor from mid 1990s to 2010), I assigned "Borders" -- one of his short stories. It came out in 1993. It isn't written for children but was recently published as a graphic novel for young readers. Borders is about a twelve-year-old boy and his mother and their attempt to cross the Canadian border to visit his sister who was living in Salt Lake City, Utah. When they pull up to the booth and the border guard asks his mother about her citizenship, she says "Blackfoot." He asks "Canadian?" and she replies "Blackfoot." He asks again and the same thing happens. He asks them to wait and another guard comes out and asks if she's Canadian or American-side Blackfoot. She still replies, "Blackfoot." 

The story introduces the fact that Native peoples state their nationhood as being whatever tribal nation they are from, and how that can play out when crossing a border. When I taught that story, I believed he was Cherokee.  

Since the year that I taught that story, I learned that Thomas King's claim to being Cherokee is much-discussed within Native networks. As far as I know, he never said the name of a specific Cherokee Nation (there are three with federal recognition in the US). Today, I'd look for statements he made about his identity and I'd look for other sources that confirm his claim. Until I feel confident in what I find, I will not recommend his books. 

Not Recommended: Gooney Bird and the Room Mother, by Lois Lowry

Gooney Bird Greene by Lois Lowry came out in 2002. In 2005, Gooney Bird and the Room Mother came out and there are a few more Gooney Bird books since then. Of course, Lowry has written many books -- several of which have won major book awards. 

Published by Houghton Mifflin in 2005, I'm disappointed that nobody involved in the creation of Gooney Bird and the Room Mother noted the problems I see. And, I'm disappointed in the starred review from Kirkus. Their reviewer described it as a "winning, tongue-in-cheek outing." School Library Journal said the illustrations highlight key moments in the story, but four of the 10 illustrations show kids stereotypically dressed up as Pilgrims and Indians. Why didn't they note that problem?

I didn't know about the Gooney Bird books until recently when a reader wrote to ask me about Gooney Bird and the Room Mother. Here's the description:

Gooney Bird Greene likes to be right smack in the middle of everything. That's why she wants to have the lead role of Squanto in her class Thanksgiving pageant. But that role will go to whoever finds someone to be the room mother. All the parents are so busy, no one can bring cupcakes to the play. Gooney Bird Greene to the rescue! She finds a room mother alright, but promises not to tell who it is until the day of the play. Now the kids are really busy getting ready for the show. But will the mystery room mother really show up?

Thanksgiving events in schools are disturbing because they introduce (or affirm) a feel-good story that glosses the truth of what happened. Reading reviews at Goodreads, I see two that note the problems I saw. Walton says that "History is totally whitewashed in appalling ways." Cindy says that she was uncomfortable with the dressing up part and that the book went from uncomfortable to "downright inappropriate" in its depiction of Squanto as a "very, very helpful guy." She notes that the book briefly references the fact that Squanto was forcibly taken to Spain and sold as a slave but that the general narrative of him is about choices he made to go here and there. Surely Houghton Mifflin could make sure their staff includes people like Walton and Cindy who could help the publishing house and the author, too, step away from feel-good stories that mis-educate children. 

Without hesitation, I am giving it a 'Not Recommended' label:

Several years ago I wrote an article for Journal of Language and Literacy Education. In it I analyzed Anne Rockwell's Thanksgiving Day and did a lot of historical research about Thanksgiving that I am using as I read through Lowry's book. Below, description is in plain text and my comments are in italics:

In chapter 2, Gooney Bird tells her teacher, Mrs. Pidgeon, that she wants to color Squanto's feather on the mural the class is working on. On page 10, we read that she's coloring one of his feathers blue. On page 13, she's coloring one red. 

Debbie's comments: Did the man commonly known as Squanto wear feathers? And if he did, what did they look like? Did he wear them all the time? Were some red and some blue? The man's name was Tisquantum, not Squanto. His correct name has been known for so long. Why do children's books continue to use Squanto? 

In chapter 4, the teacher tells them the mural is coming along well and that they also have to learn a song, make costumes, and select a cast of characters for the pageant. They need Pilgrims and Native Americans.  Gooney Bird wants to be Squanto. Children have begun working on their costumes, as shown by the illustration of them singing the song:

Debbie's comments: That illustration with kids in those hats and headbands appears four times in the book. I see that in many children's books and in many photos teachers share of their own classroom activities around the holiday. Lowry's book joins the pile of educationally bad children's books that get circulated in society. It miseducates every child who learns this is ok.

The pageant would be more educational if it was tribally specific. By that, I mean that instructional materials about the Pilgrims need to use the name of the tribal nation--Wampanoag--rather than generic labels like Native American. I'd also want to see more facts than are likely to be included in pageants. However, my guess is once the facts are included, any "fun" in a pageant disappears. If a fuller understanding leads teachers to reject books like this one, or to stop doing these activities, that's a huge plus for children they teach!

Here's the song lyrics, sung to the tune of Jingle Bells:

Succotash, succotash, lima beans and corn. Thank you, noble Squanto, you may set the platter down.

Debbie's comments: I think the idea is to show gratitude to Native peoples -- Tisquantum in particular -- for help in learning how to plant and grow vegetables but why is he characterized as noble? 

On page 32 the class works on their costumes. Their teacher tells them that the Pilgrims didn't decorate their clothing but Native Americans did. Students making headbands glue beads onto them and will also add a feather. Chelsea says "I wish I could be a Native American" because she hates her plain Pilgrim hat. There's a conversation about Pilgrims being brave, crossing the ocean. 

Debbie's comments: This pervasive activity -- Native people in feathered headbands and Pilgrims in hats with buckles is inaccurate. The idea that Pilgrims wore black and white clothing and buckles on their hats and shoes is not accurate. The Mayflower History page (and other sources, too), tell us that is a stereotype.  

Many people in the US wish they could be Native. They may have a romantic idea of what it means but that idea is often missing the difficulties Native people endured and endure as we fight for our rights, homelands, religious sites, return of artifacts and so on. There's a growing body of writing about people who go from wishing to claiming a Native identity. I've been compiling a log that you may want to visit. 

On page 34, Mrs. Pidgeon asks Gooney Bird if she has been working on Squanto's dance. On the piano she plays some low notes in a repetitive way and tells Gooney Bird to pretend it is a drumbeat that Squanto should keep time to, and maybe doing some "rhythmic foot-hopping, too." 

Debbie's comments: I can almost hear (in my imagination) the low notes Mrs. Pidgeon is playing. They're the sort of thing you hear in so many movies and TV shows and on sports fields where the team has a stereotypical mascot. It is kind of a BOOM boom boom boom, BOOM boom boom boom in a minor tone. If you listen to Native music done by Native drummers, do you hear that sort of thing? I don't. Take a few minutes to watch this video from the Museum of Indian Culture in New Mexico. In it, you will see how pueblo drums are made. There's a segment where a group of children is playing the drums they've made, and in the background of some of the narration, you can hear drumming. Music across Native Nations is different, of course, and I don't know all of it but I don't hear it in pow wow drumming or any other ceremonies of other nations that I've been to. I'll look for an example of Wampanoag drumming and add it when I find one.

In chapter 6 on page 36, Gooney Bird is wearing a hat with a feather in it. Mrs. Pidgeon asks why she doesn't have a headband. Here's their conversation:  

"I decided Squanto should have a better hat than the other Native Americans, because he's been to England, remember?"

"Well, yes, he did travel there. But that's a top hat, Gooney Bird. Something an ambassador might wear. I don't think---"

"I think Squanto brought it back from England. He probably went shopping and bought a lot of new clothes there. People always buy new clothes when they travel." 

Debbie's comments: Yikes! Granted, the character is a little girl but that character was created by an adult and looked over by editors at the publishing house... it is disappointing that nobody hit the pause button on the idea of Tisquantum shopping in England as if he is a modern day tourist!

On page 38, Gooney Bird began testing some dance steps and says that she thinks Squanto probably learned the tango in England. 

Debbie's comments: Again, how did this get by editors?! I'd have flagged the idea of a kidnapped individual learning the tango (as if he is a modern day tourist) as being ridiculous but I'd also have looked up the tango. When was it invented? The answer: in the 18th century. When was Tisquantum there? Centuries before that! 

Beyond that, it is important to know that Native dance is not performance or entertainment. Much of it is associated with a spiritual or religious ceremony. Teachers would not reenact something they see in a church or temple or place of worship... and it should not happen with Native dance either. Far too many writers misrepresent it in books they write. 

Near the end of chapter 8, Mrs. Pidgeon worries that the costumes and song are slapdash and ill-fitting. The students tell her all the things they've learned in her classroom and she cheers up and says:

"I'm sorry that I was depressed for a minute. It's just that the story of the first Thanksgiving is such a truly wonderful story, about becoming friends, and helping one another, and being thankful. I wish I could have presented it better, instead of writing a dumb song about succotash."

Debbie's comments: These pageants are not a wonderful story! Especially for Native children. Native parents have been asking teachers to reconsider them for decades.  

Gooney Bird has an idea. The day of the pageant, their presentation opens with Gooney Bird as Squanto, entering the multipurpose room with a dance that is "a combination of shuffles, taps, and twirls, with an occasional pause for a hop" done to Mrs. Pidgeon playing rhythmic drumming sort of music on the piano. At the front of the room, she says:

I am not the actual Squanto. The real Squanto was a Patuxet Indian who was born in a village near where the Pilgrims would land, but when he was born they hadn't landed yet.

He learned to speak English from some early settlers. He helped them in many ways. He was a very helpful guy. 

When some of them went back to England, they invited him to go along. His mother didn't want him to.

But he went anyway. This was way back in the 1600s. Squanto is dead now. I am not the real Squanto. I am an imitation.  

Debbie's comments: See notes above regarding Native dance and rhythmic drumming. Regarding Tisquantum speaking English: none of my sources say he learned it from early settlers. He learned it when he was kidnapped and taken to England. They didn't "invite" him to go along. Later in her remarks, Gooney Bird says he was taken captive, but why didn't Lowry or her editors remove the invitation part here? And where did that bit about what his mother wanted come from? I've never seen that before but I can imagine teachers raising that part and asking "would your mom want you to go so far away." It makes me deeply uncomfortable. He wasn't a child when taken. Does that passage invite children to think of him as a child? 

She asks the principal to tell the audience what imitation means (she said "I am not the real Squanto. I am an imitation.") and then continues:

He traveled around for a while, being helpful because he was a helpful guy. He was an interpreter between the Americans and the Indians. 

Debbie's comments: "He traveled around the world" and "being helpful" invoke an image that does not reflect the truth. I urge teachers to read Chris Newell's If You Lived During the Plimoth Thanksgiving. Get a classroom set of the book and use it to critique Gooney Bird's remarks! Develop a lesson plan on how to critically analyze the ways the Thanksgiving story is presented! In his book, Newell tells us that Tisquantum and 20 other Patuxet Wampanoag people and seven Nausets were kidnapped by Thomas Hunt who took them to Spain to sell them as enslaved people. 

She asks a classmate to explain the word interpreter and then continues:

But suddenly--a bad ship captain tricked him into going onto his ship. It was a big scam. They made him a captive and took him to Spain. The captives all were sold as slaves. It made Squanto pretty mad. 

But he was indefatigable.

After a long time Squanto finally made his way home. He had been away for years. And when he finally got home, he found that his village was gone. His people had all died. He was the last of his tribe. 

It was very sad. But he became friends with the great chief Massasoit, and after a while he met the Pilgrims, who had just arrived. So he had some new friends and they hung out together. 

The Pilgrims' lives in America would have been a fiasco if good Indians like Squanto had not helped them.

Squanto had gotten lots of new clothes in England, and he had learned to dance.

The End.

Gooney Bird bowed, twirled in a circle, did a bit of hula, and then said:

"All of my story was absolutely true, except maybe the part about learning to dance, but I think he probably did."   

Debbie's comments: "He traveled around the world" and "being helpful" invoke an image that does not reflect the truth. I urge teachers to read Chris Newell's If You Lived During the Plimoth Thanksgiving. Get a classroom set of the book and use it to critique Gooney Bird's remarks! Develop a lesson plan on how to critically analyze the ways the Thanksgiving story is presented! 

Gooney Bird tells children some truth but overall there is a silver-lining way to her remarks. "It was very sad" is immediately displaced by "But he became friends..." And then "... new friends" and "hung out together" and "new clothes" and "learned to dance" -- all of that softens the truth. And note the "good Indians" characterization, too. It implies there's bad Indians. Who were they, and what did they do that readers are meant to think of as "bad"?