2024 American Indian Literature Award Medal Acceptance: Arigon Starr

Editors Note: On January 25, 2025, the American Indian Library Association (AILA) held its Youth Literature Award Ceremony in Phoenix. I am pleased to share the remarks Arigon Starr delivered when she received the American Indian Youth Literature Honor Award in the picture book category for Contenders: Two Native Baseball Players, One World Series. Starr did the illustrations; the book is by Traci Sorell. 

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AIYLA Medal Acceptance Remarks

Arigon Starr

Thank you to everyone at AILA, Kokila Books and especially Traci Sorell. This was my first picture book and hopefully not my last.

I come from a matrilineal baseball family. My Grandmother and her sister took my Mom to Tulsa baseball games in the 1940s, while she loved listening to St. Louis Cardinals baseball as a young girl. Mom and my sister Gay were San Diego Padres fans – while me and my Dad liked the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Editor Namrata Tripathi and art director Jasmin Rubero supported my artwork and let me run wild! It was an honor to represent these pioneers (Charles Bender & John Meyers) in baseball and celebrate their achievements.

Enter

Angeline Boulley and Eric Gansworth's Books on Saturday Night Live

On January 25, 2025, Saturday Night Live did a skit called AI Software. It was set in a high school classroom. Along one wall were shelves of books. I did a screen capture of it because on the shelves are books by Native writers, Angeline Boulley and Eric Gansworth!

The students were viewing what was presented as an AI generated video that was a mess, which is why the girl in my screen cap has that expression on her face (the word 'What?' is due to the the closed caption option I use). 

I am delighted to see Native-authored books on the SNL stage! That's a big one! I'm adding it to AICL's Milestones page. I know librarians, teachers, and writers are zooming in to see what else is on those shelves. Books matter so much to so many of us. Being represented like this: way cool! 

2024 American Indian Youth Literature Award Medal Acceptance: Byron Graves

Editors Note: On January 25, 2025, the American Indian Library Association (AILA) held its Youth Literature Award Ceremony in Phoenix. I am pleased to share the remarks Byron Graves delivered when he received the American Indian Youth Literature Award in the young adult category for Rez Ball. 

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AIYLA Medal Acceptance Remarks

Byron Graves

Rez Ball was inspired by fond memories of playing basketball for my high school basketball team on the Red Lake Reservation.

Our basketball team was a beautiful distraction from the tough, cold, dark winter months. We were something to cheer for, something to talk about, something to look forward to.

Sometimes life on our reservation can be tough for a wide variety of reasons. But basketball has always been what brought us together, what made us all smile no matter what we might be going through.

As I wrote Rez Ball, I delved into more memories. Some of love, some of pain. The excitement and the thrill of winning under bright lights in the biggest of moments. The crushing heartbreak of losing the final game.

For a long time, I felt like I had let my family, friends, teammates and community down when we lost the state tournament. That disappointment and frustration lingered. It was a weight that held me down. More loss and failure followed. Dreams that I chased, fell apart. My community was devastated by a school shooting. Some of my best friends and myself faced challenges with drugs and alcohol. Cancer stole My father and nephew, who was an upcoming basketball star.

There was a point in my life, when I began to believe that I wouldn’t ever win. At anything.

But basketball reminded me that life isn’t about the final score, it’s about the battle we face within. My younger sister and my niece, both were versions of Rez Ball’s main character, Tre Brun. In the middle of a school year, in the heart of their basketball seasons, they battled grief while staying in school and working hard, all the while, continuing to shine on the basketball court.

I cheered as they splashed deep three pointers and made flashy no look passes. But in my heart is where I cheered the loudest.

In awe of their strength, their bravery, their courage. Watching my family and reservation cope with loss and grief by playing a game, and cheering for each other inspired me to write Rez Ball. It inspired me to believe in myself again. It made me chase my dreams, with courage and excitement. Unafraid of the final score. Knowing it was about much more than that.

Rez Ball was a love letter to my family, my teammates, and my reservation. It is a shout out to all Indigenous communities across the country, where basketball, hoop dreams, carry us above the rim and lifts us when we need it most.

This book was all about teamwork. I couldn’t have done this without my team.

My father, for showing me tough love, pushing me beyond what I thought were my limits, and instilling in me, an undying work ethic.

My mother, for nourishing my creative interests. Instead of reading me bed time stories, she used to make them up as she went. Until I began to interject, with proposals I had for ideas of where the story should actually go next. And asking for multiverse cameos, as I believed her story could really use the star power of the smurfs and scooby doo.

She told me this, and it’s probably the biggest reason I’m standing up here today. “Christ, why don’t you just make up your own stories then?” And that was the end of story time, but the beginning of me creating my own stories. Thanks Mom!

My little sister, Bimwewe, who always was my biggest fan, and made me like an award winning author, well before I deserved such praise. But her love and support, tricked me into believing in myself during some of my darkest times.

My basketball teammates and coaches for the lessons, friendships and memories.

My reservation, for the unwavering support they show to young student athletes.

My best friend, Dalton Walker, and his amazing family, Taté and Ohíya. These three are the epitome of brilliance, of giving, of learning, of caring. I hold them near and dear in my heart in dark times, as they are a lighthouse of good in this world. They are my north star, guiding me towards the type of person I would love to be.

Rez Ball would not have been possible without the amazing, kind, and talented Cynthia Leitich-Smith. She taught me how to write. She saw my vision for Rez Ball, for the characters, the story, and the deeper meanings.

Cynthia helped me shape those threads, tighten them, sharpen them. Rez Ball has her fingerprints all over it. Miigwech Cynthia.

Rosemary Brosnan, for being an integral part of an imprint like Heartdrum even existing in the first place. For having bravery, a vision, and for being an ally as we tell our stories.

Thank you to everyone involved with the American Indian Youth Literature Awards for your countless hours of reading, thinking, and conversation. This is an unbelievably important and much needed space and stage that you have carved out for Indigenous authors.   

Winning this award is the honor of my lifetime. This category had some of my all time favorite authors. I’m so damn proud to even be in their company, to be considered alongside them. My author heroes and friends. I’ve looked up to them for a long time, and strive to be as skilled as they are some day.

Rez Ball being ultimately chosen, is as a testament of how a game, how a book, how losing over and over in life, can show us all, what winning is actually all about. It’s about staying humble, fighting the good fight, uplifting your peers, accepting help, loving your community, finding a purpose beyond the superficial, and especially, never, ever giving up on yourself or your dreams.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
Miigwech

CHOOCH HELPED by Andrea L. Rogers, illustrated by Rebecca Lee Kunz wins the Caldecott Medal!

Most readers of American Indians in Children's Literature know that the Caldecott Medal is a big deal. 

It and the Newbery Medal are regarded as the most prestigious book awards in children's literature. That means every single library in the country will get a copy. It means visibility in a major way! 

When I heard Rob Bittner say aloud "Chooch Helped" --- well, I felt an incredible jolt of adrenaline. 

Children in schools whose teachers and librarians feature this Caldecott-winning book in lesson plans, read alouds, and library programming will identify with a big sister's many frustrations with a younger sibling, but along the way they will learn the names of a Cherokee author--Andrea L. Rogers--and a Cherokee illustrator--Rebecca Lee Kunz. 

And they will learn some Cherokee words! 

That page says "Elisi painted a mural." Beneath the word elisi is its pronunciation. There's also a glossary in the back. 

Look at the mural. Each page in the book has Cherokee-specific details. Information about them is in the back.

In the author's note, Rogers tells us about Cherokee artists who did murals and large paintings. She tells us their names and what they did. In the illustrator's note, Kunz tells us that the birds are inspired by heron patterns incised on vessels at an archeological site. These are opportunities to dig in and learn more about Cherokee people, culture, and history. 

That's all I got for now. I want to bask in the possibilities radiating from this news! 

Three Recommendations for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2025

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday observance is a day to remember and honor all those whose labor and sacrifice built the Civil Rights movement, and those who maintain that seemingly never-ending march toward a more just society.  Today, I want to honor them by recognizing and recommending three recent books for young people, by Native creators, that explore in different ways the themes of standing one's ground and making a positive difference in one's community. The books are:

We Need Everyone by Michael Redhead Champagne (Shamattawa First Nation), illustrated by Tiff Bartel (Viet Canadian)

Little By Little: You Can Change the World by Sonya Ballantyne (Swampy Cree), illustrated by Rhael McGregor (Metis and settler heritage) and Toben Racicot (not Native)

Surviving the City, Vol. 3: We Are the Medicine by Tasha Spillett (Cree and Trinidadian), illustrated by Natasha Donovan (Metis and white)

All three were published during 2024 by Highwater Press, located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. We Need Everyone  is a picture book intended for children ages 6 - 8. Little By Little is a graphic novel for ages 9 - 12. Surviving the City, Vol. 3, also a graphic novel, is for teens and up. I'm not going to do full reviews of these books -- just summaries to encourage you to look for yourself!

We Need Everyone is by a community activist, Michael Redhead Champagne. Here's what the publisher says about it: "We Need Everyone empowers children to identify their gifts and use them to overcome challenges, achieve goals, and strengthen communities. Inspiring and uplifting, this interactive picture book celebrates diverse cultures, perspectives, and abilities through playful illustrations. Perfect for reading aloud." It's a colorful, encouraging look at making one's world larger, and better. The publisher provides a free We Need Everyone teachers' guide, and a book trailer, too.

Little By Little: You Can Change the World is biographical, briefly telling part of the life story of Michael Redhead Champagne, author of We Need Everybody. The focus is on how Michael began, as a pre-teen, to call out misinformation and prejudices regarding homeless people. In the back of the book, Michael himself writes about how he came to be adopted by the Champagne family, after being born to a mother who struggled with untreated trauma and could not care for him. There's a free Little By Little teachers' guide, too.

Surviving the City, Vol. 3 concludes Spillett's & Donovan's series featuring Indigenous teens and friends living in Winnipeg. As the story begins, the teens are stunned by news that the remains of hundreds of children were discovered at former Indian residential schools. The publisher states, "The teens struggle with feelings of helplessness in the face of injustice. Can they find the strength to channel their frustration into action toward a more hopeful time?" Some of the teens are arrested during a protest and endure harsh unjust treatment at the hands of the police. They wonder what is necessary to make an action effective, and what price activism can exact from individuals. Of the three, this is the most hard-hitting, depicting police violence against a peaceful protest, and the personal aftermath for the characters involved.

All three of the books end with optimism about the necessity of being actively involved in one's community, and the potential for positive change through cooperation and creative approaches. All provide opportunities for meaningful discussions of such questions as, "What might make you want to get involved to help your community? What abilities and interests do you have that might make you effective? Who is is interested in the same issues? What important things need to be done? Does getting involved result in suffering, for some of the characters in these books? How are they able to go on?"

Educators, librarians, family members, and community activists -- please get to know these books and share them with the young people you know -- Native and not Native! Now and in the near future, the well-being of so many in our communities is going to call for well-informed, inspired, caring, and courageous people of all ages to speak out for themselves and those around them.  We have our work cut out for us, striving to make sure that the arc of the moral universe bends continually toward justice. These three books can help young people decide, if good trouble is needed, how (and whether) they might make it.