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:
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.
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.
