Alexie on Charlie Rose, 1998

Editors Note on Feb 25, 2018: Please see my apology about promoting Alexie's work. --Debbie

Knowing teachers spend a fair amount of time developing background to teach certain novels, I'm providing this interview of Sherman Alexie. He was on Charlie Rose, 1998, talking about his then-released film SMOKE SIGNALS. If you're going to teach Alexie's book, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, you may consider viewing SMOKE SIGNALS, too. Preview it first, though. Make sure it will fare well in your school's video policy.

Research Study on Effects of Subtle Discrimination

Yesterday, a comment was submitted to "Jan Brett and Sherman Alexie" posted here on December 31, 2007. In that post, I compared Brett's The Three Snow Bears to Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Both were on the New York Times best seller list. Brett's book objectifies and dehumanizes American Indians; Alexie's book does not. In his book, readers come to know the life of a Native teen, with its ups and downs, its richness and its hardships. Beautiful, brutual, honest.

Teresa (the person who submitted the comment yesterday) did not like the critique of Brett's book. Here's what she said:

You mention, "in The Three Snow Bears, we have another book in which an author/illustrator puts Native clothing on animals, effectively de-humanizing American Indians." Animals and cartoon characters are constantly pictured in clothing worn by Americans of all races. I don't feel dehumanized by animals in children's books wearing jeans and t-shirts. Nor do I think you would even blink if you saw a book in which animals were dressed in traditional European, African, or Asian clothing. I'm a big fan of Sherman Alexie's books and also of Jan Brett's beautiful illustrations. Your over-sensitivity loses me here.

Her comments reflect how difficult it is to recognize subtle forms of racism. I hasten to say that I don't think Teresa is racist. She is not able to see what I am trying to help her see, but that does not mean she is racist.

This morning in ScienceDaily I read an article about a study on subtle discrimination that may help understand why it is hard for some to see problematic depictions of American Indians as inappropriate or hurtful. The article is called "Racism's Cognitive Toll: Subtle Discrimination is More Taxing on the Brain." It summarizes research done by Jessica Salvatore and J. Nicole Shelton, two psychologists at Princeton. Here's a couple of key excerpts:

The problem is that we have limited cognitive resources, so when we are solving one problem, we have difficulty focusing on another at the same time. Some psychologists reason from this that subtle racism might actually be more, not less, damaging than the plain antipathy of yesterday, sapping more mental energy. Old-fashioned racism--a "No Negroes Allowed" sign, for example--is hateful and hurtful, but it's not vague or confusing. It doesn't require much cognitive work to get it. But if you're the most qualified candidate for a job, and know it, and still don't get the job for some undisclosed reason--that demands some processing.

That last line, about being qualified for a job, points to the research study itself. Participants in the study were either black or white. The researchers created a situation in which participants observed fair and unfair hiring decisions and then took the Stroop test that tests capacity for mental effort. Salvatore and Shelton's research question was to see if experiencing subtle racism interfered with mental capacity:

It did, at least for blacks, and more than the overt racism did. As reported in the September issue of Psychological Science, black volunteers who had witnessed unfair but ambiguous hiring decisions did much less well on the Stroop test, suggesting that they were using all their mental resources to make sense of the unfairness.

Interestingly, white volunteers were more impaired by overt racism than by the more ambiguous discrimination. Salvatore and Shelton figure this is because whites rarely experience any racism; they do not even notice the subtle forms of racism, and are thrown off balance when they are hit over the head by overt acts. Many blacks, by contrast, have developed coping strategies for the most hateful kinds of racism; it's the constant, vague, just-below-the-surface acts of racism that impair performance, day in and day out.

So. Let's go back to Teresa's comment, and let's think about children in classrooms, observing racism in books, classroom materials, etc.

Teresa can't see the problems in Jan Brett's book. It takes work to subtle forms of racism. Again, this is not an attack on Teresa. Her comments are representative of a lot of people (I'd say the majority of people) who resist critiques like those found on this site.

Racism, whether it is overt or subtle, is costing us in ways we may not realize. Research studies like the one by Salvatore and Shelton may help us revisit and rethink our views about books like The Three Snow Bears.

What does this mean for the classroom?

A lot of people argue that we should teach books like Little House on the Prairie because it allows us to talk about attitudes people had "at that time." I think that is a good use of the book, but only with students who are much older. I suggest that book be read in high school and college, not elementary school. And I will also note that the majority of lesson plans on LHOP do not address the racist attitudes in the book.

I do wonder, though, if upon the conclusion of a discussion of LHOP, the Stroop test were given, how the students would fare?

UPDATE, MARCH 31, 2009 - 4:30 CST
Mitali Perkins has an article about race in the April issue of School Library Journal. Anticipating push-back on her article, she blogged about it today, referencing my post. If her article is accessible online, I'll link to it here.

Editors Note on Feb 25, 2018: Please see my apology about promoting Alexie's work. --Debbie

Sherman Alexie's blog

Sherman Alexie, author of a terrific YA book, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, has been writing outstanding fiction for many years, for the grown-ups. Most people would not use his books with teens, but you and should decide for yourself, based on the guidelines of your particular school. (Americans are an odd bunch. Glorify violence. Fear sex.) Do get True Diary for your library. Add it to required reading lists. It is one of my favorite books for young adults.

Alexie is a very engaging speaker, too. Quite funny. Nothing sacred. I've seen him do Bush's swagger, and he did a hilarious "why do you want to use us as mascots?!!! We LOST. YOU BEAT US."

In addition to True Diary, he's got another book out that he's promoting. It's called Flight. He's keeping a blog as he's out on the book tour. Take a look. It's laugh-out-loud reading.

Jan Brett and Sherman Alexie

Editors Note on Feb 25, 2018: Please see my apology about promoting Alexie's work. --Debbie

Update on Sep 30 2023: I (Debbie Reese) no longer recommend Bruchac's work. For details see Is Joseph Bruchac truly Abenaki?

~~~~

Today is December 31, 2007. We’re ending one year and starting another. Looking over the NY Times list of best selling children’s books, I note two books that are on the lists. These two books capture all that is good, and all that is not good, about books by and about American Indians.

On the picture book list is Jan Brett’s The Three Snow Bears. It represents all-that-is-not-good. I would not buy it.

On the chapter books list is Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. It represents all-that-is-good. I recommend it, and I give it as gifts. It is astounding on so many levels.

Before I start this discussion, I want to state clearly that I do not believe Jan Brett (or anyone who likes her new book) is racist or misguided. Mis-informed, or maybe, mis-socialized, mis-educated…. That is the root of the problem.

Both books have been on the best selling list for 14 weeks. As of today The Three Snow Bears is ranked at #4; Absolutely True Diary is ranked at #5.

The accompanying NYT blurb for The Three Snow Bears:
"Aloo-ki and the Three Bears: the Goldilocks tale goes to the Arctic Circle."

The blurb for Absolutely True Diary:
"A boy leaves his reservation for an all-white school."

Jan Brett is not an indigenous person. But like many writers, she has written (and illustrated) a book in which Native imagery figures prominently. A lot of writers retell Native stories, changing values and characters in such a way that the story can no longer be called Native. Pollock disneyfied The Turkey Girl, a story told among the Zuni people. Brett didn’t try to retell a Native story. She told an old favorite classic, and set her story in the Arctic. Her Goldilocks is an Inuit girl she named Aloo-ki.

The book flap for the hardcover copy says that Brett went to the Nunavut Territory in northern Canada, I gather, to climb to the Arctic Circle marker. While there she visited a school and according to the flap (note: authors don’t generally write the material on book flaps), “Jan saw the many intelligent, proud faces that became her inspiration for Aloo-ki.”

Why is “faces” modified with “intelligent” and “proud”? Is it Inuit faces that need these modifiers? Do you see such modifiers about the faces of any-kids in any-school? (I also want to say at this point that Brett's inspiration reminded me of Rinaldi's inspiration when she saw the names of Native kids on gravestones at Carlisle Indian School. Rinaldi was so moved by their names that she used the names, creating characters to go with them.)

The flap also says that she visited a museum where she “marveled at images of Arctic animals in Inuit clothes and felt a door had opened.”

My colleague, Theresa Seidel, addresses problems with the story (and the flaps) in her open letter to Jan Brett. She points out that in The Three Snow Bears, we have another book in which an author/illustrator puts Native clothing on animals, effectively de-humanizing American Indians.

Yes---Beatrix Potter did that in her Peter Rabbit stories, and nobody is making a fuss over that, but there is a difference. 

The humanity of the people Potter’s bunnies represent is not questioned. Those people are recognized as people. Regular people. Not people (like indigenous peoples of the US and Canada) who are adored and romanticized. And, they're not a people who most others think vanished. Some people might put Princess Di on a pedestal and swoon over who she was, and they might swoon over some part of English culture, but they don’t do that to all of the English people. 

In contrast, far too many people think we (American Indians, Inuits, First Nations) no longer exist. We (or rather, some semblance of who we were/are) do, however, make frequent appearances in fiction, as mascots on sports fields, as inspiration for troops whose helicopters and battleships and missile’s named after Native tribes, and on products from tobacco to automobiles to foodstuffs. For too many, we are an idea, not a living, breathing people whose kids go to the same schools as yours do.

Brett had good intentions. She was inspired by the people, their art, their world. And she she wrote and illustrated this book that subtly and directly affirms problematic notions of who we are. It is a beautifully illustrated book. (As a work of low fantasy, we must suspend our disbelief so we buy into the polar bears living as humans do. Look closely, though... The polar bears wear their parkas when they go out, but leave their boots behind.)

Aloo-ki is surprised to come upon “the biggest igloo she had ever seen.” That’s worth a challenge, because it suggests that Aloo-ki is accustomed to seeing smaller igloos. Problem is, most people think that igloos are cute dwellings, about the size of dog houses. They’re actually quite large. If you saw the film, Atanarjuat (Fast Runner), you saw just how big igloos are. (Go to the movie’s website and view the galleries http://www.atanarjuat.com/galleries/movie.php).

In sum, Brett’s book is pretty to look at, a trinket, a decoration, but Native peoples are not trinkets or decorations. 

Turning now, to Alexie’s book…

Alexie is Spokane. He grew up on his reservation. His book is largely autobiographical. It is HIS story, his LIVED story, that he gives us in Absolutely True Diary. He doesn’t retell a traditional story. He gives us a story of a modern day Native boy, living life in these times, not some far-off, exotic place, distant in time and location. His story is note cute or charming. It is gritty.

We can agree that children who read picture books have different needs than those who read chapter books. But it IS possible to write picture books about present day Native kids. Native authors who’ve written precisely this kind of book are Joseph Bruchac, Joy Harjo, and Cynthia Leitich Smith.

Today, Diane Chen (a blogger at School Libray Journal) wrote about the need for discussion and growth, so that the children’s book world (and American society) can move beyond the place we are STILL at, where problematic books about American Indians are written, published, favorably reviewed, bought, and read by kids across the country.

We can do better, but the Jan Brett’s and their editors, their publishers, and reviewers, teachers, librarians, parents, booksellers, all have to listen to our concerns. This is not, from my point of view, an issue of racism. It is an issue of not-knowing, and being unwilling to admit errors.

With a new year upon us, can we give it a try?

.

Some thoughts on YA lit and American Indians

Eds note, April 3, 2015: This post inspired one that focuses on picture books. I'm pasting it at the end of this one. 
_____________________________________

February 6, 2014

Earlier today I spoke with Ashley Strickland, a reporter from CNN, about young adult literature and American Indians. For that conversation, I pored over notes, books, articles, essays... trying to form some coherent thoughts on young adult literature and American Indians. Today's blog post is what I developed as I prepared for talking with her.

A few days ago, CBC News (CBC is the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) ran a story titled "What It Takes for Aboriginal People to Make the News." The reporter, Duncan McCue, is Anishinaabe of the Chippewas of Georgina Island in Ontario, Canada. He opened his article with this:

An elder once told me the only way an Indian would make it on the news is if he or she were one of the 4Ds: drumming, dancing, drunk or dead.

Skeptical of that thought, McCue did an analysis of news stories and found the elder's comment to be accurate. As I read his article, I thought about children's and young adult literature and the many books I've reviewed here on AICL that have those very things.

Two examples? Fichera's Hooked (Harlequin Teen, 2013) and Cooper's Ghost Hawk (Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2013). Both have all of the 4Ds, but they also have another tired cliche: in their stories, White characters come to the rescue, saving the lives of key Native characters.  

At first glance, those four Ds aren't problematic. Native people drum. We dance. We have members of our nations that struggle with alcohol, and of course, we're human beings. We die, too. Those four D's are part of our lives, but too many authors sprinkle those Ds in their stories, decorating the story they tell, as if such decoration makes it a story about Native people. Those books get published because, for the most part, publishers want books that will sell. While those Ds are easily sold and easily consumed, stories like that aren't good for what-you-know about Indigenous people.

There are, of course, some excellent books out there! If you find one of the four Ds in these stories, it will have the context and depth necessary for that D to be a meaningful part of the story. Here's seven of my favorite books.

Eric Gansworth's If I Ever Get Out of Here (Scholastic, 2013) is amongst YALSA's 2014 list of Best Fiction for Young Adults. Set in 1975, the main character is a 7th grader named Lewis. He lives on the Tuscarora Reservation and is making his way through school. Author Cynthia Leitich Smith (I discuss her next) read and aptly described Gansworth's novel as "A heart-healing, mocs-on-the-ground story of music, family and friendship."

Upon the publication of her Rain Is Not My Indian Name (HarperCollins, 2001), Leitich Smith was selected as Writer of the Year, in the children's category, by the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers. Cassidy Rain, the protagonist is of mixed ancestry but is a citizen of the Creek Nation. As you can see from the cover, she's into photography. But she's also into Star Trek! Having raised a daughter interested in photography and Star Trek (and Star Wars), this is precisely the kind of book I'd hand to her.

Debby Edwardson is not Native, but she's been married to an Inupiaq man for a long time and knows what she's doing. Her book, My Name Is Not Easy (Marshall Cavendish, 2011) was a nominee for the prestigious National Book Award. Primarily set in the 1960s boarding schools, it is the story of Luke, an Inupiaq teen in high school. As Edwardson notes in the book, Luke is based on her husband and his experiences.

Two of the novels I'm recommending are ones written for adults but that could easily be eligible for ALA's Alex Award ("books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18").

In Louise Erdrich's The Round House (Harper Perennial, 2013), the protagonist in Erdrich's novel is Joe, an Ojibwe man who tells us a painful account. When he was 13, his mother was raped. At the core of Erdrich's story are the foundations of who we are as Indigenous peoples who persevere in the face of waves of adversity.

Tim Tingle's House of Purple Cedar (Cinco Puntos Press, 2014) opens with Rose, a Choctaw girl in Oklahoma in the late 1800s, remembering when a boarding school for girls was set afire, killing Choctaw girls inside. The evil that lit that fire is personified in the sheriff, and the spirit and confidence in justice propels Rose and her community forward.

Two of the books are by writers who are First Nations. The success of their books extends into other forms of media.

Richard Van Camp's The Lesser Blessed (Douglas & McIntyre, 1996) has been turned into a feature film. The story is about Larry, a 16-year old Dogrib who, with the help of Jed--his mother's boyfriend--and the stories he shares with Larry, makes it through some very dark spaces. There is breathtaking brutality, and brilliance, too, in Van Camp's stories.

Drew Hayden Taylor's The Night Wanderer (Annick Press, 2007) is a contemporary story with a twist. There is a vampire in it. How that character became a vampire in the first place is gripping, but so is his plan to get home to his reserve in Canada. Taylor's protagonist is a 16 year old girl. Taylor's writing had me reluctant to glance out my windows at night! The Night Wanderer is now available as a graphic novel.

Now--I imagine some of you are wondering why I don't have The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian in my list of favorites. The main reason is that you already know about it but remember:

Alexie's book is only one of many. 

It can't be the single story 

you know about Indigenous people. 

Single stories, as Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie says, are dangerous.

Alexie gave us a story. One story that he's said is based on his own childhood. His is a particular kind of story, too, that won't appeal to every reader. We need books about young adults who are from other reservations and nations, too. There are over 500 federally recognized tribal nations! Within them, some of us are living on the reservation, and some of us are in urban areas and cities. We dance, and we drum, and some of us sing our traditional songs, but some of us like rock and roll, too. It doesn't make us any less Native. We are who we are.

Don't let Alexie's book be the only one you read and recommend.

________________________________________
Eds note: The following content is from a stand-alone post on April 3, 2015.

Why you should teach two books by Native writers from different Native Nations at the same time

Earlier today on Facebook, I shared a post I wrote last year about not letting a single book (Alexie's Diary) be the only book about American Indians that you read or recommend. In that post, I talked about young adults books. In an ensuing conversation, Joe Sutliff Sanders, an Associate Professor at Kansas State University, told me that when he taught Alexie's book and Gansworth's If I Ever Get Out of Here at the same time,

...the conversation had to turn to explicating the differences between the books, and we had to stop saying "Indian" and start saying "Spokane" and "Onondaga." In fact, we had to start talking about poverty with a lot more nuance, too. 

Here on AICL, I talk about the importance of naming a specific nation (and of course, accurately portraying that nation), but the classroom experience Dr. Sanders shared is so powerful that I asked him if I could share it. Obviously, he said yes. Thanks, Joe!

Let's bring that idea to the picture book category. We could identify similar pairings that would push students to stop saying Indian.

In the picture book category, you could assign/read Cynthia Leitich Smith's Jingle Dancer along with Carol Lindstrom's Girls Dance Boys Fiddle. Instead of saying "Indian" you and students will be saying Creek and Metis. Both feature girls and are set in the present day.

Or, you could use picture books set in the past, by assigning Tim Tingle's Saltypie and Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve's The Christmas Coat. Instead of saying "Indian" you'd say Choctaw and Lakota.

There are lots of possibilities! I gotta head out for now. I may come back with more pairings. I like this idea a lot.

Christians and Indians: Comenius and Alexie

Over on the email discussion list for YALSA-BK (an ALA listserv for people who work with young adult literature), there is a discussion going on about Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.

Specifically, the discussion is about Alexie's inclusion of masturbation. I gather that librarians in Christian-based schools are considering not ordering the book. Most of the discussion suggests that the librarians in those schools should let kids make their own decisions. Masturbation is a very real part of teen life.

I don't think it is a Christian versus American Indian situation. I do think we're past that.

There was a time, though, way back when (and maybe not so way-back), Christians called us pagans and heathens with no morals... Take, for example, Orbis Pictus.



Back in 1657, John Amos Comenius wrote Orbis Pictus, an encyclopedic picture book for children that is now commonly identified as the first picture book for children. The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) established a nonfiction book award, and named it the Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children.

Comenius was, according to The Oxford Encyclopedia of Children's Literature, a Czech educational reformer, a Protestant minister.

In his book, Comenius includes a section about religion. Therein he says

The Indians, 10. even at this day, worship the Devil, 11.

The numeral 10 refers to the illustration, shown here, that accompanies this section. It corresponds to a figure meant to be an Indian. Likewise, the numeral 11 corresponds to a figure meant to be the Devil.

The illustration of the Gentiles is in two parts. The larger of the two is an indoor setting. It looks like a gallery of statues, each one in its own arched enclosure. The smaller illustration is set outside. I draw your eye to the figures on the right side of the smaller illustration. To the building with a shingled, pitched roof, in front of which sits the devil. The Indian is on his knees in front of the devil. The devil's right arm is raised over the Indians head, and its left arm is touching the Indians shoulder.

Here, in Comenius's words is the text that begins on page 185 of the book published in 1887 (viewed at Amazon using the "search inside" option):

Hence are divers Religions
whereof IV. are reckoned
yet as the chief.

Gentilism.

The Gentiles feigned
to themselves near upon
XIIM. Deities.

The chief of them were

Jupiter, 1. President, and
petty-God of Heaven;

Neptune, 2. of the Sea;

Pluto, 3. of Hell;

Mars, 4. of War;

Apollo, 5. of Arts;

Mercury, 6. of Thieves,
Merchants,
and Eloquence;

Vulcan, (Mulciber)
of Fire and Smiths;

Aeolus, of Winds;

and the most obscene of
all the rest, Priapus.

They had also
Womanly Deities:
such as were Venus, 7.
the Goddess of Loves,
and Pleasures, with
her little son Cupid, 8.

Minerva (Pallas), with
the nine Muses of Arts;

Juno, of Riches and Wed-
dings; Vesta, of Chastity;

Ceres, of Corn;

Diana, of Hunting,
and Fortune;

and besides these Morbona,
and Febris her self.

The Egyptians,
instead of God
worshipped all sorts
of Beasts and Plants,
and whatsoever they saw
first in the morning.

The Philistines offered
to Moloch, 9. their Children
to be burnt alive,

The Indians, 10. even to
this day, worship the
Devil, 11.

I said, above in parens, "maybe not so way-back" because there are still plenty of Christian missionaries out there, moving amongst Native people on the reservations, trying to get them to church.

When I was in first grade, I think, I went to catechism, memorized prayers, and made my "First Holy Communion." Course, in the summer, we'd all pile into the very cool VW bug and bus driven by the Baptist folks who took us to summer day camp. I don't recall it being called Bible School, but that is what it was. I loved it. I don't recall learning prayers or teachings from the Bible. What I loved was the crafts we did. Those plaster of paris items that we'd paint... Were they of Jesus? Mary? I don't recall. It was the activity itself that I remember. I had a good time. In contrast, I hated catechism. I really liked the watch I got as a present when I did the "First Holy Communion." It was a Cinderella watch, sold on a ceramic Cinderella figurine. That figurine, and those plaster casts.... I can almost feel their cool smooth surfaces. But am I a Christian? No.

This post is a bit meandering... What is swimming through my thoughts are Christian perceptions of what is good, what is right. In Alexie's book, fear of sex. In Comenius and in my childhood, a perceived need to Christianize us, to stop our ways of worship.

As someone who studies and writes about images of Indians in children's books, Comenius is an important work to note and think about. If his book is the first book for children, then his image of an Indian is the first non-Native produced image of an Indian in a book for children. As such it stands as a book-end of sorts that I will be thinking of as I continue my research.
.

NATIVE WRITERS: VOICES OF POWER, by Kim Sigafus and Lyle Ernst

Editors note on Oct 2, 2018: This volume includes Joseph Boyden, a writer whose claim to Native identity has been challenged. When that news broke, I wrote about it at Dear Teachers: Do you teach Joseph Boyden's THREE DAY ROAD?  It also includes Sherman Alexie, who has been accused of inappropriate behaviors that led the American Indian Library Association to withdraw its award to him for his ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART TIME INDIAN. For information, see An Open Letter about Sherman Alexie. 

_____

Native Writers: Voices of Power by Kim Sagafus and Lyle Ernest is part of the Native Trailblazers Series published by 7th Generation Native Voices. Here's the cover:

And here's an excerpt from the Introduction that I do not remember seeing before in a book meant for young readers:

There have been entirely too many falsehoods and myths written about the Native people of the United States and Canada. The depiction of Native people depends entirely on the writer's perspective. For example, a 1704 French and Indian raid on colonial settlers in the village of Deerfield, Massachusetts, was described as a massacre, whereas the annihilation of a village of sleeping Cheyenne Indians in 1864 was celebrated as a victory over "hostiles." Both are examples of the European American historical perspective, which has also been prevalent in movies, making Hollywood one of the biggest sources of distorted facts and stereotypes about Indians.

Teachers and librarians who use this book to do author studies... make sure you spend time with that intro! If you're into contests, challenges, or research investigations, you might ask students to look for examples of biased language.

Those of you familiar with Louise Erdrich and Sherman Alexie will recognize their photos on the cover. There is a chapter for both of them. I'm sure you've got their books, but you ought to have books by the other others, too. They are:

Joseph Boyden, Ojibwe (see editors note at the top of this page)

N. Scott Momaday, Kiowa and Cherokee

Marilyn Dumont, Cree and Metis

Tomson Highway, Cree

Joseph Bruchac, Abenaki

Maria Campbell, Metis

Nicola Campbell, Interior Salish of Nle7Kepmx and Msilx/Metis

Tim Tingle, Choctaw

For each author, there's several pages of biographical information, followed by a list of "Selected Works" and Awards. The works range from children's books to those for adult readers, but the audience isn't included, so you'll want to make sure you do a bit of research before ordering to make sure the book will work for your classroom or library. Though Native Writers is what is called "a slim volume" (just over 90 pages), it is packed with info. I highly recommend it, but don't assume it is complete...  To the authors it includes, I'd add Cynthia Leitich Smith and Richard Van Camp. Both are at the very top of my lists.

Order it directly from 7th Generation.

Australian cover for ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART TIME INDIAN

Editors Note on Feb 25, 2018: Please see my apology about promoting Alexie's work. --Debbie



This is the Australian cover for Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian! Wow! It does what Scott Andrews suggested yesterday in his comment to my post about the original cover and one created by a teen reader.

This cover-conversation started on the yalsa-bk listserv when Joy shared the cover the teen created. This morning (reading the yalsa-bk discussion via digest), I read Lucy's email with the Australian cover. She said that basketball isn't big in Australia, so, she didn't think a cover with a basketball would work there.

Doing a search in Google images, it looks like this cover is also the one used in New Zealand. I'm wondering if it is available anywhere in the U.S.?

Notice, too, the comment from Neil Gaiman? It says "I have no doubt that in a year or so it'll be winning awards and being banned."


In my search of covers, I also found a couple of others. This one, with the white background, is the copy I got. It is the cover used on the ARC (advanced reader copy):

This one is for the audio book:

This one, I gather, is the collector's edition. The website with this cover says it is "beautifully designed with a nifty new look that includes a foil-stamped, die-cut slipcase and 4-color interior art." 

And here's a page of that 4-color interior art:

Interesting all around...

__________________________
Update, 7:20 CST, June 9, 2011

I sent out a request, asking colleagues to point me to additional covers. Thanks, Alison in the UK, for these from Amazon!

The editors for this version are Gunthild Porteous-Schwier and Ingrid Becker-Ross.  

 

This one doesn't list editors but there is a colon after the title, followed by "Lekturen Englisch."

I clicked on the look inside option. Inside is an "About the Author" page that is not in the U.S. editions I have on my shelf.  The text in this version is in English, but along the margins are numbers that function like footnotes to notes included at the bottom of the page.  The author's note says that Alexie was "often teased and bullied by other children on the reservation." At the bottom is a note that says:

to tease and bully hanseln, tyrannisieren

I think that language is Dutch.

I'll add other titles as I learn of them. 

_______________________________

Update, 5:38 AM CST, June 10, 2011

Melanie in the UK pointed me to the French cover. See the shadow image on the wall? See the feather? Suggesting his Native identity is a shadow...  It would be fascinating to collect the thoughts and decision making process of the individuals who created the new covers.

John in Illinois suggested a search of Amazon UK. I did so, and found this one. No accompanying info on language, editors, etc... [Update: 6:26 AM CST, June 10. Sarah on child_lit says the language is Japanese.]

Mary in North Carolina pointed me to another cover for the audio book:

Using WorldCat, I found the Spanish version:

I think this is German (please let me know if I'm wrong):

Here's a book talk of Das Absolut:

_______________________________

Update: 9:08 AM CST, June 13, 2011

Malin in Sweden wrote to point me to the cover used on the Swedish translation:

Cammie submitted a comment (below in comments) directing me to another cover for the French translation:

Teen-created cover for Alexie's PART-TIME INDIAN

Editors Note on Feb 25, 2018: Please see my apology about promoting Alexie's work. --Debbie

On the yalsa-bk listserv, a librarian in California wrote that some books are a hard sell to students because they have unattractive covers. Her example is Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian. Here's the cover:

I love the cover. For me, it reflects the narrow way that a lot of Americans see American Indians. Not as people, but as toys in a cowboy and Indian context.  But I am a Pueblo Indian woman. My perspective is different from, say, the students in Joy's library.  One of her students created a new cover for the book. Here's the cover, available at Joy's wiki:

Cassie (another subscriber) says the book cover is great because the basketball and the geometry book speak directly to a teen reader, and that the necklace on the book "adds a touch of the unknown."

It would be interesting to find out which cover appeals to whom. I'm definitely going to ask my nephews on the reservation to tell me which one they'd pick up first... I'll let you know what they say.

What do you think? Which one do you prefer? Which one do you think teens would prefer?
__________

Update, 11:44 AM CST, June 8, 2011
Below are comments I receive on my facebook posts, and, by private email:

Martina, Dine (Navajo) said her teens picked up the book on their own last summer. The cover didn't turn them away. Their actions suggest they were drawn to the book because of the cover.

Susan in Oklahoma works with Creek, Euchee, and white students in their Summer Reading Program. She asked the group and says that they "all liked the original cover best."

Anyone in TUSD teaching from RETHINKING COLUMBUS?

Bill Bigelow and Bob Peterson's edited volume, Rethinking Columbus, was being used in the Tucson Unified School District a year ago, but was subsequently removed from the classrooms when the district shut down its Mexican American Studies classes.

Rethinking Columbus is an outstanding book, offering readers the opportunity to develop and apply critical thinking skills to events--like Columbus Day--that carry bias in favor of one viewpoint, at the expense of the viewpoint and perspective of others.

When Rethinking Columbus was removed from the classrooms in Tucson, essays and poems by Native writers were also removed. Their essays and poems are in Rethinking Columbus. Among them are:

• Suzan Shown Harjo, who wrote "We Have No Reason to Celebrate"
• Buffy Sainte-Marie, who wrote "My Country, 'Tis of Thy People You're Dying"
• Joseph Bruchac, who wrote "A Friend of the Indians"
• Cornel Pewewardy, who wrote "A Barbie-Doll Pocahontas"
• N. Scott Momaday, who wrote "The Delight Song of Tsoai-Talee"
• Michael Dorris, who wrote "Why I'm Not Thankful for Thanksgiving"
• Leslie Marmon, who wrote "Ceremony"
• Wendy Rose, who wrote "Three Thousand Dollar Death Song"
• Winona LaDuke, who wrote "To the Women of the World: Our Future, Our Responsibility"

In addition to Rethinking Columbus and the Alexie and Zepeda books, over 50 other books were removed.

......................................................................

When you remove a class, you remove its 

syllabus and everything on it. 

......................................................................

As TUSD administrators moved forward in shutting down the Mexican American Studies courses, they prevented students from reading Sherman Alexie's Ten Little Indians and The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, and Ofelia Zepeda's Ocean Power. 

The teachers who taught in the program were reassigned and no longer called Mexican American Studies teachers. As they created new syllabi, they were also told they could not teach from a Mexican American Studies perspective.

But, I wonder...  Are teachers who were not previously teaching in the Mexican American Studies classes teaching Rethinking Columbus this year? Or Alexie? Or Zepeda?

Time Magazine's Almost All White list of 100 BEST YOUNG ADULT BOOKS OF ALL TIME

Let's take a look at Time Magazine's list of 100 best young adult books of all time. Here's how they compiled that list (adding this info a couple of hours after I loaded this post):

To honor the best books for young adults and children, TIME compiled this survey in consultation with respected peers such as U.S. Children’s Poet Laureate Ken Nesbitt, children’s-book historian Leonard Marcus, the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature, the Young Readers Center at the Library of Congress, the Every Child a Reader literacy foundation and 10 independent booksellers. 

Ninety-one are by white authors. Nine are by authors of color. Two of the nine authors of color have two books on the list (Myers and Yang):

• Sherman Alexie
• Isabel Allende
• Walter Dean Myers
• Marilyn Nelson
• Pam Munoz Ryan
• Mildred D. Taylor
• Gene Luen Yang 

With only seven authors of color on the list, I think it is fair to say that Time Magazine has put together an Almost All White list. People who study children's books know that my "all white" refers to Nancy Larrick's article from the 1960s, in which she noted that the books in her library were almost all white. Over 50 years ago, she made that observation. We're still there, aren't we? Dismal. Depressing.

Focusing on Native depictions in the books, there's one book on it that doesn't reduce Native people to caricatures or stereotypes (Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian). It stands alone.  Several books on Time's list have problematic content regarding Native people:

• Alcott's Little Women (character doing "Indian war whoop" and passage about "Indian in full war costume)
• Anderson's Tiger Lily (see review)
• Block's Weetzie Bat (see review)
• Fitzhugh's Harriet the Spy (when Ole Golly blushes, the text reads that she looked "exactly like a hawk-nosed Indian)
• Green's The Fault in Our Stars (see review)
• Meyer's Twilight (see review)
• Paterson's Bridge to Terabithia (characters go to museum to see dinosaurs and Indians; diorama of Indians hunting buffalo is "three dimensional nightmare version of some of his own drawings)
• Speare's The Witch of Blackbird Pond (talk of fighting Indians and wolves)
• Twain's Huckleberry Finn (see review)
• Wilder's Little House on the Prairie (see reviews)

Next time you weed books in your library, consider replacing some of those books (above) with some excellent books by/about Native people. This page of Best Books includes ones that I recommend, and ones that have won the American Indian Library Association's book awards.

For your convenience, here's Time's list of young adult books, and here's my analysis of their top 100 children's books.

Alcott, Louisa May. Little Women
Alexie, Sherman. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian 
Allende, Isabel. City of the Beasts
Alexander, Lloyd. The Book of Three
Alexander, Lloyd. The Chronicles of Prydain
Anderson, Jodi Lynn. Tiger Lily
Anderson, Laurie Halse. Speak
Anderson, M.T. Feed
Baum, L. Frank. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Block, Francesca Lia. Dangerous Angels (the Weetzie Bat Books)
Blume, Judy. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret
Bosch, Pseudonymous. Secret (series)
Bradbury, Ray. The Illustrated Man
Bradley, Kimberly Brubaker. For Freedom: The Story of a French Spy
Carroll, Lewis. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Castellucci, Cecil. Boy Proof
Cleary, Beverly. Beezus and Ramona
Clements, Andrew. Frindle
Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games
Cooper, Susan. The Grey King
Cormier, Robert. The Chocolate War
Crutcher, Chris. Whale Talk
Dahl, Roald. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Dahl, Roald. Danny the Champion of the World
Dahl, Roald. Matilda
DiCamillo, Kate. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
DiCamillo, Kate. The Tiger Riding
Donnelly, Jennifer. A Northern Light
Fitzhugh, Louise. Harriet the Spy
Forbes, Esther. Johnny Tremain: A Story of Boston in Revolt
Frank, Anne. The Diary of a Young Girl
Funke, Cornelia. The Thief Lord
Gaiman, Neil. The Graveyard Book
Green, John. The Fault in Our Stars
Green, John. Looking for Alaska
Golding, William. Lord of the Flies
Goldman, William. The Princess Bride
Grahame, Kenneth. The Wind in the Willows
Haddon, Mark. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Hardinge, Frances. The Lost Conspiracy
Hinton, S. E. The Outsiders
Hughes, Richard. A High Wind in Jamaica
Jones, Diana Wynne. Dogsbody
Juster, Norton. The Phantom Tollbooth
Key, Watt. Alabama Moon
Knowles, John. A Separate Peace
Konigsburg, E. L. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
LeGuin, Ursula. A Wizard of Earthsea
Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird
L'Engle, Madeleine. A Wrinkle in Time
Leviathan, David. Every Day
Lewis, C.S. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
London, Jack. The Call of the Wild
Lowry, Lois. The Giver
Lowry, Lois. Number the Stars
McKay, Hilary. Saffy's Angel
Meyer, Stephanie. Twilight
Montgomery, L. M. Anne of Green Gables
Morpurgo, Michael. Private Peaceful
Myers, Walter Dean. Fallen Angels
Myers, Walter Dean. Monster
Nelson, Marilyn. A Wreath for Emmett Till 
Ness, Patrick. The Knife of Never Letting Go
Ness, Patrick. A Monster Calls
Nix, Garth. Sabriel
O'Brien, Robert C. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh
Palacio, R. J. Wonder
Paterson, Katherine. Bridge to Terabithia
Paterson, Katherine. Jacob Have I Loved
Paulsen, Gary. Hatchet
Poe, Edgar Allan. Tales of Mystery and Imagination
Pullman, Phillip. The Golden Compass
Pullman, Philip. His Dark Materials
Raskin, Ellen. The Westing Game
Rawlings, Marjorie Kinnan. The Yearling
Riordan, Rick. The Lightning Thief
Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter (series)
Ryan, Pam Munoz. Esperanza Rising
Sachar, Louis. Holes
Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye
Scott, Michael. The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel
Selznick, Brian. The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sis, Peter. The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain
Snicket, Lemony. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning
Speare, Elizabeth George. The Witch of Blackbird Pon
Stead, Rebecca. When You Reach Me
Stewart, Trenton Lee. The Mysterious Benedict Society
Taylor, Mildred D. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Thompson, Craig. Blankets
Tolkien, J.R.R. The Hobbit
Tolkein, J.R.R. The Lord of the Rings
Travers, P. L. Mary Poppins
Twain, Mark. Huckleberry Finn
Whaley, John Corey. Where Things Come Back
White, E.B. Charlotte's Web
White, T. H. The Sword in the Stone
Wilder, Laura Ingalls. Little House on the Prairie
Yang, Gene Luen. American Born Chinese
Yang, Gene Luen. Boxers and Saints
Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief

Recommended Children's/YA/Reference/Resource Books

Items selected in the early 2000s by Debbie Reese, Assistant Professor, American Indian Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Jean Mendoza, Assistant Professor in Early Childhood Education, Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois (Last Update: Sep 2017. Our views have shifted since the list was created. See recent Best Books.) 

Note: There are three sections here. Scroll down to find each one.  

Section 1: A Sampling of Recommended Children's and Young Adult Books about American Indians

Section 2: Books and Articles about American Indians in Children's Literature

Section 3: Books about American Indian Culture

Section 1: A Sampling of Recommended Children's and Young Adult Books about American Indians 

PIC – Picture book; RF – Realistic Fiction; HF – Historical Fiction; NF – Nonfiction; P – Poetry; TL – Traditional Literature; B – Biography; AB – Autobiography; E – Elem.; M – Middle School; YA – Young Adult

Alexie, Sherman. (1994) Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight In Heaven. New York: Harperperennial. (RF - YA)

Alexie, Sherman (2007) The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. NY: Little Brown. (RF-YA)

Allen, Paula Gunn. (2001) As Long As the Rivers Flow: The Stories of Nine Native Americans. New York: Scholastic (B – E/M)

Ancona, George. (1993) Powwow. San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. (Photo essay/NF – All ages)

Ancona, George. (1995). Earth Daughter: Alicia of Acoma Pueblo. Macmillan. (Photo essay/NF – All ages)

Andrews, Jan. (1998). Very Last First Time. Aladdin (PIC/RF – All ages).

Archuleta, Margaret L., Brenda J. Child, and K. Tsianina Lomawaima. (2000) Away from Home: American Indian Boarding School Experiences. Phoenix: The Heard Museum. (NF – YA)

Begay, Shonto (1995) Navajo: Visions and Voices Across the Mesa. New York: Scholastic (P – All ages)

Blacksheep, Beverly [illustrator] (2003). Baby Learns About Animals. Flagstaff, AZ : Salina Bookshelf (PIC/Board book for toddlers)

Blacksheep, Beverly [illustrator] (2003). Baby’s First Laugh Flagstaff, AZ : Salina Bookshelf (PIC/Board book for toddlers)

Blacksheep, Beverly [illustrator] (2003). Baby Learns to Count, Flagstaff, AZ : Salina Bookshelf (PIC/Board book for toddlers)

Blacksheep, Beverly [illustrator] (2003). Baby Learns about Colors, Flagstaff, AZ: Salina Bookshelf (PIC/Board book for toddlers)

Braine, Susan. (1995). Drumbeat…Heartbeat: A Celebration of the Powwow. Lerner Pub. (Photo essay/NF – All ages)

Broker, Ignatia. (1983) Night Flying Woman. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society. (HF - YA)

Note from Debbie Reese on Sep 30, 2023: I no longer recommend Joseph Bruchac's work. For details, see Is Joseph Bruchac truly Abenaki?

Bruchac, Joseph (2004) Hidden Roots, New York: Scholastic. (RF – M)

Bruchac, Joseph. (1993). Fox Song. Philomel Books (PIC/RF – E/M).

Bruchac, Joseph. (1995). The Story of the Milky Way. Dial Books for Young Readers (PIC/TL – All ages).

Bruchac, Joseph. (1996). Eagle Song. Dial (PIC/RF – E/M).

Bruchac, Joseph. (1998) Arrow Over the Door. New York: Dial. (HF - E/M)

Bruchac, Joseph. (1997) Bowman’s Store. New York: Dial. (Autobiography - M/YA)

Bruchac, Joseph. (1996) Children of the Longhouse. New York: Dial. (HF - E/M)

Bruchac, Joseph. (1998). Heart of a Chief. Dial (RF - M).

Bruchac, Joseph. (2001) Skeleton Man. HarperCollins. (RF – M/YA)

Campbell, Maria. (1973) Halfbreed. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press (RF - M/YA)

Campbell, Nicola. (2006) Shi-shi-etko, NY: Groundwood. (PIC – All Ages)

Carlson, Lori Marie [ed.] (2005). Moccasin Thunder. NY: Harper Collins. (RF - YA) Short stories by Harjo, Hogan, Alexie, Smith.

Champagne, Duane. (1994) Chronology of Native North American History. Detroit: Gale Research (NF – All ages)

Champagne, Duane. (1994) Native America: Portrait of the Peoples. Detroit: Visible Ink Press. (NF – All ages)

Child, Brenda. (2000). Boarding School Seasons: American Indian Families, 1900-1940. Bison Books Corporation. (NF – All ages)

Children of LaLoche & Friends. (1990). Byron through the Seasons. Fifth House Ltd. (PIC/RF – E/M).

Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, (2005), Lincoln: U of Nebraska Press. (PIC/TL – All ages)

Crum, Robert. (1994). Eagle Drum: On the Powwow Trail with a Young Grass Dancer. Simon & Schuster. (Photo essay/NF – All ages)

De Montano, Marty Kreipe (1998) Coyote in Love with a Star. New York: Abbeville Press. (PIC/TL – All ages)

Deloria, Ella. (1988) Waterlily. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. (HF - M/YA).

Deloria, Vine. (1969). Custer Died For Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto. New York: MacMillan. (NF – M/YA)

Dorris, Michael. (1994) Guests. New York: Scholastic (HF - E/M)

Dorris, Michael (1992) Morning Girl. New York: Scholastic (HF - E/M).

Dorris, Michael. (1996). Sees Behind Trees. New York: Scholastic (HF - E/M)

Dorris, Michael. (1998). The Window. Hyperion (RF – M/YA).

Earling, Debra Magpie. (2002). Perma Red. Blue Hen Books. (RF-YA).

Eastman, Charles. (1977) From the Deep Woods to Civilization. University of Nebraska Press. (AB – M/YA)

Eastman, Charles (1993) Indian Boyhood. Alexander, VA: Time Life Books. (AB - M/YA)

Ellis, Clyde. (1996). To Change Them Forever: Indian Education at the Rainy Mountain Boarding School, 1893-1920. University of Oklahoma Press. (NF – M/YA)

Erdrich, Louise. (1999). Grandmother's Pigeon. Hyperion (PIC/RF - E).

Erdrich, Louise. (1999). Birchbark House. New York: Hyperion. (HF - E/M)

Erdrich, Louise. (2005) Game of Silence. New York: HarperCollins (HF – E/M)

Eyvindson, Peter. (1984). Kyle’s Bath. Pemmican Publications (PIC/RF - E).

Eyvindson, Peter. (1988). Chester Bear, Where Are You? Pemmican Publications (PIC/RF - E).

Gravelle, Karen. (1997). Growing Up Where the Partridge Drums Its Wings. Franklin Watts. (Photo essay/NF – All ages)

Francis, Lee. (1996). Native Time: A Historical Time Line of Native America. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin. (NF – All ages)

Geiogamah, Hanay & Darby, Jaye T., (1999). Stories of Our Way: An Anthology of American Indian Plays. Los Angeles: UCLA American Indian Studies Center. (Anthology – YA).

Grace, Catherine O’Neill and Bruchac, Margaret. (2001). National Geographic Society. (NF – All ages)

Hale, Janet Campbell. (1993). Bloodlines. Tucson: University of Arizona Press. (RF - YA).

Hale, Janet Campbell. (1998). The Owl’s Song. University of New Mexico Press (RF - YA).

Harjo, Joy. (1996) Woman Who Fell From the Sky. W. W. Norton & Company (P – YA)

Harjo, Joy. (2000). The Good Luck Cat. (PIC/RF - E/M)

Himango, Deanna. (2002). Boozhoo, Come Play With Us. Cloquet, MN: Fond du Lac Head Start Program (available from www.oyate.org). (NF/PIC - Board book for babies and toddlers)

Howe, LeAnne. (2001). Shell Shaker. Aunt Lute Books. (Fiction – YA)

Howe, LeAnne. (2005). Evidence of Red: Prose and Poems. Salt Publishing. (Poetry – YA)

Hubbard, Jim. (1994) Shooting Back from the Reservation. (Photo essay/NF – All ages)

Hucko, Bruce. (1996) A Rainbow At Night: The World in Words and Pictures. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. (NF – All ages)

Hucko, Bruce. (1996). Where There Is No Name for Art: The Art of Tewa Pueblo Children.Santa Fe, N.M.: School of American Research: Distributed by the University of Washington Press. (NF – All ages)

Hungry Wolf, Beverly. (1980). The Ways of My Grandmothers. New York: Quill. (RF - YA)

Hunter, Sally, M. (1997) Four Seasons of Corn: A Winnebago Tradition. Photographs by Joe Allen. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications Co. (Photo essay/NF – All ages)

Hunter, Sara Hoagland. (1996). The Unbreakable Code. Northland (PIC/RF – E/M).

Hyer, Sally. (1990). One House, One Voice, One Heart: Native American Education at the Santa Fe Indian School. Museum of New Mexico Press. (NF – All ages)

Jaakola, Lyz. (2001). Our Journey. Cloquet, MN: Fond du Lac Head Start Program. (RF/PIC - Board book for babies and toddlers)

Johnson, Diane Hamm. (1997). Daughter of Suqua. Albert Whitman & Co. (RF – E/M).

Keeshig-Tobias, Lenore. (1991). Bird Talk. Sister Vision (PIC/RF – E/M).

Keeshig-Tobias, Lenore. (1997). Emma and the Trees. Sister Vision (PIC/RF – E/M).

King, Sandra. Shannon: An Ojibway Dancer. (1993). Photographs by Catherine Whipple. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications Co. (Photo essay/NF – All ages)

King, Thomas. (1993 ) One Good Story That One. Toronto: HarperPerennial. (RF – YA)

King, Thomas. (1991) Medicine River. NY: Penguin. (RF – YA)

King, Thomas. (1992) A Coyote Columbus Story. Toronto: Douglas McIntyre Ltd. (PIC/TL – M/YA)

King, Thomas. (2000) Truth and Bright Water. Atlantic Monthly Press. (RF – YA)

King, Thomas. (2003). The Truth about Stories. Minneapolis: U of Minn Press. (NF – YA)

Krull, Kathleen. (1995). One Nation, Many Tribes: How Kids Live in Milwaukee’s Indian Community. Lodestar. (Photo essay/NF – All ages)

Kusugak, Michael. (1993). Northern Lights: The Soccer Trails. Annick Press Ltd. (PIC/RF – E/M).

Kusugak, Michael. (1996). My Arctic 1, 2, 3. Annick Press Ltd. (PIC/RF - E).

Lacapa, Michael. (1993). Antelope Woman, An Apache Folktale. (PIC/TL – E/M)

Lacapa, Kathleen & Michael. (1994). Less Than Half, More Than Whole. Northland (PIC/RF – E/M).

LaFlesche, Francis. (1963)The Middle Five: Indian Schoolboys of the Omaha Tribe. Lincoln: U of Neb. Press. (NF - M/YA)

Littlechild, George. (1993) This Land is My Land. Children’s Book Press. (PIC/RF – All ages)

Lomawaima, K. Tsianina (1994). They Called It Prairie Light. University of Nebraska Press (NF – M/YA).

Maher, Ramona. (2003). Alice Yazzie’s Year. Berkeley: Tricycle Press. (PIC/RF – E/MA).

Marra, Ben. (1996) Powwow: Images Along the Red Road. Photographs by Ben Marra. New York: Abrams. (Photo essay/NF – All ages)

McDonald, Megan. (1997). Tundra Mouse. Orchard Books (PIC/RF – E/M).

McMillan, Bruce. (1997). Fort Chipewyan Homecoming: A Journey to Native Canada. Lerner Pub. (Photo essay/NF – All ages)

McNickle, D’Arcy. (1978). Wind from an Enemy Sky. HarperCollins. (RF - YA).

McNickle, D’Arcy. (1978). The Surrounded. University of New Mexico Press. (RF - YA).

McNickle, D’Arcy. (1987). Runner in the Sun. University of New Mexico Press. (HF – M/YA).

Mendoza, Durango (1994) “Summer Water and Shirley” in Judith A. Stanford, Ed. Connections: Reading and Writing in Cultural Contexts., Third Edition. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing, pp. 184-191. (Anthology – YA)

Messinger, Carla (2007) When the Shadbush Blooms. (PIC/E-M)

Momaday, N. Scott (1974) An Angle of Geese and Other Poems. Boston: Godine (P – YA)

Momaday, N. Scott (1999) Circle of Wonder. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. (PIC/RF – E/M)

Montour, Joel. (1996). Cloudwalker: Contemporary Native American Stories. Fulcrum (RF - M).

Moore, MariJo. (2000). The Cherokee Little People. Barrington, IL: Rigby. (PIC/TL – E/M).

Moore, Marijo. (2000). The Ice Man. Barrington, IL: Rigby. (PIC/TL – E/M).

Moore, MariJo. (2000). First Fire. Barrington, IL: Rigby. (PIC/TL – E/M).

Munsch, Robert. (1989). A Promise Is a Promise. Annick Press Ltd. (PIC/RF – E/M).

National Museum of the American Indian (2007) Do All Indians Live in Tipis? (NF/EL-YA)

Okanagan Tribal Council (1999) How Food Was Given, How Names Were Given, and How Turtle Set the Animals Free. Okanagan Tribal Council. (TL – All Ages)

Orie, Sandra DeCoteau. (1995) Did You Hear Wind Sing Your Name? An Oneida Song of Spring. NY: Walker & Co. (PIC/P – all ages)

Ortiz, Simon. (1988). The People Shall Continue. Children’s Book Press. (PIC/P - all ages)

Parker, Dorothy R. (1996). Phoenix Indian School: The Second Half Century. University of Arizona Press. (NF – YA)

Peters, Russell. (1992) Clambake: A Wampanoag Tradition. Photographs by John Madama. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications Co., 1992. (Photo essay/NF – All ages)

Quoyawayma, Polingaysi. (1964). No Turning Back. A Hopi Indian Woman’s Struggle to Live in Two Worlds. University of New Mexico Press (AB – M/YA).

Red Shirt, Delphine (1998). Bead on an Anthill: A Lakota Childhood Lincoln: U of Nebraska Press. (NF – YA)

Regguinti, Gordon. (1992) The Sacred Harvest: Ojibway Wild Rice Gathering. Photographs by Dale Kakkak. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications Co., (Photo essay/NF – All ages)

Rendon, Marcie. (1996) Powwow Summer: A Family Celebrates the Circle of Life. Photographs by Cheryl Walsh Bellville. Minneapolis, MN: Carolrhoda Books. (Photo essay/NF – All ages)

Rockwood, Joyce. (1976) To Spoil the Sun. New York: Henry Holt (HF - M/YA) [Eds. note on Sep 11, 2017: I need to revisit this book. Views on books like this have shifted since the list was initially created. For the present time, I do not recommend it.]

Roessel, Monty. (1993) Kinaaldá: A Navajo Girl Grows Up. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications Co. (Photo essay/NF – All ages)

Roessel, Monty. (1995) Songs from the Loom: A Navajo Girl Learns to Weave. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications Co. (Photo essay/NF – All ages).

Roessel, Ruth. (1973). Navajo Stories of the Long Walk Period. Tsaile, AZ: Navajo Community College Press. (NF – YA)

Rose, LaVera. (1999) Grandchildren of the Lakota. Photographs by Cheryl Walsh Bellville. Minneapolis, MN: Carolrhoda Books. (Photo essay/NF – All ages)

Ross, Gayle (1995) How Turtle’s Back Was Cracked: A Traditional Cherokee Tale. New York: Dial (PIC/TL – E/M)

Ross, Gayle (1996) The Legend of the Windigo. New York: Dial (PIC/TL – E/M)

Ruoff, A. Lavonne Brown. (1991) Literatures of the American Indian. New York: Chelsea House (NF – All ages)

Sanderson, Esther. (1990). Two Pairs of Shoes. Pemmican Publications (PIC/RF - E).

Savageau, Cheryl. (1996). Muskrat Will Be Swimming. Northland (PIC/RF – E/M).

Scott, Ann Herbert. (1992). On Mother’s Lap. Clarion (PIC/RF - E).

Sekaquaptewa, Eugene. (1994). Coyote and the Winnowing Birds. Clear Light (PIC/TL – All ages).

Skolnick, Sharon. (1997) Where Courage is Like a Wild Horse. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. (RF - YA)

Smith, Cynthia. (2000). Jingle Dancer. Morrow Junior (PIC/RF – E/M).

Smith, Cynthia (1999). Rain is Not My Indian Name. New York: HarperCollins (RF - E/M)

Smith, Cynthia (2002). Indian Shoes. New York: HarperCollins (RF-E/M)

Sneve, Virginia Driving Hawk (1995). Completing the Circle. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press (Autobiography – YA)

Sneve, Virginia Driving Hawk.(1993). The Chichi Hoohoo Bogeyman. University of Nebraska Press (RF – E/M).

Sneve, Virginia Driving Hawk (1993) The Sioux: A First Americans Book. Holiday House. (NF – All ages).

Sneve, Virginia Driving Hawk. (1993). When Thunders Spoke. University of Nebraska Press (F - E/M).

Sneve, Virginia Driving Hawk, (1994). The Nez Perce: A First Americans Book. Holiday House. (NF – All ages).

Sneve, Viriginia Driving Hawk (1994). The Seminoles: A First Americans Book. Holiday House. (NF – All ages).

Sneve, Virginia Driving Hawk. (1995). High Elk’s Treasure. Holiday House (RF – E/M).

Sneve, Virginia Driving Hawk, (1995) The Hopis: A First Americans Book. Holiday House (NF – All ages)

Sneve, Virginia Driving Hawk, (1995) The Iroquois: A First Americans Book. Holiday House (NF – All ages)

Sneve, Virginia Driving Hawk. (1995) The Navajos: A First Americans Book. Holiday House (NF – All ages)

Sneve, Virginia Driving Hawk (1996). The Cherokees: A First Americans Book. Holiday House. (NF – All ages).

Sneve, Virginia Driving Hawk, (1996) The Cheyennes: A First Americans Book. Holiday House. (NF – All ages).

Sneve, Virginia Driving Hawk, (1997), The Apaches: A First Americans Book. Holiday House. (NF – All ages).

Sneve, Virginia Driving Hawk, (2003), Enduring Wisdom: Sayings from Native Americans. Holiday House (NF – All ages).

Steltzer, Ulli. Building an Igloo. New York: Henry Holt, 1995. (Photo essay/NF – All ages).

Sterling, Shirley. (1997). My Name is Seepeetza. Douglas & McIntyre (RF - M).

Stroud, Virginia. (1994). Doesn’t Fall Off His Horse. Dial Books for Young Readers (PIC/TL – All ages).

Students of G.T. Cunningham Elementary School (1996). We Are All Related: A Celebration of Our Cultural Heritage. (NF- all ages)

Swamp, Jake. (1997) Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message. Lee & Low. (PIC/P - all ages)

Swentzell, Rina. (1992) Children of Clay: A Family of Pueblo Potters, Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications Co., 1992. (Photo essay/NF – all ages)

Talashoema, Herschel; Sekaquaptewa, Emory (Ed.); and Pepper, Barbara (Ed.). (1994). Coyote and Little Turtle. Clear Light. (PIC/TL – All ages).

Tapahonso, Luci (1997). Blue Horses Rush In. Tucson: University of Arizona Press. (P/RF – YA)

Tapahonso, Luci. (1999). Songs of Shiprock Fair. Kiva (PIC/P – All ages).

Thompson, Sheila. (1991). Cheryl’s Potlatch. Yinka Dene Language Institute. (Photo essay/NF – All ages)

Turcotte, Mark. (1995). Songs of Our Ancestors. Chicago: Children’s Press (PIC/P – All ages)

Van Camp, Richard. (1998), The Lesser Blessed. Douglas & McIntyre (RF – YA)

Van Camp, Richard; ill. by George Littlechild, (1997). A Man Called Raven. Children’s Book Press. (PIC/RF – E/M)

Van Camp, Richard; ill. by George Littlechild, (1998). What’s the Most Beautiful Thing you Know about Horses. Children’s Book Press. (PIC/RF – E/M)

Van Camp, Richard. (2007) Welcome Song for Baby. (Board book – All ages).

Velarde, Pablita. (1993) Old Father Storyteller. Santa Fe: Clear Light Publishers. (TL - all ages) – includes “Turkey Girl”

Waboose, Jan Bourdeau. (1998). Morning on the Lake. Kids Can Press (PIC/RF – E/M).

Waboose, Jan Bourdeau (2001). Sky Sisters. (PIC/RF – E/M)

Wallis, Velma. (1993) Two Old Women. New York: HarperPerennial (HF - M/YA)

Walking Turtle, Eagle. (1997). Full Moon Stories. Hyperion (TL – All ages).

Wheeler, Bernelda. (1995). Where Did You Get Your Moccasins? Peguis Publications (PIC/RF - E).

Wheeler, Bernelda. (1993). I Can’t Have Bannock but the Beaver Has a Dam. Peguis Publications (PIC/RF - E).

Whitethorne, Baje. (1994). Sunpainters: Eclipse of the Navajo Sun. Northland (PIC/TL – All ages).

Wittstock, Laura Waterman. (1993). Ininatig's Gift of Sugar: Traditional Native 

Sugarmaking. Photographs by Dale Kakkak. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications Co. (Photo essay/NF – All ages)

Wood, Ted. (1992). A Boy Becomes a Man at Wounded Knee. Walker and Company. (Photo essay/NF – All ages)

Yamane, Linda. (1997) Weaving a California Tradition: A Native American Basket Maker.Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications. (Photo essay/NF – All ages) Photographs by Dugan Aguilar. 

Section Two: Recommended Resources about Native Americans in Children’s Literature

Atleo, M., Caldwell, N., Landis, B., Mendoza, J., Miranda, D., Reese, D., Rose, L., Slapin, B., Smith, C. (1999). A Critical Review of Ann Rinaldi's My Heart is on the Ground: The Diary of Nannie Little Rose, A Sioux Girl. Oyate. http://oyate.org/books-to-avoid/index.html

Caldwell-Wood, Naomi, and Lisa A. Mitten. (1991) “I” Is Not for Indian: The Portrayal of Native Americans in Books for Young People. http://www.nativeculturelinks.com/ailabib.htm

Internet Public Library: Native American Authors. Provides a list of Native American authors, plus a short biography, a list of published works, and links to relevant sites. http://www.ipl.org/div/natam/

Kuipers, Barbara. (1991) American Indian Reference Books for Children and Young Adults. Englewood: Libraries Unlimited.

McCann, D. (1993). Native Americans in Books for the Young. In V. Harris (Ed.) Teaching Multicultural Literature in Grades K-8. Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon Publishers, Inc.

Mendoza, Jean and Reese, Debbie. (2001). Examining Multicultural Picture Books for the Early Childhood Classroom: Possibilities and Pitfalls. Early Childhood Research and Practice 3 (2), On-line: http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v3n2/mendoza.html

Molin, Paulette. (2005). American Indian Themes in Young Adult Literature. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press.

Native American Books. This on-line resource contains critical reviews of children’s books. http://www.kstrom.net/isk/books/bookmenu.html

Reese, Debbie A., & Caldwell-Wood, Naomi. (1997). Native Americans in Children's Literature. In V. J. Harris (Ed.), Using Multiethnic Literature in the K-8 Classroom. Christopher Gordon, Inc.

Reese, Debbie. (2001). Representations of Native American Women and Girls in Children’s Historical Fiction, in Lehr, Susan. (Ed.) Beauty, Brains and Brawn: Construction of Gender in Children’s Literature. Portsmouth: Heinemann.

Reese, Debbie. (1999). Authenticity & Sensitivity: Goals on writing and reviewing books with Native American themes. School Library Journal 45 (11), pp. 36-37. On-line: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA153126.html

Reese, Debbie A. (1998). “Look Mom! It’s George! He’s a TV Indian!” Horn Book Magazine, 74(5), pp. 636-641.

Seale, Doris, and Slapin, Beverly. (2006). A Broken Flute: The Native Experience in Books for Children. AltaMira Press.

Slapin, Beverly, and Seale, Doris. (1998). Through Indian Eyes: The Native Experience in Books for Children. University of California, American Indian Studies Center.

Smith, Cynthia L. Native American Themes in Books for Children and Teens. Start exploring Smith’s site with this page: http://cynthialeitichsmith.com/lit_resources/diversity/native_am/NativeThemes_intro.html

Smithsonian Institution. A Critical Bibliography on North American Indians for K-12. An extensive site, arranged by geographical area. http://www.nmnh.si.edu/anthro/outreach/Indbibl/index.html

Thompson, M.K. (Sept: 2001) “A sea of good intentions: Native Americans in books for children.” The Lion and the Unicorn.

Tyler, Rhonda Harris (Jul/Aug 2000) “Indian in the Cupboard: A Case Study in Perspective” International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education (QSE), Vol. 13, Issue 4 

Section Three: Recommended Professional Resources. Books and websites listed here can help teachers and librarians locate books, do fact checking, and gain insight and awareness of issues related to Native culture and Native perspectives.

Aperture.(1995) Strong Hearts: Native American Visions and Voices. New York: Aperture.

American Indian Library Association website: http://www.nativeculturelinks.com/aila.html

Berkhofer, Robert E. (1978). The White Man’s Indian. New York: Vintage Books.

Bigelow, Bill. (1998). Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Years. Milwaukee: Rethinking Schools.

Cubbins, E.M. (1999) Techniques for Evaluating American Indian Web Sites. An excellent page with substantive information.http://www.u.arizona.edu/~ecubbins/webcrit.html

Davis, Mary B. (1996). Native America in the Twentieth Century: An Encyclopedia. New York: Garland Publishing Inc.

Deloria, Phillip. (1998). Playing Indian. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Hirschfelder, Arlene; Molin, Paulette Fairbanks; & Wakim, Yvonne. (1999). American Indian Stereotypes in the World of Children. Scarecrow Press.

Hoxie, Frederick E. (1996). Encyclopedia of North American Indians. New York: Houghton Mifflin.

Mitten, Lisa. Native American Home Pages. http://www.nativeculturelinks.com/indians.html

Reese, Debbie. (1996) Teaching Young Children about Native Americans. ERIC Digest. Urbana, IL: ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education. On-line: http://ecap.crc.uiuc.edu/eecearchive/digests/1996/reese96.html

Reese, Debbie. (1997). Thoughts on Not Seeing Oneself. Gender and Culture in Picture Books, School of Communication, Information, and Library Studies, Rutgers University. [on-line publication]

Seale, Doris, B. Slapin, & C. Silverman. (1998) Thanksgiving: A Native Perspective. Berkeley: Oyate.

Smithsonian Institution. Erasing Native American Stereotypes. An essay based on work done by June Sark Heinrich, Council on Books for Interracial Children, 1977 http://anthropology.si.edu/outreach/Indbibl/sterotyp.html

Stedman, Raymond William. (1982). Shadows of the Indian. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.

Womack, Craig. (1999) Red on Red: Native American Literary Separatism. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota Press.