Dear Teachers: Native masks are not art

Dear Teachers and Homeschooling Parents,

Many art project books for use in classrooms include a section on making Native masks. One example is Laurie Carlson's More Than Moccasins: A Kid's Activity Guide to Traditional North American Indian Life. It has instructions for making "Hopi masks." A search of the Internet will show you a great many kid art projects in which they make what they call Native masks.

However well-intentioned mask making activities may be, we all need to understand that it is inappropriate to make them.

Masks made by Native peoples are not art. They have a purpose within a religious context. They are used in religious contexts. Creating them and viewing them as art miseducates everyone and leads to cases like the following.

As I write (April 12, 2013), masks "katsina friends" (see note at end) originating with the Hopi Tribe are being auctioned in Paris as works of art. The tribe asked that the auction be delayed or stopped completely but the request was denied by a judge there.

The person who "owns" the masks katsina friends collected them here, in the United States. Who he acquired them from is unknown, but we--teachers and librarians--can provide students with information that can interrupt the cycle of misinformation that frames sacred Native artifacts as art rather than the religious items that they are. Native peoples, our religions, our artifacts and our traditional stories should receive the same respect that Christianity or other world religions do.

Instead of making "Hopi masks," educate students about them and their significance within Native cultures. And, encourage students to put their knowledge to use. They could, for example, write to Ms. Carlson or her publisher!

If you're wondering about art projects you can do, take a look at Arlene Hirschfelder and Yvonne Wakim Dennis's A Kid's Guide to Native American History: More than 50 Activities. The activities in it are ones that aren't religious or spiritual in nature.

Please share this letter with fellow teachers and parents, and let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks!
Debbie

Note (added at 2:21 PM on April 12, 2013): My use of the word "masks" to describe what is being auctioned in France is incorrect. "Masks" is the default word for them, but as described here, the correct English phrase for them is katsina friends. It means they are not items, but beings. Remarks by the auctioneer and New York collector during the auction are infuriating. See the news report: As protestors jeer, Hopi masks sell in Paris.

Update, Friday, April 12, 3:30 PM
Statement from Chairman Shingoitewa of the Hopi Tribe:

“We are deeply saddened and disheartened by this ruling in the French courts that allowed the auction to be held on Friday. It is sad to think that the French will allow the Hopi Tribe to suffer through the same cultural and religious thefts, denigrations and exploitations they experienced in the 1940s. Would there be outrage if Holocaust artifacts, Papal heirlooms or Quranic manuscripts were going up for sale on Friday to the highest bidder? I think so. Given the importance of these ceremonial objects to Hopi religion, you can understand why Hopis regard this – or any sale -- as sacrilege, and why we regard an auction not as homage but as a desecration to our religion. Our Tribal Council will now convene to determine the Hopi Tribe’s next steps in this shameful saga." 

3 Native Authors in 2010 to 56 in 2025

In November of 2010 I did a blog post that consisted of the top 100 best selling books at Amazon in the "Children's Native American Books" category. At that time, three Native authors appeared on the list (several books by Joseph Bruchac are on the 2010 list but given recent research, I no longer recommend his books). The three authors had four different books on the list:

• #1 and #35 was Sherman Alexie, for The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (I didn't include info on why it was on there twice but my guess is that the two listings reflect hardback/paperback, or e-copy). 
• #63 was The Porcupine Year by Louise Erdrich.
• #84 was The Game of Silence by Louise Erdrich. 
• #98 was Guests by Michael Dorris. 

Today, October 22 of 2025 -- almost 15 years later, there's a huge difference! 

• #2 is Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story by Kevin Maillard
• #3 is We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom
• #5 is Keepunumuk: Weeachumun's Thanksgiving Story by Danielle Greendeer, Anthony Perry, and Alexis Brown.
• #8 is Native American Stories for Kids by Tom Pecore Weso
• #10 is An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People adapted by Debbie Reese
• #11 is We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell
• #15 is The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich (audiobook)
• #16 is Bud Finds Her Gift by Robin Wall Kimmerer
• #17 is Chooch Helped by Andrea L. Rogers
• #28 is Powwow Day by Traci Sorell
• #25 is Colonization and the Wampanoag Story by Linda Coombs
• #26 is Birdsong by Julie Flett
• #28 is Remember by Joy Harjo
• #36 is We Are Still Here by Traci Sorell
• #37 is Moon Song by Michaela Goade
• #38 is Jingle Dancer by Cynthia Leitich Smith
• #29 is This Land by Ashley Fairbanks
• #43 is The Seminoles by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve
• #45 is I Can Make this Promise by Christine Day
• #48 is Bowwow Powwow by Brenda J. Child
• #49 is Healer of the Water Monster by Brian Young
• #52 is Berry Song by Michaela Goade
• #53 is Eagle Drums by Nasugraq Rainey Hopson
• #57 is My Powerful Hair by Carole Lindstrom
• #60 is Buffalo Dreamer by Violet Duncan
• #61 is We All Play by Julie Flett
• #63 is Wings of an Eagle by Billy Mills
• #68 is Hiawatha and the Peacemaker by Robbie Robertson
• #73 is In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse by Joseph Marshall III
• #75 is Finding My Dance by Ria Thundercloud
• #77 is Stealing Little Moon by Dan SaSuWeh Jones
• #78 is If You Lived During the Plimoth Thanksgiving by Chris Newell
• #79 is Thunder Boy Jr by Sherman Alexie
• #82 is The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry by Anna Rose Johnson
• #84 is Ancestor Approved edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith
• #86 is A Kid's Guide to Native American History by Yvonne Wakim Dennis
• #87 is We Still Belong by Christine Day
• #88 is Indian No More by Charlene Willing McManis
• #90 is Who Was Wilma Mankiller by Andrea Page
• #93 is I Sang You Down from the Stars by Tasha Spillett
• #94 is Grandmother Moon by Wunneanatsu Lamb-Cason 
• #96 is The Sea in Winter by Christine Day
• #98 is Why We Dance: A Story of Hope and Healing by Deidre Havrelock
• #99 is The First Glade of Sweetgrass by Suzanne Greenlaw

That is over 40 books in 2025 that are by Native writers! My quick look at the list tells me there's over 30 new voices contributing to the body of children's books by Native writers. 

Wait! Here's something interesting! I set my computer aside for a few hours and when I came back the list had already changed. This time, Laurel Goodluck's outstanding Rock Your Mocs is at #47 and Tim Tingle's How I Became a Ghost is at #53. Simon Ortiz's The People Shall Continue is at #57. I see Two Tribes by Emily Bowen Cohen at #62 and Autumn Peltier, Water Warrior by Carole Lindstrom at #63. Brandon Hobson's The Storyteller is at 69, and Kaitlan B. Curtice's Winter's Gifts is at 71. And A Letter for Bob by Kim Rogers is at #75. Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning by Chief Jake Swamp is at #80 and The Gift of the Great Buffalo by Carole Lindstrom is at #83. Sees Behind Trees by Michael Dorris is at 86, and Brian Young's Heroes of the Water Monster is at #89. Maria DesJarlait's I am Not a Costume is at 91. 

If I add the ones that have turned up on the list a few hours later, I count 56 different books. Fifty six different books! The difference in the list from early morning to mid-afternoon makes it hard to offer precise numbers but the change from 2010 is stunning! From 3 to over 50! I'm delighted! And I hasten to add that there's several books missing from the list. Angeline Boulley's three young adult novels aren't there. Eric Gansworth's wonderful middle-grade books aren't there either. I wonder if there's a middle-grade or YA list they're on? Dawn Quigley's terrific early reader series about Jo Jo aren't there either. Marcie Rendon's picture book might be too new yet to show up on this list. 

The point of this post: For years Native people and non-Native folks interested in Native voices have worked hard to promote these books. This informal assessment tells me it is working! Let's keep doing all we can to get books by Native writers into the hands of children.