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.

Thanksgiving in YA National Book Award

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

~~~~

Sherman Alexie won the National Book Award last night, for his book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian.

There's a lot in his book that many readers may not know or understand... What is, for example, "The Indian Health Service." And what is that reference to a "white dentist"?!

Page after page has something I identify with, or laugh aloud with... Below are some excerpts from the book.


On page 35, Mr. P (Junior's teacher) says

"When I first started teaching here, that's what we did to the rowdy ones, you know? We beat them. That's how we were taught to teach you. We were supposed to kill the Indian to save the child."

Alexie's protagonist asks Mr. P

"You killed Indians?"

And Mr. P replies

"No, no, it's just a saying. I didn't literally kill Indians. We were supposed to make you give up being Indian. Your songs and stories and language and dancing. Everything. We weren't trying to kill Indian people. We were trying to kill Indian culture."

Mr. P is referring to boarding schools. Not fancy prep-schools, but schools designed to "Kill the Indian, save the man."

Take a look at the illustration on page 38, and the discussion of romance novels. When I do guest lectures, I bring along one of Cassie Edward's romance novels. They are hilarious to me, but they ARE bestsellers, consumed by... who? Women.... Librarians? Teachers? Parents? I bring one along to make the point that, if you're only reading junk, it is easy to understand why you don't recognize stereotypical content.

On page 61 are "The Unofficial and Unwritten Spokane Indian Rules of Fisticuffs." Lists like that make the rounds often, moving through cyberspace, dropping into my mailbox. Native humor.

Page 101? New chapter, called "Thanksgiving"

I always think its funny when Indians celebrate Thanksgiving. I mean, sure, the Indians and Pilgrims were best friends during that First Thanksgiving, but a few years later, the Pilgrims were shooting Indians.

So I'm never quite sure why we eat turkey like everybody else.

"Hey, Dad," I said. "What do Indians have to be so thankful for?"

"We should give thanks that they didn't kill all of us."

We laughed like crazy. It was a good day. Dad was sober. Mom was getting ready to nap. Grandma was already napping.

As you may know, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is very close to his own story. Given that, you may be interested in reading up on Alexie's people. Among the wonders of the Internet is that Native people and tribes can now get info available to the masses. Info about their history, culture, etc. from their perspective rather than something filtered through an outsider's lens. As you read/teach/discuss his novel with students and patrons, it will you and them to know the history and present-day life of his people.

Alexie is Spokane and Coeur d'Alene. Here are the links to their websites:

Spokane Tribe of Indians
http://www.spokanetribe.com/

Coeur d'Alene
http://www.cdatribe-nsn.gov/

You might also want to order and watch two films based on his writing. The first is SMOKE SIGNALS, and the second is THE BUSINESS OF FANCYDANCING. The latter might be controversial in some circles, because the protagonist is gay. Watch it, and keep an eye out for Alexie. He does appear in it. Then, watch it again, the second time listening to Alexie talk about the film in the directors commentary.

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News: Alexie working on sequel to ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY

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

~~~~

Fans of Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian will be happy to know that he is working on a sequel. I read this in an April 21st interview of Alexie published at a website called failbetter.com.

Some of you may know that he is working on another YA novel called Radioactive Love Song. In the interview, he says he set that book aside to work on a sequel to Diary. In the sequel, Arnold is a sophomore, and there's a romance with Penelope.

The interview is packed with information. He writes about the death of his sister and father. Here's an excerpt, about his appearance on the Colbert show:

You were on the Colbert Report in October—one of the only guests who’s ever been able to make Stephen Colbert speechless. What was it like being on the show?

It was great, but it’s funny because Indians are so invisible and because my career has gotten so big that I think people…they don’t forget that I’m Indian, but it becomes very secondary to the success. When I was on Colbert I had a double consciousness or triple consciousness about it…I was in the moment but then I was also thinking that this is really revolutionary for Indians…a rez boy holding his own verbally with one of the best in the business. It was big. I was proud that I also have that artistic ability. It was fun. He was a great guy. He came into the green room afterwards and congratulated me, which was very decent of him.

Alexie also talks about poetry, his love of writing poetry, and about his new book of poems, Face. Do head over to the site and read the interview.

Disclosure: Readers of American Indians in Children's Literature know I've written a lot about Alexie's Diary and that it is on my lists of recommended books. Recently, a couple of friends have found it problematic for its use of the word 'faggot.' In light of that and the recent suicides of two 11 year old boys who were taunted as gay, I'm going to reread the novel.

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?

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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?

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"Bestsellers in Children's Native American Books"

A colleague wrote to ask if I know of a study of the most-assigned Native author in schools. I don't know of one, but will be looking for one, or, trying to figure out how to get the answer to the question, which is basically, "What book about American Indians is most-often taught/assigned in school?" Course, that would vary by grade level and school and other factors like state, public/private, etc.

One thing I (always) wonder about is best-selling books. One source of info is Amazon. In their "Bestsellers in Children's Native American Books" (time/date of list: 7:23 AM, Central Time, November 8, 2010) are the following titles. Some are on their more than once. In some cases, its clear that the duplicate is a Kindle edition, but others seem to just be repeats. There isn't, for example, a note that says it is an audio copy.

It is, overall, a disappointing list and it makes me grumpy on this Monday morning...  I'm glad to see Native authors on the list, but duplicates of some really problematic books like Touching Spirit Bear?! And it is pretty easy to see that Amazon's customers want works of historical fiction or "myths, legends and folktales."  


#1 - The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie.
#2 - Island of the Blue Dolphins, by Scott O'Dell
#3 - One Little, Two Little, Three Little Pilgrims, by B. G. Hennessy
#4 - Island of the Blue Dolphins (Kindle), by Scott O'Dell
#5 - Squanto's Journey: The Story of the First Thanksgiving, by Joseph Bruchac
#6 - Touching Spirit Bear, by Ben Mikaelsen
#7 - North American Indians, by Douglas Gorsline
#8 - Tapenum's Day: A Wampanoag Indian Boy in Pilgrim Times
*#9 - Encounter, by Jane Yolen
#10 - Sing Down the Moon, by Scott O'Dell
#11 - The Rough-Face Girl, by Rafe Martin
#12 - Paddle-to-the-Sea, by Holling C. Holling
#13 - Diamond Willow, by Helen Frost
#14 - Red Fox and His Canoe (I Can Read Book), by Nathaniel Benchley
#15 - The Sign of the Beaver, by Elizabeth George Speare
#16 - The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush, by Tomie de Paola
#17 - Arrow to the Sun: A Pueblo Indian Tale, by Gerald McDermott
#18 - Touching Spirit Bear (Kindle) by Ben Mikaelson
#19 - Julie of the Wolves, by Jean Craighead George
#20 - Touching Spirit Bear, by Ben Mikaelsen
#21 - Indian Captive: The Story of Mary Jemison, by Lois Lenski
#22 - Mountain Top Mystery (Boxcar Children), by Gertrude Chandler Warner
#23 - Grandmother's Dreamcatcher, by Becky Ray McCain
#24 - On Mother's Lap, by Ann Herbert Scott
#25 - Horse Diaries #5: Golden Sun, by Whitney Sanderson
#26 - The Indian in the Cupboard, by Lynn Reid Banks
#27 - Sacagawea: American Pathfinder, by Flora Warren Seymour
#28 - Code Talker: A Novel about the Navajo Marines of World War II, by Joseph Bruchac
#29 - The Heart of a Chief, by Joseph Bruchac
#30 - Little Runner of the Longhouse (I Can Red Book 2) by Betty Baker
#31 - Paddle-to-the-Sea, by Holling C. Hollins
#32 - Love Flute, by Paul Goble
#33 - Soft Rain: A Story of the Cherokee Trail of Tears, by Cornelia Cornelissen
#34 - The Journal of Jesse Smoke: A Cherokee Boy, Trail of Tears, 1838, by Joseph Bruchac
#35 - The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
#36 - The Birchbark House, by Louise Erdrich
#37 - The Legend of the Bluebonnet, by Tomie dePaola
#38 - Buffalo Woman, by Paul Goble
#39 - Cheyenne Again, by Eve Bunting
#40 - Where the Broken Heart Still Beats: The Story of Cynthia Ann Parker, by Carolyn Meyer
#41 - Julie, by Jean Craighead George
#42 - Children of the Longhouse, by Joseph Bruchac
#43 - Sacred Fire, by Nancy Wood
#44 - Island of the Blue Dolphins, by Scott O'Dell
#45 - Mama, Do You Love Me, by Barbara J. Joosse
#46 - The Year of Miss Agnes, by Kirkpatrick Hill
#47 - Sweetgrass Basket, by Marlene Carvell
#48 - Sitting Bull: Dakota Boy, by Augusta Stevenson
#49 - The Talking Earth, by Jean Craighead George
#50 - Rainbow Crow, by Nancy Van Laan
#51 - The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses, by Paul Goble
#52 - The Polar Bear Son: An Inuit Tale, by Lydia Dabcovich
#53 - The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses, by Paul Goble
#54 - Song of the Seven Herbs, by Walking Night Bear
#55 - Ten Little Rabbits, by Virginia Grossman
#56 - The Lost Children: The Boys Who Were Neglected, by Paul Goble
#57- Moccasin Trail, by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
#58 - Thunder Rolling in the Mountains, by Scott O'Dell
#59 - Meet Kaya: An American Girl, by Janet Beeler Shaw
#60 - When the Legends Die, by Hal Borland
#61 - Sacajawea, by Joseph Bruchac
#62 - Knots on a Counting Rope, by John Archambault
#63 - The Porcupine Year, by Louise Erdrich
#64 - Star Boy, by Paul Goble
#65 - Jim and Me, by Dan Gutman
#66 - Kaya: An American Girl: 1764/Box Set, by Janet Beeler Shaw
#67 - Between Earth and Sky: Legends of Native American Sacred Places, by Joseph Bruchac
#68 - Touching Spirit Bear, by Ben Mikaelsen
#69 - Weasel, by Cynthia Defelice
#70 - When the Shadbush Blooms, by Carla Messinger
#71 - On Mother's Lap, by Ann Herbert Scott
#72 - The Captive Princess: A Story Based on the Life of Young Pocahontas
#73 - Powwow's Coming, by Linda Boyden
#74 - The Gift of the Sacred Dog, by Paul Goble
#75 - Streams to the River, River to the Sea, by Scott O'Dell
#76 - Weetamoo: Heart of the Pocassets, Massachusetts - Rhode Island, 1653 (Royal Diaries) by Patricia Clark Smith
#77 - Indian Trail (Choose Your Own Adventure) , by R. A. Montgomery
#78 - Arrow Over the Door, by Joseph Bruchac
#79 - At Seneca Castle, by William W. Canfield
#81 - Pocahontas, by Joseph Bruchac
#82 - Squanto's Journey: The Story of the First Thanksgiving, by Joseph Bruchac
#83 - Christmas Moccsains, by Ray Buckley
#84 - The Game of Silence, by Louise Erdrich
#85 - Encounter, by Jane Yolen
#86 - Beyond the Ridge, by Paul Goble
#87 - Death of the Iron Horse, by Paul Goble
#88 - The Last of the Mohicans, by James Fenimore Cooper
#89 - Island of the Blue Dolphins (illustrated) by Scott O'Dell
#90 - Frozen Fire: A Tale of Courage by James Houston
#92 - Blood on the River: James Town 1607, by Elisa Carbone
#92 - The Give-Away: A Christmas Story in the American Tradition, by Ray Buckley
#93 - Mystic Horse, by Paul Goble
#94 - Eating the Plates: A Pilgrim Book of Food and Manners, by Lucilee Recht Penner
#95 - Mysteries in Our National Parks: Cliff Hanger, by Gloria Skurzynski
#96 - Jim Thorpe, Olympic Champion, by Guernsey Van Riper Jr
#97 - Good Hunting, Blue Sky (I Can Read Book) by Peggy Parish
#98 - Guests, by Michael Dorris
#99 - Hiawatha and Megissogwon by Henry W. Longfellow
#100 - Sing Down the Moon, by Scott O'Dell


Observations? Books by four Native authors are on the list: Sherman Alexie, (Update on Sep 30 2023: I no longer recommend Bruchac's work. For details see Is Joseph Bruchac truly Abenaki?)  Joseph Bruchac, Louise Erdrich, and Michael Dorris.  I'll return to this list later to share analyses and observations. Right now, I gotta head to class. The class? American Indian Studies 101, where, over the course of the semester, students gain insight and skills in recognizing problematic depictions of Native peoples. It is encouraging to see that development in them. I wish everyone in the US could take an Intro to American Indian Studies course. Then maybe there'd be some CHANGE in what they buy.

Alexie's YA Novel Nominated for National Book Award

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

~~~~

Sherman Alexie's outstanding YA novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, was nominated for a National Book Award in the category, Young People's Literature. The finalist list was released on Wednesday.

In that category, Louise Erdrich's Birchbark House was nominated in 1999.

I think the winner will be announced mid November...

Visit Alexie's website for reviews and info, and a link to an mp3 audio excerpt of the book. Yes, he is the reader of the audio book.

The photo I uploaded is from the press page of his website. Curious... the photo on the publisher's website is a reverse image of the same photo!

Update, Sunday, October 14th:

• Beverly Slapin's review of the book was posted here on Wed, April 15, 2007. Click here to read her review.
• I posted links to newspaper articles on September 16, 2007. Click here to go to the list.
• Roger Sutton, editor at Horn Book, reviewed the book in September. Read his review here.

With November approaching---the month that features and confines us (American Indians) as people of the past---Alexie's book will counter that misperception. Get your copies from Oyate.
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Authors banned in Tucson Unified School District respond

[Note: A chronological list of links to AICL's coverage of the shut-down of the Mexican American Studies Department at Tucson Unified School District is here. Information about the national Mexican American Studies Teach-in is here. The best source for daily updates out of Tucson is blogger David Abie Morales at Three Sonorans.]

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

______________________________________

As I find them, I will add responses from authors whose books were taught in the now-outlawed Mexican American Studies program at Tucson Unified School District:

SHERMAN ALEXIE 

On January 17th, 2012, Sherman Alexie tweeted:

Teachers who taught in the Mexican American Studies program that was shut down last week are no longer allowed to teach two of his books:

On January 29, 2012, I read Alexie's response at The Progressive. He wrote:

Let's get one thing out of the way: Mexican immigration is an oxymoron. Mexicans are indigenous. So, in a strange way, I'm pleased that the racist folks of Arizona have officially declared, in banning me alongside Urrea, Baca, and Castillo, that their anti-immigration laws are also anti-Indian. I'm also strangely pleased that the folks of Arizona have officially announced their fear of an educated underclass. You give those brown kids some books about brown folks and what happens? Those brown kids change the world. In the effort to vanish our books, Arizona has actually given them enormous power. Arizona has made our books sacred documents now.

RUDOLFO ANAYA (added on Jan 25, 2012):

On Friday, January 21, Rudolfo Anaya was on Jay Nightwolf's radio program. You can listen to the program by going to the Zinn Education Project website. Anaya is the author of Bless Me Ultima, and The Anaya Reader, two books that were taught in the Tucson Unified School District's Mexican American Studies program that was shut down.

JIMMY SANTIAGO BACA

On January 28, 2012, I read Jimmy Santiago Baca's response at The Progressive. In part, he writes:

The banning in Tucson is a political tactic to oppress us, just the latest attempt of many to lie to us, to spread distortions, to enfeeble us by taking away our rights to education. They know that education is a way to achieve equality, to empower ourselves, to see ourselves with pride and enhance our self-esteem. Books that see us as intelligent, that reflect our experience in a healthy light, lend themselves to invigorating our resistance against injustice.

Six of his books were used in the now-banned Mexican American Studies program, including A Place to Stand.

BILL BIGELOW

On January 13, 2012, Bill Below wrote on the Rethinking Schools blog: 

Rethinking Schools learned today that for the first time in its more-than-20-year history, our book Rethinking Columbus was banned by a school district: Tucson, Arizona.  [...] What’s to fear? Rethinking Columbus offers teaching strategies and readings that teachers can use to help students consider perspectives that are too often silenced in the traditional curriculum. 

Teachers who taught in the Mexican American Studies program that was shut down last week are no longer allowed to teach Rethinking Columbus, a book he edited that includes essays, poems, and prose by American Indian writers.

JOSEPH BRUCHAC

In an email to me on January 17, 2012, Joseph Bruchac said:

In the long run, I think the actions of the Tucson
School Board may end up in a positive way--by
drawing attention back to RETHINKING COLUMBUS
and creating further awareness of the complex legacy
of Cristobal Colon. Either this was their intention all
along (closet progressives that they are on the school
board) or (thinking in terms of nautical metaphors), they
are attempting to save the sinking ship of the myth of
heroic European colonialism by an action as effective as
bailing with a tea cup!

His essay, "A Friend of the Indians" is in Rethinking Columbus, a book that teachers who taught in the Mexican American Studies program are no longer allowed to teach.

RICHARD DELGADO and JEAN STEFANCIC (added Jan 31, 2012):

On January 31, 2012, I read Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic's response at The Progressive. Here's an excerpt:

Young minds will not learn about critical race theory or Latino history or the historic struggles of their predecessors for school desegregation, immigration reform, and equal rights. They may learn about them piecemeal, but without an overarching framework, it will be difficult for them to develop a comprehensive view of race in American society. 

Their book, Critical Race Theory, was taught in the now-shut down Mexican American Studies department at Tucson Unified School District.

JUNOT DIAZ (added January 29, 2012):

On January 29, 2012, I read Junot Diaz's response at The Progressive:

This is covert white supremacy in the guise of educational standard-keeping--nothing more, nothing less. Given the sharp increase of anti-Latino rhetoric, policies, and crimes in Arizona and the rest of the country, one should not be surprised by this madness and yet one is. The removal of those books before those students' very eyes makes it brutally clear how vulnerable communities of color and our children are to this latest eruption of cruel, divisive, irrational, fearful, and yes racist politics. Truly infuriating. And more reason to continue to fight for a just society. 

His book, Drown was taught in the now-banned Mexican American Studies program.

MARTIN ESPADA (added January 31, 2012)

Earlier today, I read Martin Espada's response at the Progressive website. He said, in part:

In the end, this is just another bomb threat. All they have done is force us to evacuate the building. We will gather ourselves in the dark, and keep reading to each other in whatever light we can find.

His book, Zapata's Disciple: Essays, can no longer be taught by teachers who taught in the now-banned Mexican American Studies Department at Tucson Unified School District.

DAGOBERTO GILB (added January 31, 2012)

Yesterday, I read Dagoberto's response at The Progressive website:

What subversive information did those Tucson students learn? What is kept from the government-approved textbooks and classrooms all across the West?: You don’t have to be from somewhere else more important and better to be a lawyer or an artist or a doctor or scientist. You don’t have to leave your culture. You don’t have to be ashamed that your parents struggled with English. We don’t have to accept being only the cooks and maids, custodians and gardeners.

Two of his books are on the Cambium audit and can no longer be taught by the teachers in the now-banned Mexican American Studies Department.

SUZAN HARJO

In an email to me on January 18, 2012, Susan Harjo said:

The banned books and other materials removed from the Tucson public schools are a good start for a required reading list. I consider it a mark of distinction to be among the banned authors for my part of Rethinking Columbus. I am honored to be in the company of other writers who are targeted in Arizona's war on ethnic studies. I hope their reckless actions help raise awareness among more and more people of good will about what this last gasp of white supremacy is doing to our children and young people. 

Her essay, "We Have No Reason to Celebrate" is in Rethinking Columbus, a book that teachers who taught in the Mexican American Studies program are no longer allowed to teach.

Update, January 25th, 2012: Harjo wrote an extended essay for Indian Country Today. For more on her response to being banned, see Rethinking Columbus: Book Banning in Tucson.

WINONA LADUKE (added January 25, 2012):

On January 21, 2012, Winona LaDuke's response to being banned was published at INFORUM. Her essay is in Rethinking Columbus, one of the books boxed up and removed from classrooms in Tucson Unified School District. Rethinking Columbus is no longer being taught in TUSD. See LaDuke's "On Being Banned in Tucson."

WILLIAM L. KATZ

On January 18, 2012, via email, I received William L. Katz's response:

As the writer of two essays contributed from my Black Indians: A Hidden Heritage to Rethinking Columbus, a former public school teacher for fourteen years, and the writer of forty history books that have earned praise from sources ranging from the Wall Street Journal to Howard Zinn, I can only hope this pathetic censorship of ideas and knowledge that aims to keep young people uninformed about their lives, their society and the struggles that shaped their country and world, that this stupid decision in Arizona, will finally lead to a resounding victory for an inclusive, multicultural curriculum. We all deserve that, to read what we want, to learn what we need, and to understand our history not as patriotic, tasteless pablum, but something substantial and true enough to enable us to live in a country and world that was built by women and men of every race and region, and to appreciate and enjoy our neighbors. Part of this is learning that women and men were not handed democracy and justice but often had fight and sometimes die for it, and this is particularly true if they were in the way of those bent on conquest, exploitation, or just the pursuit of obscene profits.

His essay, "Black Indians and Resistance" is in Rethinking Columbus, a book that teachers who taught in the Mexican American Studies program are no longer allowed to teach.

MATT DE LA PENA

On January 16th, Matt de la Pena wrote on his blog:

A truly scary situation. Tucson schools have just “shut down” all courses related to Mexican American Studies (in essence, banning Chicano authors). If you’re familiar with Tucson’s racial makeup, you know this means that literally thousands of Chicano students will no longer be allowed to see a reflection of themselves in literature. The teachers literally had to pack up the books and remove them from their classrooms.

Teachers who taught in the Mexican American Studies program that was shut down last week are no longer allowed to teach his book, Mexican WhiteBoy.

BOB PETERSON (added Jan 31, 2012)

On January 16, 2012, Bob Peterson wrote on his blog:

What’s most disturbing is the banning’s broader context, in particular Arizona’s anti-immigrant legislation and the move across the country toward scripted curriculum that too often ignores students’ cultural heritages and that undermines the ability to promote critical thinking. On a more positive note, however, the banning can be seen as the flailing of small-minded bigots attempting to derail multicultural, anti-racist curriculum. In this sense, the move is similar to the anti-gay rantings of Santorum and Company. 

Teachers who taught in the Mexican American Studies program that was shut down last week are no longer allowed to teach Rethinking Columbus, a book he edited that includes essays, poems, and prose by American Indian writers.



CORNEL PEWEWARDY

On January 20, 2012, Cornel Pewewardy sent me the following comment by email:

The "Empire" Strikes Back via a Neoliberal Agenda

His essay, "A Barbie-Doll Pocahontas" is in Rethinking Columbus, a book that teachers who taught in the Mexican American Studies program are no longer allowed to teach.


ROBERTO RODRIGUEZ (added on Jan 25, 2012):

On Friday, January 21, Roberto Rodriguez was on Jay Nightwolf's radio program. You can listen to the program by going to the Zinn Education Project website. Rodriguez is the author of Justice: A Question of Race and The X in La Raza II (I am unable to locate a cover of the book; please send me a link or image), both of which were used in the Tucson Unified School District's Mexican American Studies program that was shut down.

LUIS ALBERTO URREA (added January 29, 2012)

On January 29, 2012, I read Luis Alberto Urrea's response at The Progressive website:

The issue seems to be the power boys and girls are afraid that studying MacArthur winning Tohon O'odam poet Ofelia Zepeda is un-American. Cult-like. Divisive. Yes, that's right--Indians are out too. Sherman Alexie, that notorious wetback, has been ba--ed, boxed. As well as that notorious narco, Guillermo Shakespeare. Thoreau--well. Come on. When isn't Thoreau banned? I hereby make him an Honorary Homeboy.

Urrea is the author of five books on the list of works taught by teachers in the now-banned Mexican American Studies program, including The Devil's Highway: A True Story. 

 
________________________________________________________
FOR A COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF AICL'S COVERAGE, CLICK ON:
AICL Coverage of Arizona Law that resulted in shut down of Mexican American Studies Program and Banning of Books

AICL Coverage of Arizona Law that resulted in shut down of Mexican American Studies Program and Banning of Books

This is a comprehensive set of links to AICL's coverage of the Arizona law that led to the shut down of the Mexican American Studies Program in Arizona and the subsequent banning of books used in the program. It will be updated as my coverage continues.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

• Teaching critical thinking in Arizona: NOT ALLOWED
• Mexican American Studies Department Reading List

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

• Authors banned in Tucson Unified School District respond

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

• Copies of books in TUSD Libraries?
• "Reports of TUSD book ban completely false and misleading"
• TUSD vs The Tempest: To teach or not to teach

Thursday, January 19, 2012

• What Mark Stegeman said...
• What Huppenthal said...

Friday, January 20, 2012

• Three of the banned books were approved in 2007, but not properly?!
• Video: What Huppenthal saw
• National Association of Multicultural Education responds to closing of Mexican American Studies Program

Saturday, January 21, 2012

• A Sampling of Children's Books used in the Mexican American Studies Program
• Dear Editors at the New York Times

Sunday, January 22, 2012

• ALA Midwinter Discussions of Tucson Ban of Mexican American Studies Covered by CNN
• Progressive Librarian's Guild: Statement of Censorship and the Tucson Unified School District

Monday, January 23, 2012

• Stegeman's January 22, 2012 letter
• Tweeting Tucson Events

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

• Curtis Acosta's Letter

Friday, January 27, 2012

• Nationwide Responses to the shut-down of the Mexican American Studies Department

Saturday, January 28, 2012

• Updates regarding shut-down (includes Curtis Acosta's letter "Behind the Curtain" and video interviews of middle school students who walked out of school on Tuesday)

Sunday, January 29, 2012

• Chris Crutcher on Matt de la Pena's Book Being Banned: "This is racism, plain and simple."

Monday, January 30, 2012 

• Arizona School Censorship Hit by Salvo of Protest from Free Speech Orgs and Educators
• Statement in Opposition to Book Censorship in the Tucson Unified School District
• TUSD Superintendent Pedicone Scolds University Professors

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

• American Indian Library Association's Statement on Ethnic Studies Programs in Arizona

Thursday, February 2, 2012

• Go to the NO HISTORY IS ILLEGAL website (art/photo of teen using bullhorn to read aloud from Sherman Alexie's Ten Little Indians

Friday, February 3, 2012

• Live Stream: Teach-In on Tucson with MAS Teachers
• TUSD Board Member, Michael Hicks: "if you do not trust your employee, you need to remove the employee."  

Monday, February 6, 2012

• What did Curtis Acosta teach in his Mexican American Studies course? (Answer: Barack Obama's 2004 DNC speech)

Friday, February 10, 2012

• Debbie Reese reads from Delgado and Stefancic's CRITICAL RACE THEORY

Sunday, February 12,  2012

• Critical Thinking about Thanksgiving: Not allowed in Tucson

Saturday, February 18, 2012

• Arizona Legislation to "prohibit public school teachers from using partisan books or any partisan doctrine"

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

• Short Stories, Essays, Speeches, Poems, and Music Banned in TUSD

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012

• Sherman Alexie, New Bills Proposed in Arizona, Citizens United

Thursday, February 23rd, 2012

• Yale University holds Teach-In; Former MAS Students Skype In

Friday, February 24th, 2012

• February 23rd update from Curtis Acosta

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

• Matt De La Pena featured at a Save Ethnic Studies fundraiser

Thursday, March 8, 2012

• March 7th update from former MAS teacher, Curtis Acosta
• Modern Language Association: Statement on Tucson Mexican American Studies
• REFORMA Resolution in Support of the Students of the Outlawed Mexican American Studies Program in the Tucson Unified School District

Monday, May 7, 2012

• Jim Blasingame: "Ethnic Studies Ban Hits Tucson Hard: YA and Canon Alike Take a Hit"

Thursday, July 5, 2012

• Recent radio program on the shut-down of TUSD's Mexican American Studies Classes

Thursday,  June 6, 2013

• Update from Curtis Acosta

_________________________________
Additional information outside of AICL:

For insider updates from Tucson, read these blogs (on a daily basis):

• David Abie Morales at The Three Sonorans at Tucson Citizen
• David Safier at Blog for Arizona

Tuesday, January 24, 2012:

• American Library Association Resolution Opposing Restriction of Access to Materials and Open Inquiry in Ethnic and Cultural Studies Programs in Arizona, and a link to HB 2654 referenced in the ALA resolution, Arizona House Bill 2654
• Arizona Congressman Grijalva urges investigation of Arizona law

Wednesday, January 25, 2012:

• CNN is reporting that Norma Gonzales, a teacher who taught in the MAS program, has been reassigned to teach American history and was asked to teach out of a textbook that says the Tohono O'odham tribe mysteriously disappeared. She has two Tohono O'odham students in her class. Among the books no longer being taught in the shut down MAS program is Ofelia Zepeda's Ocean Power. Zepeda is Tohono O'odham, teaches in the American Indian Studies program at the University of Arizona, and won a MacArthur Genius Grant.

Monday, January 30, 2012:

• The "Joint Statement in Opposition to Book Censorship in the Tucson Unified School District" coordinated by the National Coalition Against Censorship

Efforts to support Mexican American Studies teachers and students:

• Donate to Save Ethnic Studies
• Librotraficante Caravan from Houston to Tucson
• Sign the petition at Save Ethnic Studies and receive updates from them

______________________________
To order a copy of Precious Knowledge, a documentary of the Mexican American Studies program (view trailer here):

1. Send an email to preciousknowledgedvd@gmail.com
2. Send a check made out to DOS VATOS PRODUCTIONS to:

Dos Vatos Productions
4029 E. Camino de la Colina
Tucson, AZ 85711

The DVD is priced as follows---Individual: $28, Community Group, High School, Public Library, Non-profit: $40, University and public performance rights: $200

Lois Lenski Lecture

Last semester, I was invited to give the Lois Lenski Lecture at Illinois State University (ISU). The Lenski lecture series began in 1994, in honor of Lois Lenski, author of a great many books for children.

Last week, ISU's radio station did an interview of me, to run today (Monday) in advance of the lecture itself.

I talked about problematic texts like Little House on the Prairie, providing historical context for the book (some of which I've posted here in the last two weeks). And I talked about books I recommend, specifically Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, and Cynthia Leitich Smith's Jingle Dancer.

At the outset of the interview, the interviewer asked me about UIUC's mascot, what I think of it, and what I think of the student referendum last week. The referendum was on the UIUC student ballot last week. It asked if students want the mascot to be reinstated. It passed, 7000 or so in favor, 2000 or so opposed. UIUC is a large campus, with over 42,000 undergraduate and graduate students.

We went on to talk about the subject of my lecture, which is children's books. I talked about problematic texts like Little House on the Prairie, providing historical context for the book (some of which I've posted here in the last two weeks). And I talked about books I recommend, specifically Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, and Cynthia Leitich Smith's Jingle Dancer.

I tuned in this morning to listen to the interview. It was all of a minute long, but an interesting minute it was. Centered on the mascot. I was more than a bit perturbed with the pieces they used. I was surprised, too. I've done interviews about the mascot in the past, and about Y-Indian programs, and Boy Scouts, and I learned that media people selectively edit what I say. I've never been pleased with that editing. It is generally done in a way to make me sound a bit loony, or, like I hate all white people, or that I think they're all racist...

So I stopped doing those kinds of interviews. I thought the interview with ISU was about my study of children's books and I let my guard down. That was a mistake.

The interview is important, though, because it provides a window into all manner of human behavior and human action. The radio station is a media outlet. They're after a story. The one they think more of their listeners will want. So they went for the mascot angle.

Between now and 7:00 this evening, I'll be revising my remarks for the lecture, incorporating this episode.

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.

Sherman Alexie on Tucson student reading TEN LITTLE INDIANS

[Note: A chronological list of links to AICL's coverage of the shut-down of the Mexican American Studies Department at Tucson Unified School District is here. Information about the national Mexican American Studies Teach-in is here. The best source for daily updates out of Tucson is blogger David Abie Morales at Three Sonorans.]

___________________________________ 

This is a screen grab from Sherman Alexie's website:

Do you know someone in a self-involved bubble that insulates them from the fact that our civil rights are under assault by well-funded conservative politicians? If so, tell them about what is happening in Tucson, where the conservative-power-elite wrote, passed, and enforced a law banning the perspectives of Mexican Americans...

Where that same conservative-power-elite is now trying to get a law passed (SB 1202) that prohibits teachers from teaching partisan documents like Barack Obama's 2004 DNC speech in social justice courses...

And where that same conservative-power-elite is also trying to pass a law that prohibits teachers from using words that violate the obscenity and profanity guidelines set up by the Federal Communications Commission. If passed, what will that mean for teachers who teach young adult literature that has the F-word in it?

Who is among that conservative-power-elite? The Chicago Tribune article points to Floyd Brown, the founding chairman of Citizens United. He complained to school administrators that a teacher used the F-word in class, but, he says, they didn't take him seriously. So he went to Klein, and now, that complaint is a bill that has passed one committee and will be voted on by the house and senate in Arizona...  The photo that accompanies the Trib article shows Brown and his now-home-schooled daughter, sitting before a pile of books that includes William J. Bennett's Our Sacred Honor: Words of Advice from the Founders in Stories, Letters, Poems, and Speeches. I wonder if that book would be in violation of the "partisan" documents bill?!

There are people who don't think either bill will pass. They might not, this first round. The Ethnic Studies law didn't pass the first two times it was considered. Third time? It passed and was signed into law by Jan Brewer.

We have to get people around us out of their bubbles of ignorance.

Update: Wednesday, February 22, 9:45 AM ET
Andrew Breitbart's "Big Government" website has a story on SB 1202. It references other states where "liberal agendas" are in place, including actions of teachers in Racine, Wisconsin, and Oakland, California.  The closing line is chilling:

Arizona’s SB 1202 is an encouraging sign that lawmakers are taking the indoctrination issue seriously. Hopefully, the discussion in Arizona will sparking similar public debates in statehouses across the country.

Repeating what I said above: We have to get people around us out of their bubbles of ignorance. 

Book Bans and Native Voices

The year is 2023. 

People continue to take from Native peoples and Native Nations. It started with our lands and our children. It included efforts to destroy our nationhood and cultures by making it illegal for us to speak our languages and tell our stories and practice our religions. 

We persevered. 

In recent years more and more of us are being published. Through books, we are telling our stories to our children and yours, too, in pre-school and kindergarten story times and in high school classrooms. 

But now, our books--our voices--are being removed from libraries and classrooms. 

I have no doubt we will, again, persevere. 

It is important to document what is happening. Today (April 24, 2023), I am starting a log of books by Native writers that are challenged or banned. First, some basic info. 

A challenge is when someone asks that a book be removed. Historically, the book remains on the shelf (available) until a review or hearing takes place. 

A ban is when a challenge is successful and a book is removed from the shelf. 

Sometimes a ban occurs before a book is put on the shelf or made available to children. Confused? I have two cases in mind. Sometimes books are donated by individuals or organizations. The second case is about books a district purchases as part of a curriculum for use in classrooms. In those two cases, a person or persons challenges the book(s) before they are made available. An individual or committee is asked to review the books and they are, by default, not available. Is that a ban? We could discuss that, but my point is this: the book is not available. 

If your district or library (or one you know about) has banned a book by a Native writer, let me know! And if you know of a challenge to a Native book or if a book has been removed from availability and is undergoing "review," I'd like to know that, too. 

Books are listed by title, arranged alphabetically by Native author/illustrator's name and their tribal nation, and the date I add them to the log. Titles are followed by bulleted details and a link to my source of information (for some books, you will see that bulleted details are alike from one title to the next because challenges/bans are often to more than one book in a single school). 

I am focusing on books by Native writers. PEN America has a comprehensive list. 

****

Thunder Boy Jr. written by Sherman Alexie (enrolled member of the Spokane Tribe of Indians). [Date added to log: 4/28/2023]. 

• Temporarily banned in Duval County, Florida in 2023. It is part of the "Essential Voices" curriculum available from Perfection Learning. After review a committee determined it could be used in classrooms.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian written by Sherman Alexie (enrolled member of the Spokane Tribe of Indians). [Date added to log: 4/28/2023]

• Challenged in Indian River County Schools, Fort Pierce, Florida in 2021. It appears on a list of 156 books challenged by Moms for Liberty. The objection includes an excerpt from the chapter "Because Geometry Is Not A Country Somewhere Near France" where the character is talking about masturbation. The books were reviewed by a committee. In reading the local news reports, it is unclear to me if the books were withheld while under review. After the review, five books were removed. It is not amongst the books that were removed. Sources: Hometown News and Sebastian Daily.   

Note from Debbie on Nov 28, 2023: Due to my concerns over Art Coulson's claim of being Cherokee, I am no longer recommending his books.  Unstoppable: How Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team Defeated Army written by Art Coulson (Cherokee); illustrated by Nick Hardcastle (not Native). [Date added to log: 4/24/2023]

• Temporarily banned in Duval County, Florida in 2023. It is part of the "Essential Voices" curriculum available from Perfection Learning. After review a committee determined it could be used in classrooms.

Sharice's Big Voice by Sharice Davids (Ho-Chunk) and Nancy Mays (not Native); illustrated by Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley (member of Wasauksing, First Nation)

[Date added to log: 4/30/2023]

• Challenged in the Hilliard School District, Ohio, in March of 2023. WOSU (public radio) at Ohio State University, reported on April 17, 2023, that Sharice's Big Voice was on a list of 35 books being challenged by a Muslim parental advocacy group. The group characterized the books as "grotesque" and "immoral." The board responded by letting parents know they could block their student from checking out a book. Sources: NBC4 Hilliard parents debate banning books from school libraries and WOSU Book challenges increase in Ohio.

We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom (Turtle Mountain Ojibwe); illustrated by Michaela Goade (Tlingit). [Date added to log: 4/24/2023]

• Banned in Northampton Pennsylvania Area School District in 2022. It was one of several books donated to the district by The Conscious Kid, an education, research, and policy organization that supports families and educators in taking action to disrupt racism, inequity, and bias. At a school board meeting, the books were characterized as "divisive," "racist," and "socialist." The Conscious Kid was accused of having a Marxist agenda. The board voted not to accept the donated books. Source: Marshall University Libraries in Huntington, West Virginia. 

Indian No More by Charlene Willing McManis (Confederated Tribes of Grande Ronde); cover art by Marlena Myles (Spirit Lake Dakota/Mohegan/Muscogee). [Date added to log: 4/24/2023]

• Challenged in York, PA in 2021. It was included on an excellent list of books a diversity committee in the district created in 2020. Some parents feared the books would make white children feel guilty about their race or indoctrinate them. The district chose to "freeze" the books. It is unclear to me what that meant. Some news reports say the book list was frozen until the books could be reviewed. As far as I have found, some teachers already had them in the classroom and some libraries already had them available. I can find no reports of them being removed from their classrooms or libraries but there was definitely an effort to make them unavailable. According to a Sept 20, 2021 article in the York Daily Record, the freeze was lifted after about a year. 
• Banned in Duval County, Florida in 2023. It is part of the "Essential Voices" curriculum available from Perfection Learning. After review, a committee determined its content was not age appropriate and sent the book back to the company. Source: First Coast News.

Fry Bread by Kevin Maillard (Seminole); illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal (not Native). [Date added to log: 4/24/2023]

• Banned in Northampton Pennsylvania Area School District in 2022. It was one of several books donated to the district by The Conscious Kid, an education, research, and policy organization that supports families and educators in taking action to disrupt racism, inequity, and bias. At a school board meeting, the books were characterized as "divisive," "racist," and "socialist." The Conscious Kid was accused of having a Marxist agenda. The board voted not to accept the donated books. Source: Marshall University Libraries in Huntington, West Virginia. 
• Challenged in York, PA in 2021. It was included on an excellent list of books a diversity committee in the district created in 2020. Some parents feared the books would make white children feel guilty about their race or indoctrinate them. The district chose to "freeze" the books. It is unclear to me what that meant. Some news reports say the book list was frozen until the books could be reviewed. As far as I have found, some teachers already had them in the classroom and some libraries already had them available. I can find no reports of them being removed from their classrooms or libraries but there was definitely an effort to make them unavailable. According to a Sept 20, 2021 article in the York Daily Record, the freeze was lifted after about a year. 
• Temporarily banned in Duval County, Florida in 2023. It is part of the "Essential Voices" curriculum available from Perfection Learning. After review a committee determined it could be used in classrooms. Source: First Coast News.

The People Shall Continue, written by Simon Ortiz (Acoma Pueblo), illustrated by Sharol Graves (Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma). [Date added to log: 4/24/2023]

• Challenged in York, PA in 2021. It was included on an excellent list of books a diversity committee in the district created in 2020. Some parents feared the books would make white children feel guilty about their race or indoctrinate them. The district chose to "freeze" the books. It is unclear to me what that meant. Some news reports say the book list was frozen until the books could be reviewed. As far as I have found, some teachers already had them in the classroom and some libraries already had them available. I can find no reports of them being removed from their classrooms or libraries but there was definitely an effort to make them unavailable. According to a Sept 20, 2021 article in the York Daily Record, the freeze was lifted after about a year. 

Fatty Legs written by Margaret-Olemaun Pokiak-Fenton. [Date added to log: 4/24/2023]

• Temporarily banned in Duval County, Florida in 2023. It is part of the "Essential Voices" curriculum available from Perfection Learning. After review a committee determined it could be used in classrooms. Source: First Coast News.

An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States, for Young People, by Debbie Reese (Nambé Owingeh) and Jean Mendoza (not Native), adapted from the original edition written by Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz (not Native). [Date added to log: 4/24/2023]

• Banned in some libraries in Texas (such as McKinney Independent School District, shown below) when it was included on a list of 850 books compiled by Texas state Representative Matt Krause. Source: National Public Radio

• Challenged in York, PA in 2021. It was included on an excellent list of books a diversity committee in the district created in 2020. Some parents feared the books would make white children feel guilty about their race or indoctrinate them. The district chose to "freeze" the books. It is unclear to me what that meant. Some news reports say the book list was frozen until the books could be reviewed. As far as I have found, some teachers already had them in the classroom and some libraries already had them available. I can find no reports of them being removed from their classrooms or libraries but there was definitely an effort to make them unavailable. According to a Sept 20, 2021 article in the York Daily Record, the freeze was lifted after about a year. 

Hiawatha and the Peacemaker written by Robbie Robertson (Mohawk), illustrated by David Shannon (not Native). [Date added to log: 4/24/2023]

• Banned in 2023 in Duval County, Florida. It is part of the "Essential Voices" curriculum available from Perfection Learning and as of 4/24/2023 is still under review by a committee that is reviewing books to see if the content is age appropriate. Source: First Coast News.

We Are Grateful written by by Traci Sorell (Cherokee Nation), illustrated by Frane Lessac (not Native). [Date added to log: 4/23/2023]

• Challenged in York, PA in 2021. It was included on an excellent list of books a diversity committee in the district created in 2020. Some parents feared the books would make white children feel guilty about their race or indoctrinate them. The district chose to "freeze" the books. It is unclear to me what that meant. Some news reports say the book list was frozen until the books could be reviewed. As far as I have found, some teachers already had them in the classroom and some libraries already had them available. I can find no reports of them being removed from their classrooms or libraries but there was definitely an effort to make them unavailable. According to a Sept 20, 2021 article in the York Daily Record, the freeze was lifted after about a year. 
• Banned in Northampton Pennsylvania Area School District in 2022. It was one of several books donated to the district by The Conscious Kid, an education, research, and policy organization that supports families and educators in taking action to disrupt racism, inequity, and bias. At a school board meeting, the books were characterized as "divisive," "racist," and "socialist." The Conscious Kid was accused of having a Marxist agenda. The board voted not to accept the donated books. Source: Marshall University Libraries in Huntington, West Virginia. 
• Temporarily banned in Duval County, Florida in 2023. It is part of the "Essential Voices" curriculum available from Perfection Learning. After review a committee determined it could be used in classrooms.

At the Mountains Base written by Traci Sorell (Cherokee Nation), illustrated by Weshoyot Alvitre (Tongva, Cahuilla, Chumash, Spanish & Scottish). 

• Temporarily banned in Duval County, Florida in 2023. It is part of the "Essential Voices" curriculum available from Perfection Learning. After review a committee determined it could be used in classrooms. Source: First Coast News.