Native Writers Sign Letter Submitted for US House Committee Hearing "Students, Parents & Others Testify on Curriculum Censorship"

An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People is among the hundreds of books that have been challenged and banned in schools in the United States. Today (March 19th, 2022), a letter was submitted to the US Congress. I and several Native writers, including Andrea L. Rogers, Traci Sorell, Brian Young, Kevin Maillard, Tim Tingle, Dawn Quigley, Denise K. Lajimodiere, Kim Rogers, and Cynthia Leitich Smith, signed the letter. 

Signed by 1,300 children's and young adult authors, the letter was drafted by Christina Soontornvat. In his opening remarks of the US House Committee hearing on "Students, Parents & Others Testify on Curriculum Censorship," Representative Jamie Raskin read the entire letter. Children's and young adult books expand what is available in curriculum materials and textbooks. Censoring them is a harm to all children. 

I offer a special kú'daa (thank you) to Arigon Starr, for including her tribal nation--Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma--in her signature (I highlighted it and did a screen capture): 

Who we are, as citizens of tribal nations, matters and the books we create for young people matter. They provide our children with mirrors of our experiences as Native people, and they provide non-Native children with windows that accurately bring Native life to them in ways that help them understand the entirety of who we are. 

Here is a copy of the letter:

May 17, 2022

We, the undersigned, authors and illustrators of books for children and teens, condemn the efforts by organized groups to purge books from our nation’s schools. Our concern is not for the books themselves, but for the children, families, and communities who are caught in the crosshairs of these campaigns.

This current wave of book suppression follows hard-won gains made by authors whose voices have long been underrepresented in publishing. Just ten years ago, less than seven percent of children’s books featured characters who were Black, Indigenous, or people of color (source: Cooperative Children’s Book Center). Representation is finally increasing thanks to the work of groups like We Need Diverse Books. The current banning efforts are part of a strong and purposeful backlash against books written by BIPOC authors. Books with characters who are LGBTQIA+ have been vehemently targeted and frequently misrepresented.

When books are removed or flagged as inappropriate, it sends the message that the people in them are somehow inappropriate. It is a dehumanizing form of erasure. Every reader deserves to see themselves and their families positively represented in the books in their schools. These books are important for all children. Reading stories that reflect the diversity of our world builds empathy and respect for everyone’s humanity. At a time when our country is experiencing an alarming rise in hate crimes, we should be searching for ways to increase empathy and compassion at every turn.

A particularly insidious feature of the current attacks is the flood of accusations that anyone who seeks to give readers access to diverse books is a “groomer,” “radical,” or “pedophile.” These charges are abhorrent and without merit, and they have been leveled against not only authors, but against teachers and librarians. We strongly condemn this slander against our colleagues and our nation’s educators.

A book may not be for every student, but—as we know from the many letters we receive from young readers—a single book can matter deeply to an individual student. Nearly all campuses have an existing system to handle a parent’s concern with their own child’s reading material. Pro-censorship groups seek to overwhelm these systems by pressuring schools to pull entire lists of books from shelves “for review.” Some extremists have intimidated authors, educators, and school board members online and even threatened them with violence. This has created an atmosphere of fear that has led to “soft censorship” in many districts. Books are quietly removed or never purchased at all. Authors are never invited to speak, for fear of drawing the wrath of
these groups.

Libraries are bastions of the First Amendment. They provide equal access to a wealth of knowledge and ideas for all public school students. When individuals and organizations seek to advance their own political agendas or personal beliefs by censoring books, they infringe upon students’ constitutional rights.

We call upon Congress, statehouses, and school boards to reject the political manipulation of our schools, to uphold the values of freedom and equality promised in the Constitution, and to protect the rights of all young people to access the books they need and deserve.

Signed,

Judy Blume
Lois Lowry
Christina Soontornvat
Ellen Oh
Phil Bildner
Alex London
Dhonielle Clayton
Gordon Korman
Karina Yan Glaser
James Ponti
Minh Lê
Linda Sue Park
Nic Stone
Hena Khan
Katherine Paterson
Sarah Mlynowski
Meg Medina
Gregory Maguire
Stuart Gibbs
Julie Buxbaum
KA Holt
Juana Martinez-Neal
Nikki Grimes
Max Brallier
Samira Ahmed
Jim Averbeck
Louise Hawes
Rose Brock
Mary Brigid Barrett
Kyle Lukoff
Erika T. Wurth
Kate Hart
Andrea L. Rogers
Traci Sorell
Brian Young

Erin Entrada Kelly
Kathi Appelt
LeUyen Pham
Nisha Sharma
Debbie Reese
Kevin Maillard
Rick Riordan
Jacqueline Woodson
Cynthia Leitich Smith
Mo Willems
Jason Reynolds
Jeff Kinney
John Green
Raina Telgemeier
Tiffany D. Jackson
Mayra Cuevas
Rebecca Stead
Molly Idle
Bill Konigsberg
Joy McCullough
Liz Garton Scanlon
Elizabeth Eulberg
Adele Griffin
Laurel Snyder
Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Debbie Ridpath Ohi
Matt de la Peña
Cynthia Levinson
Bethany Hegedus
Elana K. Arnold
Audrey Vernick
Jason June
Tim Tingle
Jo Whittemore
ilene Wong Gregorio

Dawn Quigley
Supriya Kelkar
Jen Calonita
Jasmine Warga
Ronald L Smith
Victoria Aveyard
Rajani LaRocca
Jennifer Ziegler
Nidhi Chanani
Kami Garcia
Jeff Zentner
Gale Galligan
Angie Thomas
Dave Pilkey
Kate DiCamillo
Kwame Alexander
Avi
Jerry Craft
Dan Santat
Hope Larson
Varian Johnson
Romina Garber
Marianna Baer
Padma Venkatraman
Olugbemisola
Rhuday-Perkovich
Julie Murphy
Denise K. Lajimodiere
Laurie Devore
Soman Chainani
Jamie Lee Curtis
Mac Barnett
Megan Frazer Blakemore
Malinda Lo
Alex Segura

Kelly Yang
Naomi Milliner
Tracey Baptiste
Jon Scieszka
Veronica Roth
Shing Yin Khor
Supriya Kelkar
Shaenon K. Garrity
Alex Gino
Malayna Evans
Marie Lu
Laurel Goodluck
Randy Ribay
Courtney Summers
Jennifer Bertman
Libba Bray
Maulik Pancholy
Lin Oliver
Sarah Albee
Anne Wynter
Jessica Patrick
Kayla Cagan
Sara Ryan
Amy Spalding
Jordan Sonnenblick
Alexandria Giardino
Cory Putman Oakes
K-Fai Steele
Amy Novesky
Sayantani DasGupta
Erin Soderberg Downing
Donna Barba Higuera
David Bowles
Sarah Darer Littman
Nate Powell
Heidi E.Y. Stemple
Thyra Heder
Trung Le Nguyen
Mike Curato
Angeline Boulley
Barbara McClintock
Hannah Barnaby
Jeanne Birdsall
Steve Light
Maggie Rudy
Brian Floca
Malinda Lo
Jarrett J. Krosoczka
Sherri L. Smith

Nicole Maggi
Gideon Sterer
Ginger Johnson
Kara Thomas
Debbi Michiko Florence
Maryrose Wood
Kristin Cashore
Carolyn Mackler
Lauren Castillo
Margo Rabb
Beth McMullen
Mary Winn Heider
Natalie Standiford
John Rocco
Judy Blundell/Jude Watson
Brian Selznick
Laura Ruby
Jessica Lee Anderson
Susan Kralovansky
Amitha Jagannath Knight
Jenn Reese
Mariah Fredericks
Oge Mora
Farrah Rochon
Jason Chin
Lisa Fipps
Greg van Eekhout
Catherine Linka
Lisa McMann
David Hyde Costello
Kristin Cast
Janae Marks
Kip Wilson
Meredith Davis
Bethanie Murguia
Aisha Saeed
Cecil Castellucci
Fran Manushkin
Raphael Simon (aka
Pseudonymous Bosch)
Carrie Jones
Pat Miller
Katie Bayerl
Misa Saburi
Matt McMann
Maurene Goo
Brendan Reichs
Kaitlin Ward
Andrew Farago

Chris Grabenstein
Edward Underhill
Tracy López
William Alexander
P. C. Cast
Preeti Chhibber
Gayle Forman
Priyanka Taslim
Lyn Miller-Lachmann
Kate Messner
Robin Stevenson
Stephanie S. Tolan
Margarita Engle
Mike Jung
Casey W. Robinson
Deva Fagan
Adam Gidwitz
Jenna Miller
ER Frank
Natasha Donovan
Heather Murphy Capps
Isi Hendrix
Evan Turk
Jacquetta Nammar Feldman
Megan Reyes
Kim Rogers
Traci Chee
John August
Aron Nels Steinke
Sylvia Liu
Lauren Myracle
MaryBeth Timothy
Emily Skrutskie
Brandy Colbert
Arigon Starr (Kickapoo Tribe of
Oklahoma)
Melissa Stewart
Laura Shovan
Heidi R Kling
Laura Parnum
Susie Ghahremani
Alyson Gerber
Ruth Chan
Tui T. Sutherland
Jimmy Gownley
Andrea Wang
Kiersten White
Tara Dairman
Jen Ferguson

Fran Wilde
Dahlia Adler
Marc Tyler Nobleman
Steve Orlando
Melissa Walker
Mark Oshiro
Joe Cepeda
Trisha Moquino
Lamar Giles
Robert Liu-Trujillo
Mary McCoy
Amanda Foody
Alex R Kahler
Laekan Zea Kemp
Mike Maihack
Samantha Berger
Claribel A. Ortega
Terry Catasús Jennings
Tirzah Price
Lois Sepahban
Maria Gianferrari
Alexis Larkin
Olivia Chadha
Kalena Miller
Leslie Stall Widener
Z Brewer
Shane Pangburn
Pat Zietlow Miller
Violet Lumani
Terry Widener
Rosiee Thor
Pamela Ehrenberg
Sara Ackerman
Lev Rosen
Margaret Stohl
Alysa Wishingrad
Gia Gordon
Liselle Sambury
Tom Angleberger
Eliza Kinkz
M.T. Anderson
e.E. Charlton-Trujillo
Jessica Lewis
Victor Pineiro
Rebecca Balcárcel
Judd Winick
A.S. King
Anne Broyles
Lisa Robinson

Miranda Paul
Baptiste Paul
Kristy Boyce
Payal Doshi
Holly Black
Paul O. Zelinsky
Joseph Bruchac
Caroline Gertler
Alexandra Alessandri
Staci L. Drouillard
Carter Higgins
Kiku Hughes
Lisa Stringfellow
Elaine Vickers
Amy Noelle Parks
Andrea M. Page
Melissa Dassori
Wendy Mass
Sarah Hovorka
Lisa Varchol Perron
Esme Symes-Smith
Precious McKenzie
Greg Neri
Haley Neil
Marie Rutkoski
Ibi Zoboi
Amy Reed
HM Bouwman
Renee Ahdieh
Colleen Paeff
Sarah Kapit
Karuna Riazi
Anne Ursu
Lillie Lainoff
Jake Burt
Tina Connolly
Susan Cooper
Raakhee Mirchandani
Conrad Wesselhoeft
Samantha M Clark
Trisha Speed Shaskan
Amy Tintera
Mónica Mancillas
NoNieqa Ramos
Stephen Shaskan
Nicole D. Collier
Amy Ignatow
Tara Platt
Nina Hamza

Shawn Peters
Emily X.R. Pan
Jessixa Bagley
Lea Foushee
Deborah Heiligman
Betsy Bird
Anne Nesbet
Leslie Connor
Sue Macy
Veera Hiranandani
Miranda Sun
Cece Bell
Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic
Susan Kuklin
Jennifer Wilson
Martha Brockenbrough
Kim Turrisi
S.K. Ali
Patricia Morris Buckley
Elizabeth Blake
Lori R Snyder
Kirsten W. Larson
Jaime Formato
Saira Mir
Thomas Lennon
Judy I. Lin
April Jones Prince
Susan Azim Boyer
Jenny Han
Joana Pastro
Lindsay H. Metcalf
Gloria Amescua
Tamika Burgess
Lindsey Lane
M.O. Yuksel
Ingrid Law
Swati Avasthi
Will Taylor
Elisa Stone Leahy
Darshana Khiani
Abi Cushman
Andrea Menotti
Rochelle Hassan
Catherine Arguelles
Naz Kutub
Kara LaReau
Sarah Park Dahlen
Carol Kim
Nadia Salomon
Amanda Rawson Hill
Justine Pucella Winans
Lori Nichols
Laura Rueckert
Joanna Ho
Caroline Kusin Pritchard
Cylin Busby
Thi Bui
Sarah Street
Innosanto Nagara
Gigi Griffis
Ruta Sepetys
Adam Sass
Jen Wang
M.T. Khan
Katherine Applegate
Sheela Chari
Angela Burke Kunkel
Stephanie Burgis
Loree Griffin Burns
Jarrett Lerner
Jacob Sager Weinstein
Courtney Pippin-Mathur
Eliot Schrefer
Carole Lindstrom
Linda Urban
Jyoti Rajan Gopal
Jessica Young
Claire Bobrow
Andrew Maraniss
Steven Weinberg
Susan Eaddy
Trang Thanh Tran
Ann Braden
Jessica Vitalis
Lesléa Newman
Mika Song
Brendan Kiely
Brian D. Kennedy
Mónica Brown
Sean Petrie
Jo Knowles
Adib Khorram
Robert Broder
Karen Strong
Steve Sheinkin
Kathy Halsey
Breanna J. McDaniel
Kelly Starling Lyons

Sheri Dillard
Varsha Bajaj
Zoraida Córdova
Ryan T Higgins
Tameka Fryer Brown
Matt Tavares
Sarah Ahiers
Jamar Nicholas
Joanne Rossmassler Fritz
Meg Cannistra
Andrea Beatriz Arango
Peggy Thomas
Saraciea J. Fennell
Wendell Minor
Don Tate
Alicia D. Williams
E. Lockhart
Jane Yolen
Christine Heppermann
Anita Kharbanda
Linda Zajac
Brittany J. Thurman
Eric Smith
Charles Beyl
Charnaie Gordon
Renée Watson
Mari Mancusi
Molly B. Burnham
Alan Gratz
Kekla Magoon
Emma Carlson Berne
Gayatri Sethi
Debra Shumaker
Cynthia Platt
Vivian Vande Velde
Lisa Connors
Kate Klise
Reese Eschmann
Elizabeth Falk
Siman Nuurali
Valerie Bolling
Beth Ferry
James Riley
Nancy Ohlin
Jan Carr
Isabella Kung
Andrew Eliopulos
Elizabeth Acevedo
Grace Lin

Ellen Leventhal
Sheba Karim
David Small
Chris Tebbetts
Joyce Wan
Bree Paulsen
Corlette Douglas
Laurie Morrison
Sarah Warren
Abby Cooper
Daphne Kalmar
Sara Zarr
Jeanette Bradley
Javier Gimenez Ratti
Erin Petti
Stephanie Watson
Shadra Strickland
David Arnold
April Daniels
Leda Schubert
Gail Carson Levine
Kass Morgan
Eric Bell
Adam Rex
Julie Falatko
Sandra Nickel
Alliah L. Agostini
Alexandra Villasante
Olivia Abtahi
Rilla Alexander
Jennifer Gennari
Rachael Allen
Brad McLelland
Laura Gehl
Lisa J La Banca Rogers
Chantel Acevedo
Christina Díaz Gonzalez
Jenn Bishop
Laurie Halse Anderson
Crystal Allen
Dara Sharif
Anica Mrose Rissi
Marla Frazee
Matthew J. Kirby
Renee Kurilla
Becky Albertalli
John Claude Bemis
Brenda Seabrooke
Barney Saltzberg

Shanna Miles
Cristina Oxtra
Zoey Abbott
Heather Kamins
Ann Jacobus
Maria Scrivan
Loriel Ryon
Maria José Fitzgerald
Zack Loran Clark
S. Isabelle
Miriam Glassman
Gretchen McNeil
Matt Phelan
Kim Johnson
Jarrett Pumphrey
Kao Kalia Yang
Alechia Dow
Shannon Gibney
Margaret Peterson Haddix
Neal Shusterman
Ismée Williams, MD
Angela Quezada Padron
James Burks
Tanya Lee Stone
Sarah Klise
Laura Sibson
Lynne Kelly
Tamara Ireland Stone
Amber McBride
Ally Malinenko
Tracy Subisak
Deborah Underwood
Robin Yardi
Tashia Hart
Micah Player
Janet Sumner Johnson
Laurie Keller
Kalynn Bayron
Anne Greenwood Brown
Elisa Chavarri
Linsey Miller
Virginia Euwer Wolff
Cathy Ann Johnson-Conforto
Alli Brydon
Gene Barretta
Meg Fleming
Amy Lukavics
Julissa Mora
Kari Lavelle

Jacqueline Woodson
Mia García
Manju B. Howard
J.F. Fox
Tracy Barrett
Leigh Bardugo
Adriana Hernández Bergstrom
Catherine Alene
Maria van Lieshout
Sarah Meade
Janee Trasler
Bridget Hodder
Jenny Whitehead
Sue Fliess
Erzsi Deak
Gilly Segal
Kristen Simmons
Alexandra Monir
Jieting
Janet Fox
Kimberly Latrice Jones
Aminah Mae Safi
Laura H. Beith
Yamile Saied Mendez
Rocky Callen
Elisa Ludwig
Demetra Brodsky
Alison Pearce Stevens
Chrystal D. Giles
Michelle Nott
Amy Young
Michelle Coles
Kathryn Thurman
Josh Allen
E. Katherine Kottaras
Karen Cushman
Lauren Morrill
Marissa Meyer
Holly M McGhee
Laurie Wallmark
Amy Gilez
Kelly McWilliams
Katie McGarry
Abigail Marble
M.K. Farr
Elly Swartz
Margaret Owen
Mike Chen
Nancy Castaldo

Sheila McGraw
Laura Taylor Namey
Christy Mihaly
Tessa Gratton
Huy Voun Lee
Hayley Barrett
Melanie Ellsworth
Nikki Katz
Halli Gomez
Daria Peoples
Kirsten Miller
Kim Ventrella
Pam Munoz Ryan
Emmy Kastner
Jessica Verdi
Stephanie Greene
Kate Berube
John Coy
Rose Garcia Moriarty
Karen Yin
Vera Brosgol
Kim Holt
R.L. Toalson
Teresa Robeson
Sage Blackwood
Gennifer Choldenko
Mylisa Larsen
Priscilla Alpaugh
Amy Huntington
Aditi Khorana
Adrienne Maria Vrettos
David Goodner
Chris Barton
Rebecca Petruck
Rebecca G. Aguilar
TeMika Grooms
Tiffany Gholar
Lissette Norman
Amy Ewing
Kate Barsotti
Shannon Hale
Rachel Gozhansky
Julien Chung
Michelle Cusolito
Margaret Chiu Greanias
Kit Rosewater
Sarah Aronson
Allen R. Wells
Jodi McKay

Ellen Booraem
Christine Evans
Constance Lombardo
Suzanne Morgan Williams
Ann E.. Burg
Joan F. Smith
Anne AC Gaughen
Andrea J. Loney
Mary Bowman-Kruhm
Judith L. Roth
E. B. Goodale
Laurenne sala
Lisa Katzenberger
Sophie Cameron
Jessie Sima
Melanie Conklin
Diana Sudyka
Maxine Kaplan
Gina Rosati
Sarah Tomp
Cátia Chien
Karen Romano Young
Tonya Duncan Ellis
Ashley Hope Pérez
PJ McIlvaine
Tiffany Schmidt
Beth Revis
Marsha Hayles
Allan Wolf
Jewell Parker Rhodes
Fleur Bradley
Karen Jialu Bao
Venessa Vida Kelley
Cinda Williams Chima
Becky Scharnhorst
Jason Gots
Angie Isaacs
Hayley Rocco
Keely Parrack
Mackenzie Joy
Gareth Hinds
Lori Degman
Katie Slivensky
Lindsay Moore
Joanie Stone
Eric Fan
Gracey Zhang
Madelyn Rosenberg
Michael Leali

Charise Mericle Harper
Mary Crockett
Audrey Helen Weber
Pamela S. Turner
Peter Brown
Shirley Ng-Benitez
Elizabeth Shreeve
Hope Lim
Sally J. Pla
Marcie Wessels
Kimberly Gee
Cynthia Harmony
Henry Herz
Jennifer Wolfe/Bosworth
Cynthia Cotten
Alison Goldberg
Aamna Qureshi
Anna Kopp
Rita Williams-Garcia
Elisa A. Bonnin
Brooke Boynton-Hughes
Leslie Bulion
Farrah Penn
Heather Lang
Travis Jonker
Deborah Freedman
Holly Jahangiri
Stef Wade
Diane Magras
Sarah Jung
Caela Carter
Anne Ylvisaker
Nikki Barthelmess
Carson Ellis
Jen White
Dan Richards
Nicola Yoon
Jodi Meadows
Marcie Colleen
Mary Reaves Uhles
Susan Johnston Taylor
Laura Gao
Dori Hillestad Butler
Melanie Sumrow
Carol Joy Munro
Pam Fong
Julia DeVillers
Jolene Gutierrez
Carmen Rodrigues

Darin Shuler
Tanisia Tee Moore
Uma Krishnaswami
Chris Eboch
Arree Chung
Malia Maunakea
Laura Silverman
Richard Michelson
Ellen Hopkins
Robb Pearlman
Andrea Zimmerman
Faith Pray
Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Jennifer E. Smith
J. Anderson Coats
Elise Gravel
Amanda Hosch
Ransom Riggs
Julia Kuo
Karen S. Chow
Dianne White
Corinna Luyken
Ty Chapman
Christine Taylor-Butler
Divya Srinivasan
A.J. Irving
David Wiesner
Lisa Moore Ramee
Gina Perry
Chuck Gonzales
Kelly DiPucchio
Jonathan Stutzman
bryan collier
Cheryl Keely
Kristin O’Donnell Tubb
Tamara Ellis Smith
Nancy Bo Flood
Dana J. Sullivan
Sharon Darrow
Amber Benson
Erika L. Jones
Chris Baron
Kelly Light
Dana Swift
Jamie Kiffel-Alcheh
Jennifer K Mann
Lynda Mullaly Hunt
Anna Meriano
Juliana Brandt

David Yoon
Corey Ann Haydu
Michelle Houts
Randi Pink
Jess Townes
Nicholas Solis
Kimberly Derting
Caroline Carlson
Ana Siqueira
Wendy Shang
Antwan Eady
Debbie Zapata
Tara Altebrando
Karen Rostoker-Gruber
Elizabeth Lim
Lisa Anchin
Alessandra Narváez Varela
Henry Neff
Megan Hoyt
Jia Liu
Cynthia Reeg
Cherie Colyer
Jessica Spotswood
Ben Clanton
Nina Crews
Aida Salazar
Laura Renauld
Lisa L. Owens
Skylaar Amann
Tracy Nishimura Bishop
Miriam Busch
Mae Respicio
Meera Sriram
Eric Velasqquez
A.M. Wild
Jacqueline Jules
Rachel M. Wilson
Marcy Campbell
Nancy Armo
Jennifer Fosberry
Jessica Pennington
Rosanne Parry
Nanci Turner Steveson
Toni Yuly
Lisa Thiesing
Joya Goffney
Shannon Hitchcock
Donna Gephart
Kendare Blake

Denise Lewis Patrick
Fiona Cook
Erica S. Perl
Sara Raasch
Scott Schumaker
Paige McKenzie
Julia Alvarez
Sana Rafi
Chris Garcia-Halenar
Diana López
Katie Mazeika
Jacqueline West
Helaine Becker
Blythe Russo
Fahmida Azim
Jody Feldman
Monica Wesolowska
Gordon C. James
Tracy Deonn
Mariana Llanos
Megan Whalen Turner
Mark Holtzen
Tatjana Mai-Wyss
Lily Williams
Barb Rosenstock
Janie Bynum
Cathy Camper
Selina Alko
Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow
Kari Allen
Molly Beth Griffin
Heather Fox
Rita Lorraine Hubbard
Barbara Dee
Anne Hunter
Lola M. Schaefer
Katie Davis
Yuyi Morales
Kristen Schroeder
Carolyn Crimi
Karen Schneemann
Ena Jones
Tara Lazar
Alyson Greene
Saundra Mitchell
Laura Murray
Stan Yan
Freeman Ng
Carmen Oliver

Jess Redman
Nicole Chen
Tahereh Mafi
Dow Phumiruk
Jessica Lanan
Jessica Petersen
L. E. Carmichael
Laura Purdie Salas
Lindsay Currie
Ann Bonwill
Carrie Finison
Mary Lou Peacock
Viviane Elbee
Anna Sortino
Ellen Hagan
Sabina Hahn
Carolyn Marsden
Joanna Cooke
M. K. England
Shannon Messenger
Lisbeth Checo
Curtis Manley
Elizabeth Brown
Carrie Firestone
Victoria Ying
Lucy Morris
Jon-Erik Lappano
Melissa Iwai
Kurtis Scaletta
Sonya Sones
Tricia Elam Walker
Marissa Moss
Korey Watari
Kaija Langley
Sarah Kurpiel
Alyssa Colman
Natasha Anastasia Tarpley
Patricia Wiles
Charles R. Smith Jr.
Mike Wu
Eric Elfman
Shelley Pearsall
Katey Howes
Jacci Turner
Victoria M. Sanchez
Maya Prasad
Benson Shum
Lisze Bechtold
Zara González Hoang

Jess Brallier
Denis Markell
Zetta Elliott
Dinah Johnson
Lenore Appelhans
Pete Hautman
Erika R. Medina
Marti Dumas
Kaz Windness
Meredith Steiner
Laura Freeman
Guadalupe García McCall
Aram Kim
Shelly Anand
Fiona Halliday
Lenny Wen
Margery Cuyler
Rachael Lippincott
Betty C Tang
Anne O’Brien Carelli
Cindy L. Rodriguez
Susan Kusel
Tricia Springstubb
Julie Hampton
Cheryl Willis Hudson
Patricia Toht
Lisa Fields
Gene Luen Yang
Pat Cummings
Anitra Rowe Schulte
Leslie Kimmelman
Tony Piedra
Kathryn Otoshi
Rahele Jomepour Bell
Megan Paasch
Karen Gray Ruelle
Gaby D’Alessandro
Annie Silvestro
Pat Mora
Jasminne Mendez
Megan Bannen
Lauren Abbey Greenberg
Jamie Sumner
Veronica Rossi
Becky Herzog
Peter Pearson
Reggie Brown
Jennie Palmer
Victoria J Coe

She Ganz-Schmitt
Wade Hudson
Lilliam Rivera
Kim Smejkal
Nina Victor Crittenden
Tim McCanna
Joan Broerman
Sarah Plotzker
Kati Gardner
Sarah Henning
Jaime Berry
Lisa Schmid
Susan Muaddi Darraj
Aya Khalil
Lauren Paige Conrad
Anne Key
Zeena M. Pliska
Maleeha Siddiqui
Heather Brockman Lee
Peter Arenstam
Nicole Lesperance
Salima Alikhan
Tammi Sauer
Shirin Shamsi
Norene Paulson
Addie Tsai
Melissa Sarno
Sara K Joiner
Jennifer J. Stewart
Elissa Haden Guest
Cindy Derby
Shawn Harris
Alison Hawkins
Amy Wachspress
Brizida Magro
Sarah Raughley
Sarah & Ian Hoffman
Morgan Matson
Kristen Balouch
Sheetal Sheth
Janice Chiang
Kristy Acevedo
Sara Pennypacker
Julie Hedlund
Lindsay Leslie
Melissa de la Cruz
Nancy Werlin
Bonny Becker
Aimee Lucido

Deborah Halverson
Icy Smith
Haydee Zayas-Ramos
Nazareth Hidalgo Lobo
Esmeralda Santiago
Angelica Shirley Carpenter
Patricia Newman
Paula Yoo
Christina Francine
kevan atteberry
Jean Reagan
Ellen Wittlinger
Laya Steinberg
Francisco Jiménez
Bruce Coville
Theo Baker
Sarah Dessen
Krystal Quiles
Nelly Buchet
Mike Grosso
David Levithan
Julian Winters
Liza Wiemer
Isabelle Adams
Diane Telgen
Ann Brashares
Matthew Gollub
Karen B. Winnick
Kendall Kulper
Jeannine Atkins
Anika Aldamuy Denise
Cecilia Bernard
Alison McGhee
Dianne K. Salerni
Deborah Lakritz
Laura Rivera
Patti Sherlock
Peter Lerangis
Lynn Fulton
Christy Webster
James McGowan
Jon Klassen
Jesse Klausmeier
Genevieve Godbout
Christopher Weyant
Stephen Bramucci
Alison Green Myers
Michal Babay
Chana Stiefel

Anna Shinoda
Matthew Forsythe
Nicole Kronzer
Marc Colagiovanni
Tae Keller
Anika Fajardo
Jennifer Swender
Martha Seif Simpson
Helen Wu
Jandy Nelson
Natalie C. Parker
Candy Wellins
Cory Silverberg
Anna Kang
Timothy Young
Candace Fleming
Darlene Beck Jacobson
Helen Frost
Maria E. Andreu
Kristen Tracy
Kimberly J Sabatini
Wayne Anthony Still
Andrew Smith
Dan Gutman
Megan McCafferty
Arnée Flores
Flora Beach Burlingame
Julie Segal Walters
LL McKinney
R. J. Palacio
Kim Baker
Jasper Sanchez
Jilanne Hoffmann
Marnie Galloway
Pascal Lemaître
David Neilsen
Lian Cho
Lillian Pluta
Honee Jang
Isabel Roxas
Paul Jacobs
Karina Nicole González
Sandy King Carpenter
Tracy Badua
Alexis O’Neill
Jackie Azúa Kramer
J.J. Austrian
Jarrett Dapier
Gita Varadarajan

Meeg Pincus
April Halprin Wayland
Stephen Chbosky
Crystal Maldonado
Carrie Ryan
J. Kasper Kramer
Kay Moore
Gary Nilsen
Sara Levine
Camille Andros
Emily Wibberley
Amina Luqman-Dawson
Stephanie Graegin
Jeffry W. Johnston
Mitali Perkins
Ronique Ellis
Rob Sayegh Jr.
Scott Westerfeld
Jenin Mohammed
Lish McBride
Ellen Mayer
Emily Neilson
Nik Henderson
Rachel Dukes
Robert Paul Jr.
Emily Lloyd-Jones
Rae Carson
Chad W. Beckerman
Denene Millner
Michaela Goade
Susan Kaplan Carlton
Sun Yung Shin
Patricia Hruby Powell
Tara Sim
Barbara CarrollRoberts
Mary Beth Miller
Bennett Madison
Colleen AF Venable
Dave Szalay
Aislinn Brophy
Kim Smith
Kah Yangni
Gabby Zapata
Shelley Couvillion
Junauda Petrus
Gina Bellisario
Katy Rose Pool
Monica Roe
Jamie Krakover

George Ella Lyon
Julie E. Frankel
David Macinnis Gill
Gordon Jack
Paul Fleischman
Bethany C Morrow
Mike Lawrence
Robin Herrera
Shiho Pate
Rori Shay
Alec Longstreth
Mark Siegel
Jef Kaminsky
Phil Falco
Caroline Arnold
Dave Roman
Matt Rockefeller
Patricia McCormick
Archaa Shrivastav
Emi Cohen
Melissa Crowton
Bryan B. Bliss
Alexandra Thompson
Alexis Castellanos
Neo Edmund
Robin Preiss Glasser
Sheryl Murray
Will Hobbs
Jody Casella
Brianna McCarthy
Ken Daley
Rebecca Barnhouse
Andre R. Frattino
Maia Kobabe
David Elliott
Laila Sabreen
Kathleen Ahrens
Landra Jennings
Abby Hanlon
Cozbi A Cabrera
Kianny N. Antigua
Olivia de Castro
Marcia Argueta Mickelson
Josh Funk
Liz Starin
DeAndra Hodge
Nneka Myers
Ted Enik
Ariel Bernstein

Rachel Cohn
Sili Recio
Boya Sun
Gabi Snyder
Pat Redding Scanlon
Naomi Danis
Bruce Hale
James Serafino
Holly Schindler
Rachelle Burk
Court Stevens
Andria Warmflash Rosenbaum
Jacqueline Preiss Weitzman
Lizz Brady
Kell Andrews
Tad Hills
Ari Tison
Sabrina Kleckner
Emma Bland Smith
Danielle Davis
Andie Powers
Mark Rogalski
Leila Sales
Karah Sutton
Darla Okada
Aldo Pourchet
Dian Curtis Regan
Lynn Brunelle
Qin Leng
Isabel Quintero
Jama Kim Rattigan
Keri Claiborne Boyle
Lorien Lawrence
Melanie Crowder
Danica Novgorodoff
Margie Longoria
Lia Brown
Roni Schotter
Leah Henderson
Jacquie Hann
Colter Jackson
Marissa Valdez
Deborah Sosin
Jessie Hartland
Sophie Escabasse
Jane Park
Sue Heavenrich
Raul the Third
Cheryl Blackford

Rhonda McCormack
Cheryl Walsh Bellville
Daphne Benedis-Grab
Sallie G. Randolph
Stacia Deutsch
Lee Wardlaw
Gary D. Schmidt
Savannah Allen
Sherry Shahan
Elizabeth Rose Stanton
Doreen Cronin
Dominique Ramsey
Eva Petersen
Michelle Cuevas
Cordelia Jensen
Megan E. Freeman
Rashmi Bismark
Anuradha D. Rajurkar
Melisa Fernández Nitsche
Dan-ah Kim
Kate Albus
Andrew Sharmat

Debbie--have you seen THE ENCHANTED PEOPLE by Jennifer Pool

I'm trying to catch up! I admit--it will never happen but I can try! One of the things I enjoy are the emails from people who ask me if I've seen this or that book. 

I could do a string of "Debbie--have you seen" posts... but I'll do this one, for now.

A reader wrote to ask if I've seen The Enchanted People by Jennifer Pool. The author's name is unfamiliar to me. Published in 2021 by Guernica, it is proving to be a bit of a puzzle. When I looked up the title, I easily found it on Amazon. There, the description said this:

The Enchanted People is a humanitarian fairytale about a young girl named Wawatay who lives away from her village as an outcast because she is different. All the people in her village have an enchanted power except for her, and so, she is not accepted by them. While living in solitude, Wawatay finds an injured baby sparrow and begins to care for her despite ridicule and discouragement from her people. When Baby Bird grows up and asks Wawatay to teach her to fly, Wawatay embarks on a journey across the Earth to seek help from her animal friends and learn the secret to flying. Along the way, Wawatay discovers a secret about herself ― she has an enchanted power after all. She must decide if she will use it to help save her animal friends and plead with her people to change their habits ― which are destroying Mother Earth ― or if she will continue to stay away in fear. Readers may also discover a secret from this book: just like the first Enchanted People to walk the earth, each of us is born with unique gifts. Are you using your powers for good?

The main character's name is "Wawatay" which sounds like it might be a Native name. I scrolled down on the page and saw a "From the Back Cover" paragraph that says this:

Wind Among Grasses is an indigenous folktale about a Cherokee girl named Wind, who lives as an outcast because she is different; all the people in her village have a great power except for her. While living in solitude, Wind finds an injured baby sparrow and begins to care for it despite ridicule and discouragement from her people. When Baby Bird grows up and asks Wind to teach her to fly, Wind embarks on a journey around the world to consult with animal friends about the secret to flying. Along the way, Wind discovers a secret about herself: she has a special power after all. She must decide if she can use it to help her people who are endangering her animal friends and destroying mother earth. Readers may also discover their own secret in this book: everyone has a unique power that can be used to help the earth. Are you using your powers for good?

Interesting, isn't it?

• The Enchanted People is "a humanitarian folktale."
• Wind Among Grasses is "an indigenous folktale about a Cherokee girl"

And, 

• In The Enchanted People, the character's name is Wawatay. 
• In Wind Among Grasses, her name is Wind.

The rest is pretty much the same. 

I also found the book in Google Books but the book cover is for Wind Among Grasses instead of The Enchanted People. 

So--we've got an odd set of information to puzzle through! I poked around online and think that Wawatay might be an Anishinaabe word that means Northern Lights. So... is it an Anishinaabe word? Is this an Anishinaabe story? Or is it a Cherokee one?! Did the publisher goof in releasing info about Wind Among Grasses on the back cover? Did the author write the two descriptions above, for two different books? Or is The Enchanted People a revised version of Wind Among Grasses?

My local library doesn't have The Enchanted People. As far as I can tell, the author isn't Native, so I'm not going to purchase a copy of the book. The references to enchanted, and powers, and gifts... it all makes me wary. The story feels a bit fanciful in the ways that white writers are when they write stories like this. But I'll keep an eye out for it. Have you read it? What did you think? 

  

Not Recommended: BAREFOOT BOY by Gloria D. Miklowitz and Jim Collins

Barefoot Boy by Gloria D. Miklowitz, illustrated by Jim Collins, came out in Follett's "Beginning to Read" series in 1964. A reader sent it to me some time back. Here's the book description:

Paul Steven did not like to wear shoes. He lost a pair of white shoes and a pair of brown shoes. He also lost his sneakers. The barefoot boy found that pebbles hurt, bees sting, thorns bite, and glass cuts. On his 7th birthday, he received a cowboy suit, a cowboy hat, a toy gun.....and a pair of high, shiny COWBOY BOOTS. The boy loved his boots and a cowboy never takes off his boots!

On page 12, we read that Paul Steven stopped wearing shoes because "Paul Steven became an Indian." He tells his mother that he "never heard of an Indian wearing shoes."

With each page turn we see one stereotype after another:

His father tells him that "In winter even wild Indians wear moccasins. Where are your moccasins, Paul Steven?"  

Paul Steven has some, so he wears them for a while but then, as the description above notes, he gets a cowboy suit and cowboy boots for his birthday. Now, he's a cowboy who wears his boots, all the time. 

Quite the story, isn't it? 

I did this short post on it because readers with this kind of stereotyping are not published like they used to be--but the kinds of images in them still circulate in how people think about Native peoples. People have a lot of nostalgia for these kinds of books. This book came out when I was in elementary school. It may have been on the shelves in my school but I don't remember it. Do you? 

"Our Children Are Native Every Day" - In Spring 2022 issue of Learning for Justice Magazine

Earlier this year, I was asked a series of questions about book bannings, for an issue of Learning for Justice. The interview is out now, in the Spring 2022 issue. It includes this image of me. I had no idea they were doing that, but I do like Zé Otavio's illustration very much! 

The entire issue is available to download.  

Highly Recommended: DEB HAALAND: FIRST NATIVE AMERICAN CABINET SECRETARY, by Jill Doerfler and Matthew J. Martinez

Deb Haaland: First Native American Cabinet Secretary

Written by Jill Doerfler and Matthew J. Martinez

Published by Lerner

Published in 2022 (due out in August)

Reviewed by Debbie Reese

Review Status: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

****

In children's literature, we talk about the importance of representation. Seeing someone who looks like you is powerfully affirming. In 2016, I experienced that affirmation. Deb Haaland was at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.  I shared my joy on Twitter:

And in 2018 when she and Sharice Davids won seats to be in the US Congress, I hoped that we'd see children's books about them. Davids did a biographical picture book last year, which I highly recommend. Now, we've got one about Haaland, and I am happy to say that I highly recommend it! 

The biography of Haaland is written by Dr. Jill Doerfler (White Earth Anishinaabe) and Dr. Matthew J. Martinez (Ohkay Owingeh). It opens on March 18, 2021 with Haaland entering the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC to be sworn in as the 45th US Secretary of the Interior. There's a photo of that moment. And there's description of what she was wearing (a ribbon skirt) and why. There's information about who made the skirt--Agnes Woodward, who is Plains Cree from the Kawacatoose First Nation in Saskatchewan, Canada. Doerfler and Martinez take care to tell us about the symbolism of that skirt. 

I've read those first pages several times, imagining Native children in the US and Canada reading them. Those pages carry a symbolism of their own: they are a strong, and deep, and loving embrace of Nativeness.  

On page 11 (I'm reading an ARC from NetGalley; page numbers may change), we're taken to Haaland's early years. That section opens with "Guwaadzi hauba" (greetings), and information about Keres (the language spoken at Laguna Pueblo, where Haaland is an enrolled citizen). 

On that page, we see an inset block of information titled "Sovereign Nations" that explains what they are: 

There are several throughout the book, each one supporting information shared in the narrative. On page 20 I see "Native American Voting Rights." I'm calling attention to these because teachers can use the book as a biography about Haaland, but another use of them is those inset blocks! They function as a text all on their own that is akin to an American Indian Studies 101 course at a university. Indeed, the biographers, Jill Doerfler and Matthew Martinez, have PhDs and both have taught at colleges and universities. I don't see any information about them in my digital ARC, but it ought to be included! Doerfler is a professor and department head of American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota, and Martinez is Deputy Director of the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe, New Mexico. 

Overall, I am pleased with all that I see in this book! 

Teachers can use this book with students but they can also use this book themselves to create or revise lesson plans. If/when they come across the word "squaw" they will remember page 31 and the information there about that word, and Haaland's declaration of its derogatory use and that she established a task force to select new names for the hundreds of federal sites that use that word in their name. 

A personal note: I love seeing Nanbé Owingeh on page twelve! And I'm gratified to see An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People (Jean Mendoza and I adapted that book) listed as one of the resources. 

And one more personal note: ku'daa, Matthew and Jill, for writing this book. It is precisely what we all need--no matter who we are, or how old we are. As the first peoples of these lands, our voices and work matter tremendously. 

I highly recommend Deb Haaland: First Native American Cabinet Secretary. Published by Lerner and written by Jill Doerfler and Matthew J. Martinez -- Native scholars -- I urge you to buy copies for your classroom, your library, and the children in your life. 

Thoughts on David A. Robertson's THE GREAT BEAR being removed from libraries

Note from Debbie on April 27: The Durham District School Board in Ontario released a statement today that said they did an accelerated review and returned Robertson's book to library shelves. Unfortunately, they did not elaborate on why it was removed in the first place. 

Thoughts on David A. Robertson's THE GREAT being removed from libraries

Friday, April 22--On April 15, I began to see posts on social media about David A. Robertson's The Great Bear being removed from libraries. Published by Puffin (Penguin Random House Canada) in Sept 2021, it was on my to-be-read list.

Because of the growing conversations about it, I made time to read it this week. I saw the things I look for when I evaluate a book. The author is Native (Cree) and is writing about their own nation (Robertson's characters are Cree). There is Native (Cree) language in the book. Another item I look for is setting. I prefer books set in the present day because they provide educators with many opportunities for helping children know that we (Native peoples) did not disappear. I'll say more about the book in a review later. Based on my read of it, The Great Bear will carry a Highly Recommended tag. 

In my studies and analyses of children's and young adult books, I characterize books like The Great Bear as mirrors for Native kids (mirrors is one part of Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop's metaphor; I encourage you to read her article). Books described as mirrors are ones where the characters and their experiences are ones that reflect the reader. Historically, Native children have had very few mirrors. The vast majority of children's books in the past have been written by white writers. In recent years we have seen more Native books by Native writers get published but the numbers are still very low. You can see that by looking at this infographic. At the time the infographic was created in 2018, only 23 of the 3,134 books represented had enough content to be categorized as American Indian/First Nations: 

The data makes it clear: we desperately need books by Native writers! If you want to dive into data over a broad range of years, go to the Books by and/or about Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (All Years) pages at the Cooperative Children's Book Center at the School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison. 

Some brief notes about the book: the main characters in The Great Bear are Morgan, a thirteen-year-old Cree girl who has been in the foster care system since she was two, and Eli, a twelve-year-old Cree boy who recently entered the foster care system. Eli knows his language and culture. He teaches Morgan words and shares stories with her. She feels protective towards him. Their foster parents are not Native but they also aren't foster parents who abuse the children they take into their homes. Books with characters like Morgan and Eli are rare, but there are many Native children in foster care. In short, The Great Bear functions as a good mirror for children like Morgan and Eli, and for children who are Cree, and for children who are Native. 

The social media posts I saw were about the book being removed from libraries in the Durham District Schools in Ontario, Canada. The first article I read was in The Toronto Star on April 14. Major points follow: 

• The Durham School Board had removed several books that have "content that could be harmful to Indigenous students and families." 
• Robertson was stunned and confused to learn that the board had removed his book because its contents could be harmful to Indigenous students. 
• An email to principals in the district instructed schools to remove the books, pending a review.
• The email said that schools regularly review collections that are "no longer current, or which may contain content that perpetuates harmful narratives, racial slurs and discriminatory biases, assumptions, and stereotypes." Specific information about the contents deemed "harmful" were not provided.
• Robertson's publisher had attempted to reach the district by emails sent on April 1 and April 6.

Since then I've read several additional articles from news media and I watched the school board meeting that took place on April 19th. 

My analysis of children's books is centered on the child/teen reader. I've been critical of Native writers, before. If a book by a Native writer has problems, I note and share those problems. I went into my reading of The Great Bear with the information from the Toronto Star uppermost in my mind. What out-of-date content would I find? What harmful narrative? Racial slur? Discriminatory bias? Assumptions? Stereotypes? 

When I finished reading it, the only question I had was the use of "Happy Hunting Ground." It is one of those phrases that gets used a lot to refer to a good place after death. It is one of those phrases that I have wanted to research to figure out its origin. Is "Happy Hunting Ground" an English translation for a concept articulated by people who speak Cree? I don't know. When I see a white writer use it, I note it as a problem. But I hesitate to do so in this case. 

Other than that, I think The Great Bear has a lot to offer to Native and non-Native readers!  

And so, I echo Robertson's confusion. I've read several of his books. Though the stories vary, I've not found anything in any of them that caused me to think they would harm a Native child. His books are popular. With them being pulled from libraries in Durham (Canada), what are teachers there and elsewhere thinking? Should they use the books? If they do, are they at risk of hurting Native children? In the U.S. librarians and teachers are choosing to avoid books that feature marginalized characters. This is being referred to as "soft censorship." (See Kelly Jensen's article about it at Book Riot: Soft and Quiet: Self-Censorship in an Era of Book Challenges.) Soft censorship is terrible. It deprives us of so many books by people from communities that have been marginalized. 

On social media, I've seen two comments about The Great Bear that stand out. On April 20, 2022, Nancy Rowe asked why it is so hard to believe that Indigenous students, staff, and families do not 

"enjoy reading about colonialism, residential school, culture, etc. They live it n don't need to be forced to listen, read n experience colonial-violence." 

I don't think anybody enjoys that kind of reading. Her remarks suggest that children were forced to listen to or read The Great Bear. Is that what happened in the Durham schools? Were children forced to listen to it, or forced to read it? What was in the book that hurt them? Did they and/or a parent ask a teacher to stop, and did that teacher dismiss their concerns? 

And, what is being asked for with regard to the contents of a story? In a way it sounds like someone wants books with happy Native content. 

So--let's look at a couple of things that might have been the issue.  

First, Eli wears a braid. He is being bullied about it by kids at school. He cuts it off. Louis, the main character in Eric Gansworth's If I Ever Get Out of Here asks one of his friends to cut his braid for similar reasons. I bring up his book because that is not an uncommon experience for Native boys who wear their hair long or in a braid. They get harassed and decide to cut their hair. In the last few years there have been reports of cases where a Native child's hair is cut without their consent. It is traumatizing, especially with the larger historical context in which the hair of Native children was cut at residential and boarding schools. Children who experienced their own hair being cut without consent, or know that a parent or grandparent went through that experience, might become uncomfortable with a classroom discussion of that part of The Great Bear. If that is the case, then I think the district needs to say so, immediately, so that teachers in other classrooms take care with their discussions of Native hair being cut. Second, Eli says that if he could stop being brown, he'd do that, too. Children with skin like Eli's go through that all the time. It, too, is a common and painful experience. So--these two points (the braid and skin color) are heavy. They may be too heavy for some readers, and there are likely other readers who feel that weight but who also feel seen--who feel a validation of something they went through. 

Elsewhere I saw someone say that The Great Bear and the other books had too much culture. Too much culture?! It strikes me as a throwback to "kill the Indian" policies in residential and boarding schools. Saying a book by a Native writer has "too much culture" is telling that writer they're too Indian. 

The Great Bear is not the only one that has been pulled from shelves in Durham. As far as I can see, titles of other books are not being made public. I imagine that Native writers in the US and Canada are wondering if their book was pulled. I imagine teachers and librarians and scholars who read, shared, and recommended The Great Bear are now second guessing their evaluation. 

Where I end up after several days of reading and thinking is nowhere. The questions I had a week ago are the same ones I have today. What, in the book, caused harm to Native readers? In order to address those concerns, we need to know a page number. We need a passage. We need an explanation for why that passage is a concern. With that information, writers can make edits. Without that information, there is absolutely nothing they can do. 

Debbie Reese responds to Kent Nerburn

Dear Kent Nerburn, 

On April 13th, the MinnPost ran an interview that Jim Walsh did with me. In it, Walsh asked me what I find most bothersome about the idea of white writers writing Native stories. You submitted a comment in response to what I said and it seems you were hoping I'd see your comment. I tried to reply but had trouble registering for an account. Rather than fuss with the website, I decided to respond here.

Here's your comment to the interview:

By Kent Nerburn

on April 13, 2022 at 1:39 p.m.

As a non-Native author who writes about experience with Native reality and has done it in a unique way that has gained both respect and traction in Native America, I wonder what Debbie Reese thinks of my work and approach in Neither Wolf nor Dog, The Wolf at Twilight, and The Girl who Sang to the Buffalo? I think I’m an outlier who has found a way to write across cultures, and many Native readers and organizations agree. But I always want to hear other opinions. The books are well-known and used in many curricula, so I’m guessing she knows of them. This forum is an odd way to reach out, but it seems like an opportune way to do so. My apologies if this seems like a self-serving comment; it is not intended to be so. It is a way to expand the dialogue that needs to take place so that people’s voices are heard undistorted, but, at the same time, to explore ways that we can keep from balkanizing ourselves so totally that it becomes illegitimate to reach and speak across cultures.

You don't remember that you and I exchanged a few comments in June of 2021 on your Facebook page (here's a link to that page, for those of you who have FB accounts). 

At the time, you were looking for someone who could get your book about boarding school into Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland's hands. You wrote that you think "America, for the moment, seems to be willing to hear that story." You went on to say:

Native America wants the story of the boarding schools known; Deb Haaland wants the story known; I want the story known. Otherwise, I wouldn't have written the book. We need to seize the moment.

Your request generated a lot of comments from people who like the book. They agreed with you, that Haaland should read your book. I replied to your request for an intermediary with this:

A strong NO to getting his book into anybody's hands. People can learn about boarding schools from Native people. It is long past time that white folks -- however well-intentioned -- stopped speaking for/about us.

You replied to me, saying:

And well it should be. And I agree that Native people should tell their own stories. But I suspect that you have not read my books or delved into who I am, what my background is, what I do, and why I do it. With a more open mind and heart you might well see that there are some ways to be an ally that do not represent either cultural appropriation or cultural exploitation. I can only control my intentions; I cannot control the response of people to my work. I respect your concern, but I think perhaps you are seeing through a generic lens, which is exactly what non-Native people have done to Native peoples over the years. Do not make the same mistakes from the other side that have been made from the Euro-American side. We need to be larger than that.

Prior to that day in June, I had already been reading your work. I knew who you were. I had begun reading your books and had been taking notes on things that stood out to me. I'm going to share those notes at the bottom of this post.

For now, I want to address a couple of things you said to me. 

In June of 2021 on Facebook, you started out by saying that you agree: Native people should be telling our own stories. But most of your comment is not about that. Instead, you said I need to have a more open mind and heart. You say you don't think you are appropriating or exploiting Native culture. You say you respect my concern, but then you equate me--a Native woman advocating for Native writers--with the actions of white people. You say "we need to be larger than that" but what you mean is that I need to be "larger than that." In other words, you don't want me to criticize you and other white writers who create stories about Native people. 

In the April 13 MinnPost comment, you suggest that efforts to prioritize Native writing is a step towards "balkanizing" who gets published. You think a prioritization of Native voices will make it  "illegitimate" to reach and speak across cultures. 

To me that sounds like conversations I've had with many white people who don't like what we say when we speak up about what you are doing. Whether it is a mascot or a book or story, white folks just want us to go away and be quiet so you can go on doing what you're doing. Some do what you did: accuse us of balkanization. 

You respond as if we are oppressing you. You sound like you think white writers are being oppressed. Are you? Consider the facts. How many books by Native people get turned into movies, compared to books by white writers that get turned into movies? In recent years, your book was made into a movie. The one about the Osages and the FBI also got made into a movie. 

Returning to books: I study the data of what gets published. Maybe you don't know about that data. Here's an infographic of books in 2018. Clearly, white writers get far more books published than we do:

If the 25th anniversary edition of your book had been sent to the Cooperative Children's Book Center in 2018 (your anniversary edition came out in 2019), the staff at CCBC would have put it on the list of books by or about American Indians/First Nations. The infographic shows that 23 of the 3,134 books reflected in the data at that moment in 2018 were categorized as being by or about American Indians/First Nations. 

Now, look closely at the feet of the children on the left side of the graphic. See the shards of glass there? That represents books with problematic content. It is a visual signal that we must consider more than just how many books are published. When I reviewed the 23 books, about half of them were by white writers. In their books, I found stereotyping and romanticization and similar sorts of problems. 

In the end, about 12 books by Native writers were published. I won't say that books by Native writers are free of problems but in my thirty years of studying children's books, I can say that their books are far better than those by white writers.

I've read Neither Wolf Nor Dog and I find problems in it. I know--you have said many times that there are Native people who like your books. I believe you. I'm not one of them. In the MinnPost comment, you also said that you want to know what I think of your books. Below is a sample from my notes. At some point, I will write up my analysis of Neither Wolf Nor Dog. For now, I share these notes to demonstrate why I find your book problematic. 

The dedication

The dedication for Neither Wolf Nor Dog is: "For the silent ones." 

My comments: I assume "the silent ones" in your mind are Native peoples. That dedication was one of many things I noted as I read. I think the dedication echoes a stereotypical way of thinking about Native peoples (as silent, without voice), and that it simultaneously signals to readers that you are a good person doing all you can to help us silent ones. Some find it valorous and see you as a good ally to Native people. As a person who studies representations of Native peoples, I see you as another in a long line of white people who are intent on saving us by speaking for us, by telling our stories for us...  I know--there are Native people who do think of you as an ally. I don't.  

Chapter 1: An Old Man's Request

When the chapter opens, we read that you got a phone call from a Native woman whose grandfather wants to talk to you because he saw the Red Road books that you did. You tell us that you had worked with students on the Red Lake Ojibwe reservation, collecting memories of their parents and grandparents. Those oral histories became the two Red Road books. You tell us you had a tightness in your chest, hearing the woman's words, because the books had "gained some notoriety."  Some Native people did not like what they read in the books because some of it opened "old wounds" or rekindled "family feuds." Most Native people, you assure us, liked the Red Road books--but those ones who did not--they call you to challenge you.  

My thoughts: Showing us that vulnerability invites readers to share that tightness along with you. The way you characterize Native concerns seems to belittle them, and ultimately, feels dismissive. The way you wrote those opening paragraphs works to get readers to ally with you but I want to know more about that project and what the books had in them. Did you let parents and grandparents see what was going to be in the book, before publication? Seems that if you had done that, you wouldn't have gotten blow back. You aren't listed as the author of those two books but you lift them up in these opening passages. It seems you're exploiting that project. It sets this whole phone call in motion. It is the set up for how this book came into being.

The woman who called did not give you her name. You told her you'd talk to her grandfather and you thought she'd put him on the phone but, it turns out, he doesn't like to talk on the phone. You tell us you know that some "very traditional elders" don't like to use the telephone, or, "have their picture taken." 

My thoughts: Your remarks about traditional elders tell readers that you have knowledge about very traditional elders that others may not. You offer that as a reason why the woman's grandfather won't talk on the phone. Something about this feels off to me but I don't have words for it yet.

You tell readers that you are getting more nervous because the man won't talk on the phone. The woman gives you "the name of a reservation." It is a long way from your home. 

My thoughts: Earlier, I noted that you tell us the woman wouldn't give you her name, and now, we are not given the name of the reservation. Because I've read the book, I know that this lack of names matters to the success of your book. 

 

We aren't ever going to know the man's name, because he specifically asks you not to share his information. He just wants YOU to tell his stories because he likes what you did with the Red Road books. 

That secrecy might feel respectful to readers but to me, it feels very exploitative of your readers. You've written the foreword and intro in a way to disarm criticisms of what you're doing in this book. The "old man" of the chapter title has a request and you're going to honor that request. He trusts you, and we're supposed to trust you, too. But, I don't! All of it feels too tidy. 

The upshot of this secrecy is that your name is the only one we know. You are the one who speaks. You are the one who profits from book and movie ticket sales. Maybe you give some of the profits to a Native organization. If you do, that is likely seen as you being a good guy to Native people. Saviorism. 

I've got more notes about your book, but I'll pause there to talk about your book being used in schools.

In your comment to the MinnPost you said that your books are "used in many curricula." I am not surprised, but I am disappointed. What is lost when people use your book instead of ones by Native writers? The opportunity to make Native people and their work visible. Here's what I mean. Let's imagine a classroom.

Teacher to class of juniors and seniors in high school: "Today we're going to start reading Louise Erdrich's The Round House. Erdrich is a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. She is the owner of Birchbark Books, a bookstore in Minneapolis. Let's take a look at the website for her tribal nation." 

Using words like the ones I suggested above means that a teacher would be centering Native voices by using Erdrich's book. By taking students to the tribal website, two things would happen. First, the students would find even more tribal voices. And that simple act of visiting a tribal nation's website tells students that Native people use technology. Some of you will think "of course they do" but the fact is there's a lot of people in the US who don't know we exist, today, and some think that "authentic" Indian people live in the woods in (of course) tipis or wigwams. 

The teacher would use present-tense verbs as they talked about Erdrich, her bookstore, and the tribal website. The opportunities for visibility are many! But--the students don't have that opportunity because they're reading your book instead. That bothers me. I imagine you'll say it isn't your fault that they choose you over a Native writer. You're right. It isn't your fault, but I wonder if you've done anything anywhere to help them find Native writers? 

I see that Carter Meland has a comment to you at MinnPost (dated April 14, 2022) and that you replied to him.  You refer to the "own voices" movement as a necessary corrective but immediately follow up with a "But" that argues for your own space. I wish you would spend more of your words lifting Native writers than arguing for your own voice. 

Debbie

Carter Meland's Call to Read Ojibwe Writers

Today, I am sharing a Facebook post written by by Carter Meland. He's a professor in American Indian Literature at the University of Minnesota, and a White Earth Anishinaabe descendent. With his permission, I'm sharing what he had to say about the non-Native writer, William Kent Krueger, who writes books you'll find over in the adult section of your library. [Update: See Tiffany Midge's essay, American(Indian) Dirt for another Native writer's criticisms of non-Native authors.]

Carter wants people to read Ojibwe writers instead of Krueger. So do I. He showed us a photo of four books. It includes books I also highly recommend: Murder on the Red River by Marcie Rendon, and Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley.  

Why am I sharing Carter's post? Because people who read Krueger are often the same people who acquire and edit books at publishing houses, and people who review them for review journals, and people who buy them for libraries. 

If you are one of those people, your head is filled with problematic content about Native peoples that gets in the way of providing readers with accurate stories about Native people!

You know--and I know--that the field of children's literature is changing. That change includes letting go of the Tony Hillerman's and the William Kent Kruegers and so many other white writers who misrepresent Native peoples. Their appropriations and misrepresentations contribute to a cycle of harm. Let's disrupt that cycle. Read Native Writers. 

Here's Carter's post: 

****

From the American Indian Studies prof diaries, episode 271 (it's a long one in social media terms):

A relative posted about a book they really liked by a non-Native novelist who has made his career (and mucho zhooniya [$$$]) by writing about Anishinaabe people. A fellow by the name of Krueger. I have no argument over whether or not he is a good writer, but I think we need to have a discussion about cultural appropriation (I promised I wouldn't open the appropriation can of worms on my relative's timeline).

I read a couple of this novelist's early books and found them decent enough mysteries, but I could see absolutely no reason why the central character was Anishinaabe. His perspective (and the writer's perspective) are not rooted in Anishinaabe experience or teachings beyond factual research. I know in this genre of mystery that there needs to be educational material woven into the plot, but that just has the effect of making a life (even an imagined one) a museum placard. In reading a 2021 interview with the novelist, he mentions his protagonist is 3/4 Irish and 1/4 Ojibwe and the moment I see parsing blood quantum I see investment in settler colonialist systems of thought. We're not trying to replicate these ideas in front of a broad audience, we're trying to transform them, to let Anishinaabe values (as opposed to settler colonial ones) set the terms of conversation about identity and selfhood, not ideas that are designed to erase Native people from the landscape. Appropriation and the investment in settler colonial policy are two sides of the erasure coin.

This is a long setup to what I wanted to share, which is what you can do to push Native writers forward even if you feel the need to read works that may traffic in the sort of appropriation that Native communities too often experience. I think Sun Yung Shin and Tiffany Midge inspired this idea with ideas they've shared on fb over the years (miigwech!). This is what I wrote in response to my relative's post about the book for her and her friends to consider (slightly edited from the original):

As a specialist in American Indian Literature (and a White Earth Anishinaabe descendant) and knowing that many of you are liberal, good-hearted social justice people, I think we should at least think about issues of cultural appropriation in Krueger's books—he’s making bank on Anishinaabe experience. So what can you do to spread the wealth? I want to challenge all Krueger fans to also support Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) writers with their book purchases.

For those of you who want to read fiction that engages with the terror of boarding schools and the powerful healing potential in Anishinaabe worldviews, I suggest Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese. It is perhaps one of the most beautiful books I've ever read (I'm a lit prof and I read a lot!). For those of you who like more family drama-oriented work, read Linda LeGarde Grover's In the Night of Memory--the ending will leave you simultaneously smiling and weeping. For those of you who like Krueger's mysteries, go buy either of Marcie Rendon's Cash Blackbear mysteries (and a third is coming out soon) or Angeline Boulley's Firekeeper's Daughter--both these novelists write page-a-minute thrillers. All of these works are by Anishinaabe writers that center Anishinaabe characters in stories that center Anishinaabe cultural, social, and/or spiritual values not to translate them in some quasi-anthropological/educational way to non-Native audiences, but to share the power of Anishinaabe story and storytelling with those who want to hear more. The challenge I pose is that every time you buy or checkout a Krueger book, you also buy or checkout a book by one of the authors I've mentioned (or others you track down). This is a good way to increase the representation of Native writers and discover some great new books. It's a good way to change the world that you experience and to support (not appropriate) the work of Native storiers.

Not Recommended: THE SKYDIVING BEAVERS by Susan Wood, illustrated by Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen

The Skydiving Beavers: A True Tale 

Written by Susan Wood

Illustrated by Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen

Published by Sleeping Bear Press

Published in 2017

Reviewed by Debbie Reese

Review Status: NOT RECOMMENDED

A couple of readers have written to ask me about The Skydiving Beavers: A True Tale. Written by Susan Wood and illustrated by Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen, it--and reviews of it--are disappointing. 

Here's the description: 

Just after World War II, the people of McCall, Idaho, found themselves with a problem on their hands. McCall was a lovely resort community in Idaho's backcountry with mountain views, a sparkling lake, and plenty of forests. People rushed to build roads and homes there to enjoy the year-round outdoor activities. It was a beautiful place to live. And not just for humans. For centuries, beavers had made the region their home. But what's good for beavers is not necessarily good for humans, and vice versa. So in a unique conservation effort, in 1948 a team from the Idaho Fish and Game Department decided to relocate the McCall beaver colony. In a daring experiment, the team airdropped seventy-six live beavers to a new location. One beaver, playfully named Geronimo, endured countless practice drops, seeming to enjoy the skydives, and led the way as all the beavers parachuted into their new home. Readers and nature enthusiasts of all ages will enjoy this true story of ingenuity and determination.

AICL readers and those who are learning to read critically will spot the problems in the description right away. It can be difficult to see what is not there on the page, but it is important to ask--right away--what people is the author talking about? She says "the people of McCall, Idaho" who are trying to build homes on a lake. The author doesn't say white people but that's who they're talking about. These white people have a problem with beavers that had "for centuries" been making that area their home. True enough, beavers had been there for centuries, but who else was there, before? The author has erased Nez Perce peoples from what was their homeland.

You may have noted that the subtitle to the book is "A True Tale." Wood is, in short, telling you some facts about something that actually happened. She leaves out Nez Perce people, and in her telling of this story, she talks about the beavers in ways that I find deeply troubling. They had built their homes there, first, but then the white people "muscle in" to the area. The beavers didn't like that, and so, they gnaw on trees and "trash" the peoples views of the forest. Wood writes that it was "A real turf war. It seemed McCall just wasn't big enough for everybody." 

The beaver are in the way. 

They have to be removed. 

The Idaho Fish and Game department considers ways to do that: round them up, put them in cages. The ways they consider are precisely the ones used to remove Indigenous peoples from their homelands when white people wanted those lands. In the end they decide to move them by way of airdrop. That stopped me cold. I don't think it is clever, at all.

The person who came up with that plan is a man named Elmo Heter. He came up with a design and to make sure it would work, he tested it several times using a beaver they named Geronimo. Why that name?! Heter doesn't tell us why, in his article about the project. 

In the fourth paragraph of her author's note, Wood tells us that "Elmo's beaver relocation by parachute was an inventive idea in 1948, it likely wouldn't happen today" because now, scientists know that beavers are good for the environment. Programs to move beavers don't take place anymore, but, Wood says "it's still fun to think that the descendents of daredevil Geronimo and his fellow skydiving rodents are likely alive, well, and happily gnawing deep in the wilds of Idaho." 

Why, I wonder did this book get published? Because it is a "fun" story about something that happened to beavers? I think it was cruel. Heter, in the 1940s and now, Wood in the 2010s seem not to care about that. And in reading this story aloud to children, are people affirming that cruelty without realizing it? I think so. 

I do not recommend The Skydiving Beavers: A True Tale. Some true stories ought not be provided to children as entertainment. 

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: THE FROG MOTHER

 

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

The Frog Mother (Mothers of Xsan series)

Written by Hetxw'ms Gyetxw/Brett D. Huson (Gitxsan)

Illustrated by Natasha Donovan (Metis) and Hetxw'ms Gyetxw

Published by Highwater Press

Published in 2021

Reviewed by Jean Mendoza

Review Status: Highly Recommended

How I wish we could see a series like Mothers of Xsan for every part of the continent: local ecosystems from Indigenous perspectives! Hetxw'ms Gyetxw, Natasha Donovan, and Highwater Press have come up with a set of richly illustrated informational books about essential animal inhabitants of Xsan, the traditional homelands of the Gitxsan.  

Here's what the publisher says about the book I'm reviewing today, The Frog Mother:

To the Gitxsan of Northwestern British Columbia, Nox Ga’naaw is a storyteller, speaking truths of the universe. After Nox Ga’naaw, the frog mother, releases her eggs among the aquatic plants of a pond, the tiny tadpoles are left to fend for themselves. As they hatch, grow legs, and transform into their adult selves, they must avoid the mouths of hungry predators. Will the young frogs survive to spawn their own eggs, continuing a cycle 200 million years in the making?

Book four of the Mothers of Xsan series follows the life cycle of the columbia spotted frog. Learn about why this species is of special significance to the Gitxsan and how Nox Ga'naaw and her offspring are essential to the balance that is life.

This is a "short & sweet" review, listing four reasons AICL recommends this book.

Reason #1 to recommend The Frog Mother: The deep and detailed sense of place. 

The author writes about something he knows well: the creatures, environments, and seasons of the homeland of his Indigenous Nation. 

He grew up there, in what's currently called inland British Columbia, and learned much of what he knows about the animal inhabitants from elder relatives with both observational and cultural knowledge. (From email communication with the author, 2/2022.) Here's a quote from the book: "As the Gitxsan have borne witness since time immemorial, there is a delicate balance of food for all living in their realm. Nox Ga'naaw and her offspring are an integral piece of this balance that is life." "Since time immemorial." Those are potent words about presence and stewardship!

Reason #2: The illustrations 

Natasha Donovan's lively, engaging illustrations are essential to the full impact of the book. And take a close look at each page. Integrated into the depictions of Nox Ga'naaw's life stages, you're likely to see formline images of frogs and other figures. That's the work of the author, placed there to show that the events depicted have spiritual and cultural significance for the people, beyond what might be observed by Western science. 

Reason #3: Use of Gitxsan language and knowledge

Seeing words from the Gitxsan language with the English text supports young non-Indigenous readers' awareness that Indigenous languages exist, and have value and purpose. The author refers to animals by their Gitxsan names as well as English identifiers. He uses Gitxsan words for times of the year, which are also listed on a page in the back of the book, along with three paragraphs of information about the Gitxsan and an illustrated map of the region. 

Reason #4: The entire series.

The Mothers of Xsan series is based in Indigenous knowledge, but also incorporates what could be called the language of science; many pages include textbox definitions of words like "juvenile" and "overwinter." 

Each of these books has deepened my understanding of the ecosystem of the region. Beyond that, I'm reminded of how much impact humans have on what lives around us, and how responsible we are for making our own lives sustain the systems we inhabit. So many young people I know are looking for this kind of understanding, but mainstream society seems built on distancing people from their environments.

Other entries in the series are: The Sockeye Mother, The Grizzly Mother, The Eagle Mother, The Wolf Mother. And due out in 2022: The Raven Mother.

Reading this set of books makes me hope other Indigenous writers and illustrators will collaborate to tell about about the ecosystems of their homelands. The knowledge that could be offered is desperately needed.