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Good morning, Last week, the subject line in my email message summarizing updates to American Indians in Children's Literature was about John Smelcer's book, THE TRAP. I wrote about that book on Sunday, January 27th. Shortly after sending that update, I started hearing from people, telling me that John Smelcer is not actually Native. One individual pointed me to articles in the Anchorage Daily News. Later that day, I added an update to what I'd already written, noting what I was hearing. Looking into Smelcer's identity was unpleasant, but necessary work. Teachers and students often do author studies, and, it is important that they are not misled or duped by someone who is claiming an identity that is not correct. Given the long and well-intentioned play-Indian traditions in the U.S., and the depth of biased, outdated, and incorrect information out there (in books and elsewhere) about American Indians, an author's identity is especially critical. On Tuesday, January 29th, I wrote about John Smelcer and his identity. The information from the newspaper was verified. We are all being misled by his repeated claims to be Native. He does not, in subsequent articles and interviews, tell us that he is adopted. The ways that he constructs sentences lead us to believe he is. The bottom line? He is adopted, and he was not raised within a Native community. Native ways were not part of his upbringing. My post today (Sunday, Feb 3) points people to two important topics that are not taught in most elementary or high schools. The first, American Indian Activism, is little know. More is known, and being taught, about the Code Talkers of WWI and WWII. Both topics are discussed on Feb. 3rd. To read more about what I've said in this email, please visit American Indians in Children's Literature. You can find it by googling "American Indians in Children's Literature" or by going to my page on the website for American Indian Studies faculty at the University of Illinois, located here: http://www.nah.uiuc.edu/faculty-Reese.htm Once there, click on "Web Page" underneath my email address. Have a good week, Debbie _______________________________ Debbie A. Reese, (Nambé Pueblo) Assistant Professor American Indian Studies University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 1206 West Nevada Urbana, IL 61801 Email: debreese@uiuc.edu Internet Resource & Blog: American Indians in Children's Literature, located at http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com UIUC's Native American House http://www.nah.uiuc.edu TEL 217-265-9870 FAX 217-265-9880 -------------------------------------------------------------------- Please note: All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law. You can prevent most e-mail filters from deleting LM_NET postings by adding LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU to your e-mail address book. To change your LM_NET status, e-mail to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL 3) SET LM_NET MAIL 4) SET LM_NET DIGEST * Allow for confirmation. * LM_NET Help & Information: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ * LM_NET Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/ * EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://lm-net.info/ * LM_NET Supporters: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ven.html * LM_NET Wiki: http://lmnet.wikispaces.com/ --------------------------------------------------------------------