Patricia,
I wish I could say that, given that they are
nonfiction, we could rest assured they were
properly vetted. The case is, however, that most
of America was socialized/educated to view
American Indians in rather narrow ways. This
narrowness and bias is very much part of the nonfiction texts out there.
An easy one to note:
There were many clashes between Native peoples
and white settlers/soldiers. When the Natives
came out ahead, that "win" was called a
"massacre." When the Whites "won", it was called
a "battle." The word "massacre" brings a whole
different set of images to your head than the word battle.
Among nonfiction picture books, I like two series.
First is the one written by Virginia Driving Hawk
Sneve. I believe the series is called the "A
First Americans Book" published by Chelsea House.
What I like, especially, is the final pages of
each book, which presents Native peoples of that
tribe in the present day. That is vital for
children to learn and know. We didn't all die off or vanish. We are still here.
The second series I like is, in fact, titled 'WE
ARE STILL HERE' and is published by Lerner. This
is a wonderful set, because it features Native
voice and lots of pictures of Native kids engaged
in the activities all kids do, plus it shows them
taking part in their Native ways, too.
I also HIGHLY recommend that students go right to
tribal websites. Today, more and more tribes have
their own websites, so you can get THEIR voice
and perspective. Generally they include a page on
their history and culture. The best way to get to
them is through Lisa Mitten's website. I link to
it from my blog, under "EXCELLENT WEBSITES ON
AMERICAN INDIANS." The link
is
http://www.nativeculturelinks.com/nations.html.
The outstanding quality of Lisa's compilation is
that she identifies sites maintained by the tribe itself with a drum icon.
Also very important is to teach kids critical
media skills on evaluating Native websites.
Elaine Cubbins of the American Indian Library
Association has an excellent page:
http://www.u.arizona.edu/~ecubbins/webcrit.html
also linked to from my page under "EXCELLENT WEBSITES."
Lotsee Patterson is outstanding, as noted in an
earlier post, for her work in this area. I've not
had the pleasure of meeting her, but do link to
an article she co-wrote. That article is listed
on my page, under "On-Line Articles...."
I am trying to do more than just blog.... I link to lots of resources.
http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com
Debbie
At 02:36 PM 6/7/2007, Sarles Patricia \(18K500\) wrote:
>I am in a high school library and just today
>learned of Debbie Reese's credentials.
>
>I am mostly curious about nonfiction books
>published by the trades specifically designed
>for students doing reports. Have you or anyone
>here come across anything prejudicial in them?
>I'm talking about the books on Native Americans
>(First Nations People) published by Chelsea
>House and Greenhaven Press for example.
>
>Since kids are using them for reports, are they
>even worthwhile? Or do you recommend an alternative?
>
>Thanks
>
>"There's so much left to know, and I'm on the
>road to find out" ~ Yusuf Islam aka Cat Stevens
>
>
>________________________
>Patricia Sarles, MA, MLS
>Canarsie High School Library
>1600 Rockaway Parkway
>Brooklyn, NY 11236
>tel: (718) 290-8600 x273, x274, x275
>fax: (718) 290-8681
>psarles@schools.nyc.gov
>
>________________________________
>
>From: School Library Media & Network Communications on behalf of Debbie Reese
>Sent: Thu 6/7/2007 11:59 AM
>To: LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
>Subject: Re: "We" the People - NEH/ALA Bookshelf
>
>
>
>Terry,
>
>(Is conversation on-list discouraged? If so, I
>apologize. Note, too, that I read LM_NET in
>digest, so someone may already have replied to
>Terry by the time I got the last digest.)
>
>Review journals have specific people they send
>selected titles to for review. They do this
>because specific people have expertise not held
>by the general population of readers or
>reviewers. For some time, Horn Book sent me books
>on American Indians. This is my area of
>expertise. The fact that I am American Indian,
>tribally enrolled, raised on the reservation, is
>not what gives me expertise. I am a former school
>teacher, and I have a doctorate in Education from
>the University of Illinois, with my area of
>research and study being representations of American Indians.
>
>Terry references "the curriculum" --- but we
>should remember that "the curriculum" is prepared
>by people who were raised and taught in specific
>ways, depending on their location and other
>factors (like money for good schools, etc.) "The
>curriculum" at an Indian school on a reservation
>may or may not differ from the curriculum in an
>urban school in a major city. I would hope that
>the Indian school provided its children books
>that reflect who they are. It does them no good
>to read that their ancestors were murderous
>blood-thirsty savages, because that was not the
>case, anymore than it was the case that white
>settlers and soldiers were blood-thirsty. They
>were all fighting for something. The Indians
>fought to protect their land, parents,
>grandparents, children, religious ways, etc. etc.
>from settlers and soldiers who wanted that land.
>There was brutality on both sides, but that isn't
>the way most books of historical fiction tell
>those stories. They do this to justify the taking
>of that land. The ideology at work? Blood-thirsty
>killers don't deserve land. Good, God-fearing white settlers do.
>
>As educators, we must not continue to tell the
>story that way. We must provide a more balanced
>story. "The curriculum" is lacking, just as much
>as the story books. All kids need balanced depictions of history.
>
>Debbie
>
>
>
> >Date: Thu, 7 Jun 2007 08:06:39 -0700
> >From: Terry Darr <darrtk@YAHOO.COM>
> >Subject: Re: "We" the People - NEH/ALA Bookshelf
> >
> >Please excuse my genuine confusion...
> >Is there an "authority list" of acceptable titles
> >outside of what the curriculum says? Who has the
> >right to become the authority figure and dictate what
> >is acceptable for people of color?
> >Terry Darr
>
>Debbie A. Reese (Nambé Pueblo)
>Assistant Professor, American Indian Studies
>University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
>Native American House, Room 2005
>1204 West Nevada Street, MC-138
>Urbana, Illinois 61801
>
>Email: debreese@uiuc.edu
>Internet Resource & Blog:
>http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/
>Native American House: http://www.nah.uiuc.edu <http://www.nah.uiuc.edu/>
>
>TEL 217-265-9885
>FAX 217-265-9880
>
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Debbie A. Reese (Nambé Pueblo)
Assistant Professor, American Indian Studies
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Native American House, Room 2005
1204 West Nevada Street, MC-138
Urbana, Illinois 61801
Email: debreese@uiuc.edu
Internet Resource & Blog:
http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/
Native American House: http://www.nah.uiuc.edu
TEL 217-265-9885
FAX 217-265-9880
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