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Good afternoon, Many librarians and teachers write, asking for reliable sources on American Indian culture, history, etc. They seek these resources in order to support student research projects. As many of you know, there are a LOT of materials available on American Indians, but, many (I'd say most) are outdated and/or biased in ways that continue to present American Indians as victims, savages, or tragic heroes. I'm really glad people are seeking other materials. As the population of American Indians grows, particularly those in positions/places to effect change in curriculum (either by writing books, doing research, or planning curriculum), we'll see more and more positive change, and (hopefully) a decrease in stereotypical information (like the 'Indian' way of saying 'hello' I wrote about yesterday). So! Here's my suggestion on how to proceed. There are two excellent encyclopedias, both published in the 90s, both infused with the work of Native scholars, and more updated viewpoints of Native peoples. Both have entries written by Native scholars, political leaders, tribal leaders. Each entry is supported with "for further reading." Order each one for your library. When a class is doing a particular research project, look it up in both encyclopedias. See what the entry says, who wrote it, and what their sources were. The two are: Davis, Mary B. (1996) Native America in the Twentieth Century: An Encyclopedia. New York: Garland Publishing Inc. Hoxie, Frederick E. (1996) Encyclopedia of North American Indians. New York: Houghton Mifflin. ALSO, get these three books. They are also excellent and teachers/librarians/students will find them helpful. Francis, Lee. (1996) Native Time: A Historical Time Line of Native America. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin Champagne, Duane. (1994) Chronology of Native North American History. Detroit: Gale Research Champagne, Duane. (1994) Native America: Portrait of the Peoples. Detroit: Visible Ink Press ALSO, go to Lisa Mitten's website. Lisa is in the American Indian Library Association, and maintains a webpage with links to homepages of Native Tribes/Nations. Those maintained BY the tribe are marked with a drum icon. Here's her page: http://www.nativeculturelinks.com/nations.html FINALLY, if using the web, make sure students go to Elaine Cubbins website. She, too, is in the American Indian Library Association. Her page is about evaluating webpages with Native content. http://www.u.arizona.edu/~ecubbins/webcrit.html All these resources are on my blog/resource page. The encyclopedias and books are at the bottom of my recommended books list, and the websites are listed in the section of my page called "Excellent Websites about American Indians." My page is here: http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com Debbie 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 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 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://elann.biglist.com/sub/ * LM_NET Supporters: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ven.html --------------------------------------------------------------------