Scholarly Book Review

Wood, Naomi C. Selected Bibliography and Guide for “I” is not for Indian: The Portrayal of Native Americans in Books for Young People. Atlanta. 1995.

http://aila.library.sd.gov/publications/inotindian.htm

The book review I selected centered on the importance of creating a library of books that contain an accurate portrayal of Native Americans. It explains that librarians are often do not know how to tell if a book portrays Indians accurately and they do not know where to find authentic reviews surrounding the topic. The article continues to explain that finding texts that contain an accurate portrayal of Native Americans is necessary because incorrect representations are dehumanizing to the Native American culture. One reason for this widespread problem has been that Indians are rarely mentioned in American history classes across the country. “Add to this lack of education the very pervasive and subtle dehumanizing stereotypes that are ingrained as part of American popular culture, and you've got a lot to overcome before you can identify these things in children's books. It should also be pointed out that these stereotypes and misperceptions are commonly held by all Americans of all races, often, tragically, by Indian children themselves.”

Overall, the article explains why this is such an important problem to overcome and ways to help reduce it. The authors provide a list of books that are not good representations as well as books that are great resources for libraries and classrooms. They also provide a list of what to look for when selecting appropriate texts. As a whole, this article has opened my eyes on why this is such a significant concern and how to prevent it.

Overarching Book Review

As a collection of books that all present a depiction of Native American culture, I considered them to be fascinating, precise, and unique. While I found similarities and connections between each book, they were also very different. To begin with, two out of the three books were part of the series Tales of the People. This series was created to celebrate Native American culture and demonstrates authenticity by employing Native American authors and illustrators to share their stories. While the first book, Brave Wolf and the Thunderbird is a rendition of a tale from the Crow tribe and Coyote in Love with a Star is an interpretation of a legend from the Prairie Band Potawatomi there are many similarities. Each story has an interesting writing style and plot that involve animals with distinctive characteristics that teach the audience about the world around us. The third book, while much more realistic, also focused around learning about the earth and they ways of Native American culture.

Overall, this selection of books allowed me gain much insight into understanding the values of Native Americans. The selected texts provided information about what is valued in the culture and how they reveal their cultural beliefs. Through the illustrations, I was able to better understand the texts and construct an overarching view of the books. In the end, I would employ these texts within my classroom. While I may not focus solely on the books, I would have them available for the children to read.

Anna's Athabaskan Summer

Griese, Arnold. Illustrated by Charles Ragins. Anna’s Athabaskan Summer. Honesdale, Pennsylvania: Boyds Mills Press. 1995.

Anna’s Athabaskan Summer revolves around a young girl who is surrounded by cold and snow until the summer finally comes. During this summer, Anna learns about her people, The Athabaskan Indians. She is taught by her family how her people prepare for the winter ahead and in the ways of the earth. The text is simply told through the eyes of a young girl learning about life. It provides great detail of the emotions a young girl has as she discovers the ways of her people as well as descriptions of the Athabaskan culture. Griese, who spent much time growing up with the Athabaskan people and eventually taught for many years in village, tells about how these people are close and have great understanding of the earth.

Charles Ragins provides detailed illustrations through realistic paintings that correspond to the text. While the text describes the ways of the Athabaskan people, the pictures provide visuals that show the beautiful summers. The illustrations provide a context that cannot be created through words.

Coyote in Love with a Star

Montano, Marty Kreipe de. Illustrated by Tom Coffin. Coyote in Love with a Star. National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution: Washington, D.C. 1998.

Marty Kreipe de Montano is a member of the Prairie Band Potawatomia from Kansas. She has explained that this story is an adaptation of a traditional tale that has been told in many different ways. She has brought this tale to the present and she goes on to tell that it is somewhat autobiographical. The text revolves around Coyote who lives on the Potawatomi Reservation in Kansas. ‘Ol Man Coyote is lonely and decides to move out to New York City to find a job and someone special. He finds a job and falls in love with a star. Soon, Coyote realizes that he cannot be in love with the star because it is it cannot love back. The star drops him to the ground and a reservoir is created out of Coyote. While this tale has used the Coyote to give an explanation of how things in our world have been created (like reservoirs), the corky interpretation the story many hinder the story’s significance.

There were several parts story that were interesting. For example, the use of the Coyote as the main character is significant because the coyote strongly relates to a trickster character that is often used in tribal nations. However, in the illustrations the background characters were people. This may create an underlying connotation which might suggest that members of the Prairie Band Potawatomia are animalistic. Also, specific references like, he loaded “his Pendleton blanket into his VW van,” “Coyote drove over the George Washington Bridge” and “He became the Rodent Control Officer in the World Trade Center.” While it is understood that the story is somewhat autobiographical, these very specific details take away from the overall story.

The illustrations of the story were done by Tom Coffin, also a member of the Prairie Band Potawatomi tribe as well as the Creek tribe. The illustrations are cartoon like and simplistic, often using many complimentary colors. Coffin has done well to support the text through illustrations.

Brave Wolf and the Thunderbird

Crow, Joe. Illustrated by Linda R. Martin. Brave Wolf and the Thunderbird. Washington D.C: National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution.

This tale, recounted by Joe Medicine Crow (a respected elder and historian of the Crow people), is part of a series of children’s books celebrating Native American culture called Tales of The People. This children’s book recounts a long standing tale involving a Thunderbird. As described in the back of the book, Thunderbirds are often characters found in Crow lore and it goes onto tell that the Thunderbird is the most powerful of all spirits. In this tale, Thunderbird is determined to save her young chicks from a monster that comes up from a lake and steals them every year. To do so, she grabs Brave Wolf when he is out hunting one day and brings him to her nest. To help Thunderbird, Brave Wolf comes up with a plan to build a fire right next to the nest. When the monster rises up from the lake, Brave Wolf stuffs the monster’s mouth with the hot stones from the fire instead of the baby chicks. “Steam shot up and made all kinds of hissing noises. The monster started wobbling around, groaning, and finally it fell backward into the lake with a big splash. And that was the end of the monster.” The recount of this tale is told with the right amount of cultural references corresponding with great descriptive details of the interesting characters in the book.

Linda R. Martin, part of the Navajo nation, has created illustrations using a variety of mediums. She has beautifully incorporated vibrant, accurate illustrations that complement the text well. The texture evokes an almost familiar Native American technique that brings a sense of comfort when reading the text. While it is apparent that Martin spent much time on the devise of her main characters, it is the backgrounds of the illustrations that are most beautiful. While the text itself is delightful and whimsical, it is the brilliant illustrations that bring the text to life.