Speaking Volumes

It's almost Thanksgiving. That means that in many schools and libraries out come the Pilgrim and Indian books, the costumes, and sometimes the Pilgrim and Indian plays or re-enactments. STILL. Still in 2008 parents and teachers are telling the Pilgrim and Indian story, with picture books that portray Native people in stereotypical, inaccurate ways, often as 'savages' or worse.

Last November I attended a conference held by Cornucopia of Rhode Island who's mission is to serve the library community of color. The topic was American Indians in children's literature. It is important to me that the books we put on display during Thanksgiving are not filled with stereotypes and mis-information. I learned a lot that day, and came back to the Saxton B. to evaluate what Thanksgiving books we had, what needed to go, and how we could build a better collection. I came home from the Cornucopia conference with titles by Native writers that I was excited to order, as well as a recommendation to buy the book, A Broken Flute; The Native Experience in books for Children,  which has served as a valuable resource for me when evaluating and purchasing books, but is also available for check out.

This year our Thanksgiving books are out on display for our patrons. I displayed silly books about turkey, books about food, and books on saying 'thank you.' The books we have that address the Thanksgiving story and Native people include books such as :

1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving, Bruchac, Margaret M. (Abenaki)

Clambake: A Wampanoag Tradition, Peters, Russell M. (Wampanoag)

Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message, Swamp, Jake (Mohawk)

Check out this blog entry by Debbie Resse for one perspective on what makes a 'good' Thanksgiving book for children. She currently teaches in UIUC's American Indian Studies program, and is tribally enrolled at Nambe Pueblo in northern New Mexico

http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/2007/11/good-books-about-thanksgiving.html

Here are some additional books recommended by Broken Flute, Oyate (Oyate is a Native organization that works to provide critical evaluation of books and curricula with Indian themes - see link at the bottom of this post), AND written by Native writers, that we have on display for American Indian Heritage Month:

(Side Note: Sherman Alexie is one of my favorite authors EVER- read his books!)

I encourage you to use our resource book A Broken Flute; The Native Experience in books for Children, and to check out the links below to help you choose books to read and share with your children.

http://imagesofindiansinchildrensbooks.blogspot.com/

http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/2006_09_21_archive.htm
 

http://www.oyate.org/aboutus.html