American Indian Children’s Literature

By: Jolene Bowman

and

Penny Escalante

Ten Little Indians

• http://player.vimeo.com/video/10098173

ACT 31

• Created 5 statutory sections• Treaty Rights Curriculum

– s115.28(17)(d) Wis. Stats.

• Human Relations– s118.01(c)7-8 Wis. Stats.

• Teacher Certification– s.118.19(8) Wis. Stats.

• Instructional Materials– S121.02(1)(h) Wis. Stats.

• K-12 Social Studies Instruction– S.121.02(s)(L)4 Wis. Stats.

Act 250

• Race-Based School Nicknames, Logos and Mascots– Research– 20 years– 2%– Cost

• Assembly Bill 26

Goal Statement

• To increase the use of authentic American Indian Children’s literature in classrooms.

Cultural Authenticity in Literature

• When sharing or exposing children to books we should:

→choose books that identify with and learn something of value about cultural similarities and difference

→choose books that reflect beliefs, values, and accurate details of everyday life and language of a specific cultural group

Teachers, Parents, Guardians

• When we offer or share books we expose children to:

→ways of thinking about other people

→ particular views of individuals as well as groups of people

→ messages about what people are like

Assessing For Cultural Authenticity

• LOOK AT PICTURE BOOKS:

• 1) In ABC books, is “E” for “Eskimo” or “I” for Indian Present?

• 2) In Counting books, are “Indians” counted?

• 3) Are Children shown as “playing Indian”?

• 4) Are animals dressed as “Indians”?

• 5) Do “Indians” have ridiculous names, like “Indian Two Feet,” or “Little Chief”?

When Students Learn This . . .

Pre-School

Early Elementary

“’I’ is for Indian” appears in P.D. Eastman, The Cat in the Hat Beginner Book Dictionary (New York: Random House, 1964).

Assessing For Cultural Authenticity

• LOOK FOR DISTORTION OF HISTORY:

• 1) Is there manipulation of words like “victory,”  “conquest,” or “massacre” to justify Euro-American conquest of the Native homelands? Are Native Nations presented as being responsible for their own “disappearance?” Is the U.S. government only “trying to help?”   OR   Is history put in the proper perspective: the Native struggle for self-determination and sovereignty against the Euro-American drive for conquest? 

Assessing For Cultural Authenticity cont.

• LOOK FOR LOADED WORDS:

• 1) Are there insulting overtones to the language in the book? Are racist adjectives used to refer to Indian peoples? OR  Is the language respectful?

Intermediate Grades

American History Textbook

“Some people use Native Americans instead of Indians, although the word native is confusing. It has two meanings. Anyone who is born in a country in a native of that country, so many of us are native Americans. ‘Native’ also means to have an origin, or beginning, in a country. As far as we know, no people is native to America. Our ancestors all came from somewhere else.” (italics in original)

Dangel,Susan. Teaching Guide and Resource Book: The First Americans, Book One of A History of US by Joy Hakim, Susan Dangel and Maria Garriott. (Baltimore, Md.: Talent Development Middle School, United States History Curriculum, Johns Hopkins University, 2000).

Words Commonly Used to Describe American Indians in Textbooks

Barbarian

Blood-thirsty

Conniving

Crafty

Cruel

Docile

Ferocious

Fierce

Greasy

Heathen

Hostile

Lazy

Lurking

Marauding

Mean

Menacing

Merciless

Unfriendly

Violent

Wild

Pagan

Peaceful

Plunder

Primitive

Prowling

Raiding

Renegade

Ruthless

Savage

Scheming

Shrieking

Slaughter

Sneaky

Terrifying

Threatening

Treacherous

Uncivilized

Vicious

Warlike

Beasts

Noland, 1991Noland, 1991Noland, 1991Noland, 1991

Instead of This . . .

These land cession treaties reflect U.S. demand for:

– Fertile Land (1829-1848)

– Lead (1829)– Timber (1837)– Copper (1842)

Assessing For Cultural Authenticity cont

• LOOK FOR STEREOTYPES:• 1) Are Native peoples portrayed as savages, or primitive

craftspeople, or simple tribal people, now extinct?  OR  Are Native peoples shown as human beings, members of highly defined and complex societies?

• 2) Are Native societies oversimplified and generalized? Are Native people all one color, one style?  OR  Are Native societies presented as separate from each other, with each culture, language, religion, dress, unique?

• 3) Is the art a mishmash of “generic Indian” designs?  OR  Is attention paid to accurate, appropriate design and color: are clothes, dress, houses drawn with careful attention to detail?

Assessing For Cultural Authenticity cont

• LOOK FOR THE EFFECTS ON A CHILD’S SELF-IMAGE:

• 1) Is there anything in the story that would embarrass or hurt a Native child?   OR   Are there one or more positive role models with which a Native child can identify?

•  LOOK AT THE AUTHOR’S OR ILLUSTRATOR'S BACKGROUND:

• 2) Is the background of the author and illustrator devoid of the qualities that enable them to write about Native peoples in an accurate, respectful manner? Is there an ethnocentric bias which leads to distortions or omissions?   OR   Is there anything in the author’s and illustrator’s background that qualifies them to write about Native peoples? Do their perspectives strengthen the work?

Assessment Tools for Authenticity

• Native Assessment Tools– First Nations Traveling Resource Center– 2005 Broken Flute/2009-2010 Oyate Catalog– American Indian Resource Manual

• Non Native Assessment Tools– The Cooperative Children’s Book Center– Lee & Low Books

American Indian Children’s Literature

A curriculum I would use This is why

Plants used by the Great Lakes Ojibwa Supported by an Indigenous Org.

Native People of Wisconsin Author is an indigenous person

Lessons of Our Land Authored, supported, and narrated by indigenous people

Building Native Communities Supported by an Indigenous Org.

The Mohican People Their Lives and Their Lands

Authored, reviewed, and published by indigenous people

•Mama’s Little One Authored and published by indigenous people

•Chief Ninham Forgotten Hero Authored and published by indigenous people

•ANIISHIIK Authored and published by indigenous people.

American Indian Children’s Literature

A book I would use This is why

A Visit with an Elder Authored and told by indigenous people

A Boy Called Slow Author is an indigenous person

How the Stars Fell into the Sky Author is an indigenous person

Maple Moon Author is an indigenous person

The Return of the Buffaloes Author is an indigenous person

Baby Rattlesnake Author is an indigenous person

Buffalo Woman Author is an indigenous person

Dragonfly’s Tale Author is an indigenous person

Did you Hear Wind Sing Your Name

Author is an indigenous person

Moccasin Thunder Author’s are indigenous

American Indian Children’s Literature

A book I would use This is why

Northwoods Cradle Song from a Menominee Lullaby

?

How the Birch Tree Got It’s Stripes Author’s are indigenous people

Indian Nations of Wisconsin Author is an indigenous person

The Mohicans Supported by an indigenous nation

Jim Thorpe ?

Yellow Medicine Review Author is an indigenous person

Inner Dreams and Outer Circles Author is an indigenous person

Absentee Indians & Other Poems Author is an indigenous person

Dawn Land Author is an indigenous person

Every day is a good day Author is an indigenous person

Ask the students a series of questions; if it is true for them, they are to stand up. Each time notice how many people stand up, then ask someone to share why they stood up and ask someone to share why they did not stand up.

Ask:•Do you like chocolate ice cream?

•Do you like Brussels sprouts?•Have you ever been on a farm?•Have you ever lived in an apartment?* Do you have at least one older brother and sister?•Do you have at least one younger brother or sister?•Are you Mohican?•Do you have any Mohican relatives?•Do you know anyone who is Mohican?•Do you collect anything?•Do you have light skin/hair/eyes?•Do you have dark skin/hair/eyes?

Introduction to Point Of View/Perspective Activity

Focus: A) Understand that a person’s experiences influence

his or her perspectives on their history.

B) See that people view history in a variety of ways, based on education and other experiences.

C) Understand that, if we disagree, it may be that one of us is simply seeing the same thing in a different way, not that one person is wrong and the other is right.

Foundations # 1.4: Point-Of-View/Perspective Activity

Framing: Tell the students that this activity will help them pay

attention to the idea that each of us sees the world in our own way.

•Give each student an 8-1/2 by 11 piece of paper.

•Tell the students to close their eyes, and explain that you will be giving them a series of directions.

•Students will do the best they can to follow the directions as closely as possible with their eyes closed.

Point-Of-View/Perspective Activity (Procedure)

Directions to give to students:

•”Fold the paper in half.”•”Fold the paper in half again.”•”Tear the bottom right corner off the paper.”•”Tear the top left corner off the paper.”•”Open your eyes and unfold your paper.”•Ask students to look around and see what everyone else

did compared to what they did.Ask students to group according to their papers.

Point Of View/Perspective Activity Procedure (Cont.)

Sample Processing Questions:•What do you notice about how the papers look?•What do you think caused the papers to come

out similar to some people and different from others?

•Why did different people stand for different things?

• Why are we not all the same?• Is it possible to change our perspectives? How?

Point Of View/Perspective Activity Procedure (Cont.)

This is insulting

Our Teachers

Among our people are those we call our teachers. They are our elders, our storytellers, and our instructors. They teach us to care for ourselves in a healthful way. Some of our teachers instruct us how to use our minds intelligently to solve the problems that we will face in our every day living. They teach us the names and the uses of the gifts of life. Some guide us back to healthful living when our thoughts and emotions become confused. Our spiritual teachers lift us to the greater meanings of life and teach us to remember our Creator. We are grateful to our many teachers.

Do you agree? Aniishiik

Adapted by Dorothy Davids, for use in W Chin Dinceremonies, 1994, Mohican History Conference 2001, andother ceremonies Updated March, 2008

Bibliographic Information• American Indian Resource Manual for Public Libraries

• Douglas, Ron. ( ). UNSEEN TEARS: THE IMPACT OF NATIVE AMERICAN RESIDENTIAL BOARDING SCHOOLS IN WESTERN NEW YORK (30:35) by Ron Douglas. Produced by Native American Community Services of Erie and Niagara Counties, Inc. http://vimeo.com/10098173. Funded by the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo

• Bruchad, J. ( ). Dawn Land. Colorado: Fulcrum Publishing.

• Carlson, L. M. (2005). Moccasin thunder: American Indian stories for today. New York: Harper

Collins Publishers.

• Cree-Speaking students. (1988). How the birch tree got its stripes. Canada: Fifth House Publishers.  

• Crook, C. and Cameron, S. (2005). Maple moon. USA: Fitzhenry & Whiteside..

• De Coteau Orie, S. (1995). Did you hear wind sing your name?. New York: Walker and Company.

• Davids, D. (2007). Inner dreams and outer circles. Wisconsin: Muh-he-con-neew Press.

• Davids, D., Frank, L., Gudinas, R., Keup, K., Miller, B. (2008). The Mohican people their lives and their lands. Wisconsin: Muh-He-Con-Neew Press.

• Dunn, S. (2008). The Mohicans. New York: Purple Mountain Press.

• First Nation Development Institute. (2001). Building native communities: financial skills for families. Washington, DC: Fannie Mae Foundation.

• Goble, P. (1996). The return of the buffaloes. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society.

• Goble, P. (1986). Buffalo woman. New York: Aladdin Paperbacks.

• Horning, K., Lindgren, M., & Schliesman, M. (2010). Cooperative Children’s Book Center. Madison: University of Wisconsin.

• Indian Land Tenure Foundation. ( ). Lessons of our land. Access the curriculum online at www.indianlandtenure.org.

• Leary, JP. (June 2010). Act 31 in 3-D!!! Considerations for Implementation and Evaluation. Slides 9– 11 and 14-17 .

Bibliographic Information (cont.)• Lee & Low Books. On line at http://www.leeandlow.com. Printed 2/17/11.• Loew, P. (2003). Native People of Wisconsin. Wisconsin: Wisconsin Historical Society.• Loew, P. (2001). Indian Nations of Wisconsin. Wisconsin: Wisconsin Historical Society.• Malone, B. & Oberle, K. (2003). Native people of Wisconsin: teacher’s guide and student materials. Wisconsin: Wisconsin Historical

Society.• Mankiller, W. (2004). Every day is a good day: reflections by contemporary indigenous women. Colorado: Fulcum Publishing.• Meeker, J., Elias, J., & Heim, J. (1993). Plants used by the great lakes Ojibwa. Wisconsin: Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife

Commission.• Moroney, L. (1989). Baby rattlesnake. San Francisco, California: Children’s Book Press.• Mueller, L. (October 2009). The Mohican People Their Lives and Their Lands. Practical Educational Strategies For Implementing A

Tribally Based Curriculum. Slides 24 – 28 and 30.• Oughton, J. (1992). How the stars fell into the sky. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.• Oyate catalog 2009-2010. California: Oyate.• Resources received from Mrs. Leila Schwitzer (2010, 4th grade teacher at Gresham School): “This is insulting. Can you say why” booklet,

and saying “Everyone is different and different is good”.• Resources received from Barbara E. Munson (2/2011). Wisconsin Indian Education Association ‘Indian’ Mascot and Logo Taskforce.

Barb@Munson.net. http://www.IndianMascots.com• Rodanas, K. (1992). Dragonfly’s tale. New York: Clarion Books.• Seale, D. & Slapin, B. ( ). Broken flute: the Native experience in books for children. California: Oyate. • Tevin Hill. (2010). A visit with an elder: as told by Selma Buckwheat. Worldwide web: Blurb.• Wheeler, R. (1975). Jim Thorpe: world’s greatest athlete. Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press.• Wood, D. (1998). Northwoods cradle song: from a Menominee lullaby. New York: Alladin Picture Books.• (2008). Yellow medicine review: a journal of indigenous literature, art and thought. Michigan: Mc.Naughton & Gunn.

Closing

• Any Questions

• Thank You

• The End