Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids by Cynthia Leitich Smith, editor

 

First, I was attracted to the cover illustration, which I think is great. Then, I was attracted to the title, thinking it was going to be a collection of family history stories (because of the word Ancestor in the title). What it is, however, is a collection of 16 contemporary short stories and two poems that are centered around the University of Michigan powwow that is held each year at Skyline High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan (except 2020 and 2021 because of COVID-19).

The stories begin with a poem called "What is a Powwow?" by Kim Rogers who writes that it is about family, friends, and remembering those who have passed on, it is also dancing in regalia made with love, and eating fry bread and corn soup, and healing and soul-soothing. And these are just some aspects of what you will find in the stories that follow. 

One of the things I really loved about this collection is the way they connect to each other. Characters show up in different stories. For example, there is a story called "Joey Reads the Sky" by Dawn Quigley. Joey's mom sells the World Best Fry Bread and this fry bread stand also briefly appears in "Bad Dog"  by Joseph Bruchac and "Between the Lines" by Cynthia Leitich Smith. One of my favorite stories is called "Rez Dog Rules" by Rebecca Roanhorse, about a dog named Ozzie with no master who travels to the Powwow with Marino. Marino is hoping to sell his silk screen T-shirts celebrating Native identity and culture to help out his grandma. At one point, Ozzie wiggles into a T-shirt that says Ancestor Approved on it and becomes a walking advertisement. The story is told from Ozzie's point of view, and he briefly appears in "Flying Together" by Kim Rogers, "Brothers" by David A. Robertson, "Wendigos Don't Dance" by Art Coulson, "Senecavajo: Alan's Story" by Brian Young, "What We Know About Glaciers" by Christine Day, and "Between the Line"s by Cynthis Leitich Smith. Connecting the stories to each other like this gives the reader a sense of continuity and the sense like they are also there, to the point where I could feel the beat of the drums as the dancers danced. And I could most definitely taste the fry bread, one of my favorite things about having lived in Arizona for a while.

The stories are varied, ranging from lighthearted to very serious. There are a number of different nations represented, including Ojibwa, Choctaw, Cree, Cherokee, Navajo, Haudenosaunee, and Abenaki, and there is a smattering of words in the various Native languages throughout. I was also stunned by the impressive descriptions of the regalia that is made and worn by the dancers. By the end of the book, I had developed a much deeper appreciation for the importance of Powwow than I had had before, mainly because these stories were so informative about them. And yes, anyone can go to a powwow, just learn what the etiquette is if you are not Native.  

Back matter includes Notes and Acknowledgements for each story and the poems, and a Glossary of all the Native words used in the stories and the Nation they belong to. This is followed by short biographies of the different writers.

Ancestor Approved is a wonderful collection that introduces young readers, as Cynthia Leitich Smith writes, to "the diversity of the intertribal Native and First Nations community, of each Indigenous Nation within it, and of young Native heroes." I was so happy to read this and discover they are perfect for middle grade readers because so often anthologies like this are geared toward young adult readers and, believe me, these are stories not to be missed. 

This book is recommended for readers age 9+

This book was an eARC gratefully received from Edelweiss+ 

The Sea in Winter by Christine Day

 

Maisie Cannon, 12, has been taking ballet since she was four-years-old, but now she is on a long recovery road after injuring her ACL trying to do an en pointe routine she just wasn't ready for. Now, with the support of her family - mom, stepdad, and younger brother Connor - and lots of physical therapy, Maisie's knee has mended enough that she is permitted to take a family hike along the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. And Maisie is hoping that she will be able to return to ballet in time to audition for a summer dance program. She is so consumed with when she can return to the dance studio, that her grades in school are suffering. 

On top of all that, best friend Eva is convinced she will be accepted into her first choice summer program, but seems totally oblivious to what is going on with Maisie, unlike their friend Hattie. Hattie is concerned that she hasn't heard from Maisie, who is avoiding her text messages. Hattie is also the best dancer of the three friends. At the same time, Maisie has been unaccountably irritated at her parents and Connor, and she is beginning to feel oddly disconnected from herself and those around her. And she's in denial about how serious the pain in her knee is.   

As her family heads out for their road trip during midwinter break, Maisie's dark moods don't improve, nor does the pain in her knee. During the tip, Maisie learns the history of her Native American ancestors. She is Makah on her mother's side, who grew up on northwestern part of Washington State. Maisie's dad was Piscataway, growing up on the Chesapeake Bay. Her stepdad, Jack Leith, is an enrolled citizen of the Lower Elwah Klallam Tribe, and know everything about Klallam and Pacific Northwest history. 

While the family digs for clams, and hikes through the area, Maisie's mother talks to her about how she was able to deal with the sudden death of her husband, finding strength in her Makah heritage. Jack also shares his personal history as part of the Klallam community and what a difference it made in his life, which was at one time heading in the wrong direction.

Despite being careful, Maisie trips and falls, seriously re-injuring her knee, undoing all the hard work she put into healing it. Will she be able to recover and dance again, or will she have to find a new course? And can she mend the friendships she has sabotaged?

When I began reading The Sea in Winter, I expected it to be about a younger girl than Maisie because of the cover and it took me a few pages to readjust my thinking. Once I did that, I was completely hooked on Maisie's story. It is narrated in the first person by her and gives the reader a lot of insight into her thinking and feelings, as well as her struggles. Maisie is heading down a dark path, but luckily she has parents who love her and recognize what is happening. I have to admit that at first I thought Maisie was a bit selfish, but as her emotional state became clearer, I began to feel much more empathic towards her. 

I really liked that Day gave her an intact family that is supportive, warm and loving, and a stepdad who really cares for her as though she were is own child without trying to replace her biological dad. Little brother Connor is a bundle of energy and can be a bit annoying, but it is clear he adores Maisie and the feeling is mutual. Family goes a long way in helping Maisie's recovery and I think the Native histories her parents tell her about also help her to finally begin to have the strength to really heal.

Day's description of the people and places in Maisie's life are so realistic, including the road trip the family took from their home in Seattle to the tip of the Olympic Peninsula. I could almost feel the cold and taste the razor clams the family digs up and cooks. 

The Sea in Winter is a compelling, heartwarming story about facing the loss of a dream and finding your life again after a traumatic injury. I can't recommend it highly enough. 

This book is recommended for readers age 9+

This book was an eARC gratefully received from NetGalley

MMGM: Indian No More by Charlene Willing McManis with Traci Sorell

I have to be honest and say that I did not know anything at all about the Indian Termination Policy which ended the Federal government's recognition of the sovereignty of Native American tribes, including all support services, and the dissolution of reservations. Native Americans were now supposed to live "like Americans" and relinquish all tribal life, culture, and traditions. In 1954, Congress passed Public Law 588, The Western Oregon Termination Act, terminating 61 tribes, including the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde. Aside from the loss of services, it meant the loss and sale of reservation land. Now, if you had the money, you could buy the land you had been living on at an inflated price; if you didn't have the money, you were required to leave. But wait! The 1956 Federal Relocation Program promised those who left the reservation good jobs, schooling, housing in an urban area so that they could really live "like Americans."

For 10-year-old Regina Petit, this law means she is no longer Indian, no longer part of the Umpqua tribe because now there would be no Umpqua tribe or Grand Ronde reservation anymore as far as the government is concerned. And since her family doesn't have the money to buy the land they have lived on, it means moving to South Central Los Angeles with her father, mother (who is actually Portuguese), younger sister Peewee, and her beloved Chich (grandmother). But it also means leaving behind a way of life, relatives, friends, and the cemetery where her Chup (grandfather) had recently been buried. 

The promised house is run down, the furniture is old, but the schooling promised her father was

An example of the brochure used by the
Bureau of Indian Affairs to convince
 Native Americans to relocate

good.  Regina is especially pleased that there is indoor plumbing, including an indoor toilet. The neighborhood is diverse, and the first kids that Regina and Peewee meet are two African Americans siblings Addie and Keith Bates. The sisters have never seen black people before, and their new friends have never seen Native Americans before. At first disappointed that Regina and Peewee aren't like the stereotype of "Indians" they have seen on TV or in the movies, they still becomes friends and spend the summer playing together and learning about each other,  along with two Cuban brothers, Anthony and Philip Hernández.

The move to Los Angeles has left Mrs. Petit sad and angry, and she just wants to go back home. Chich tries to make the best of it, using her sewing skills to help the family out, and continues to tell her tribal stories to the girls so they never forget they are Umpqua. But they are also introduced to customs like Halloween and Thanksgiving. Regina loves Halloween at first, after all, it's free candy, but a particularly disturbing incident involving white teens throwing eggs at her, Peewee, Addie and Keith while yelling the N-word spoils the pleasure she had found.

Indian No More was an eyeopening book for me. I went to school in NYC at a time when nothing was taught about the history of Native Americans and when they did come up, it was all very stereotypical. Regina's struggles with retaining her Umpqua identity and somewhat assimilating into life in Los Angeles offer readers lots of everyday details about what that was like there and on the reservation.

Front matter includes a map of the Pacific Coast tracing the route Regina and her family traveled, and a Glossary of Umpqua words and pronunciations. Back matter includes a list of important Definitions, an Authors's Note with photographs by Charlene Willing McManis, whose story this really and who sadly passed away in 2018, and a Co-Author Note by Traci Sorell.

Coronavirus Home Schooling Suggestion: Indian No More would be a excellent and instructive choice right now for anyone homeschooling their children and who wish to provide a unit on Native American History. The publisher, Lee & Low, have made an extensive Teacher's Guide available that can be downloaded HERE

Lee & Low also has a very interesting explanation of the dust jacket for Indian No More HERE

And The Classroom Bookshelf at SLJ has an extensive article called "Shedding Light on 20th Century Termination and Relocation Efforts with Indian No More that also include lots of useful links. You can access it HERE

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was an EARC received from Edelweiss+

Be sure to check out the other Marvelous Middle Grade Monday offerings, now being carried on by Greg at Always in the Middle. 

The Good Luck Cat by Joy Harjo, illustrated by Paul Lee

         **Spoiler Alert**

When it was announced that Joy Harjo, a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, had been named the first Native American Poet Laureate of the United States, I decided to revisit some of her work. Besides writing some of the most beautiful poetry I've ever read, Harjo also wrote one of my three favorite cat books, favorites because they all have one thing in common: the cat is not anthropomorphized and is allowed to behave like a cat.

The Good Luck Cat was published in 2000, and is Harjo's debut children's book (her other children's book is an excellent book of poems called For a Girl Becoming). The Good Luck Cat* has been out of print for a while, and although I don't usually write about books that are hard to find, I decided to make an exception because I know this book can be found in the library, either your local library or through interlibrary loan. I then discovered that Debbie Reese had already suggested people try to get The Good Luck Cat reprinted, and that would be wonderful. Here's the image she posted that could be used on social media in the hope a publisher might decide to do a reprint:

Click to enlarge

The narrator of The Good Luck Cat is a young Native American girl who introduces readers to her beloved cat, Woogie. Apparently, Woogie is a good luck cat, which means, according to the narrator's Aunt Shelly, that when you pet a good luck cat, good things happen to you. Sure enough, Aunt Shelly petted Woogie on her way to bingo and won enough money to buy everyone new shoes. Aunt Shelly also says that good luck cats have nine lives and that's really what this story is about.

But, for all Woogie's good luck gifts, her nine lives went pretty fast. Woogie is a cat that is allowed to go outside and gets into all kinds of accidents and trouble, some of which cost her each one of her lives. There's the time she fell asleep on the car's motor to keep warm, the time she followed the narrator and her brother to school and ran out in front of a car, or the time she ended up in the dryer, spinning and yowling to get out.

Her fourth life was taken by a cousin's dog who almost ate Woogie, then life number five was lost in a fight with another cousin's cat, number six was lost when she fell out of a tree and didn't land on her feet. She lost number 7 to some boys chasing her with a BB gun. The narrator takes responsibility for costing her kitty her eight life. She decided to take Woogie to the fall powwow, but forgot about her in the car. Luckily it wasn't summer, but still...

But when Woogie disappears with only one life left, the narrator really begins to worry. The girl, her Aunt Shelly and all the cousins go looking for her in all the places where Woogie had lost a life, but no luck. After four days, the our sad narrator decides to put out a dish of food, Woogie's catnip mouse, and her ball hoping they will lure her home. Sure enough, the next morning, there's Woogie sound asleep by her empty dish, purring away with half an ear missing, but otherwise, none the worse for wear. According to Aunt Shelly, Woogie is really a lucky cat because she clearly has more than nine lives.

The first thing that attracted me to this story was the language. Harjo is a poet and her prose has the same tender lyrical feel to it as her poetry: "I have a cat, a stripedy cat with tickling whiskers and green electric eyes. She has the softest fur in the world. When I pet her she purrs as if she has a drum near her heart." What a wonderful image.

I love cats, particularly tabby cats, and Paul Lee's artistic rendition of Woogie is my perfect kitty. His acrylic illustrations are clearly focused and realistic, and his images of the narrator and Woogie together are full of affection. And although this is Woogie's story, it is also a lovely Native American story, apparent in both illustration and text.

My fingers are crossed for a possible future reprint.

If you would like to know more about Joy Harjo and her work, you can visit her HERE

This book is recommended for all cat lovers
This book was borrowed from the library

*If you really want a good second hand copy, Better World Books has one for sale for a mere $1,219.12 + $3.99 shipping.

Chula the Fox by Anthony Perry

Sometimes life just doesn't give us what we think we want most in the world, but leads us down a totally unexpected path. Chula, a Chickasaw teen on the verge of manhood, is sure he wants to be a brave warrior just like his father, his uncle and his now deceased older brother. But Chula is small for his age and feels like he needs to prove himself more then most of the boys his age, especially Nukni, his nemesis who repeatedly goes after him both physically and verbally, never letting him forget his smaller size.

One day, while out hunting with his father, his uncle and other members of his tribe, Chula brings down his first deer. His pride at this achievement is short lived when the hunting party is attacked by a group of Choctaw warriors. Chula's father is badly wounded by a shot in the shoulder, and Nukni's uncle is killed, a devastating loss for him.

Sadly, when they return home, the wound in Chula's father's shoulder proves to be fatal for the strong warrior and Chula experiences his own devastating loss. Now, both Chula and Nukni want revenge for their losses, so that the spirits of their deceased loved ones can find peace. In fact, the whole tribe wants revenge, and it is decided that Chickasaw would attack the Choctaw right after the Green Corn Ceremony, the harvest, and also a time of forgiveness and purification. In the meantime, the young boys, including Chula, would be prepared to become warriors so that they can participate in the attack.

But does Chula have what it takes to be a warrior, or will he find himself a leader of his people in an entirely different capacity?

I loved reading The Birchbark House series. It offers readers a wonderful story and insight into the 19th century life of the Ojibwe people in what is now Minnesota. Young readers who read this series will certainly want to read Chula the Fox. Chula's story is set in the early part of the 18th century, and it, too, gives readers a clear window into the daily life of the Chickasaw people living in the Chickasaw Homeland (today's Mississippi).

Chula the Fox is narrated in the first person by Chula. As the story moves along, he provides a lot of interesting detail about everyday life, including family relationships, traditions, ceremonies, games, hunting practices, and warrior training. Chula's relationship with his father, mother, uncle, and especially his younger sister Pakali is respectful and loving. It was wonderful to see how, after Chula's father passed away, his uncle stepped right in to mentor him into adulthood. Perry has really researched these historical details well, and weaves them throughout the story seamlessly.

Perry was inspired to write Chula the Fox after his father passed away and he realized he was losing his connection to his Native heritage. You can read about this in his own words HERE. 

I found Chula the Fox to be a fascinating and inspiring historical fiction coming of age story, with elements that we can all relate to, such as Chula's sorrow at losing his father, his love for his family, but it is definitely a uniquely Native story, which taught me much about Chickasaw history.

Sensitive readers should know that there is some violence in the fight scenes and animals are killed but Perry makes it very clear that is it not done for sport but for survival.

Chula the Fox is a book that will particularly appeal to historical fiction fans, and/or readers interested in Native American history, as well as anyone looking for a well written, well-plotted adventure novel.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
Thank you to the author and the publisher, Chickasaw Press, for providing me with a review copy of this book.

A Review of Unstoppable: How Jim Thorp and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team Defeated Army by Art Coulson, illustrated by Nick Hardcastle for Multicultural Children's Book Day

Friday, January 25, 2019 is the annual Multicultural Children's Book Day! and once again, I am proud to be participating in this wonderful event that brings a world wide awareness to importance of having a broad range of diverse children's books available to young readers. Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2019 (1/25/19) is in its 6^th year and was founded by Valarie Budayr from Jump Into A Book and Mia Wenjen from PragmaticMom. Our mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in homes and school bookshelves while also working diligently to get more of these types of books into the hands of young readers, parents and educators, books like

Unstoppable: How Jim Thorp and the Carlisle Indian School Football

Team Defeated Army by Art Coulson, illustrated by Nick Hardcastle

 Capstone Editions, 2018, 40 pages, age 9+

Born in 1887, what was then Indian Territory and is today's Oklahoma, a young boy named James Francis Thorpe would grow up to become one of America's most versatile athletes and the first Native American to win two Olympic gold medals in pentathlon and decathlon. Jim was member of the Fox and Sac Nation, and was called Wa-tho-huk (Bright Path) by his mother.

As a boy, Jim loved to fish, ride and playing with his dogs, but because he didn't like school and kept running away. Finally, in 1904, his father sent him to the Carlisle Indian Industrial School at age 16. Though he worked a farm job off campus, it was soon discovered that Jim was an athletic phenom, a gifted athlete excelling in baseball, lacrosse, track, hockey, and football and it didn't take long for Carlisle's coach Glenn "Pop" Warner snatch him up. 

But what Jim really wanted to do was play on the Carlisle varsity football team and despite being small for his age, in 1907, he finally made the team and played for them for two seasons before leaving school again. Then, in 1912, Pop Warner asked him to come back and he promised to train the now 25-year-old Jim for the 1912 Olympics, which he did, enabling him to win his two Gold Medals in .

But 1912 was also the year that Carlisle would be playing Army, one of the country's best teams. The Indian team was considered the underdogs. Did the Carlisle team stand even the remotest chance of beating such a premier team as the one from West Point?

Though Jim Thorpe's athlete career was mainly spent playing baseball for the New York Giants and the Boston Braves, Coulson has chosen to focus Unstoppable on Thorpe's early life up to and including the 1912 game against Army. He does not, however, ignore the painful and humiliating treatment of Native children at the early Indian schools, and Carlisle was no exception. It was then the practice of the American government to remove Native children from their homes, sending them to Indian boarding schools, where their hair was cut, tradition clothing was burned, and forbidden for speaking Native languages or practicing their own religion. 

Nick Hardcastle's realistic illustrations add much dimension to Jim Thorpe's story. His color palette choices definitely have a aura that is reminiscent of the early 20th century and the style reminded me of the old cigarette cards that people used to collect featuring athletic greats. 

Back matter for Unstoppable includes a short biography about Jim Thorpe, the members of the 1912 Carlisle Indians Varsity Football Team, a glossary, information about Pop Warner, and the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, as well as information for further exploration.

I found Unstoppable to be a very informative, well written picture book for older readers. I didn't know that much about Jim Thorpe other than the fact that he was a Native American athlete and Burt Lancaster played him in a not terribly good movie called Jim Thorpe - All American that can sometimes be seen on TV. Unstoppable is a book that should be included library and classroom collections for teaching kids about Native peoples. 

This book is recommended for readers age 9+

This book was sent to me by the publisher, Capstone.

Thank you, Capstone, for providing me with a review copy of Unstoppable: How Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team Defeated Army to use in conjunction with Multicultural Children's Book Day.

And thank you to everyone participating and helping to make Multicultural Children's Book Day such a success:

MCBD 2019 is honored to have the following Medallion Sponsors on board!

*View our 2019 Medallion Sponsors here: https://wp.me/P5tVud-
*View our 2019 MCBD Author Sponsors here: https://wp.me/P5tVud-2eN

Medallion Level Sponsors

Honorary: Children’s Book Council, The Junior Library Guild, TheConsciousKid.org.

Super Platinum: Make A Way Media

GOLD: Bharat Babies, Candlewick Press, Chickasaw Press, Juan Guerra and The Little Doctor / El doctorcito, KidLitTV,  Lerner Publishing Group, Plum Street Press,

SILVER: Capstone Publishing, Carole P. Roman, Author Charlotte Riggle, Huda Essa, The Pack-n-Go Girls,

BRONZE: Charlesbridge Publishing, Judy Dodge Cummings, Author Gwen Jackson, Kitaab World, Language Lizard – Bilingual & Multicultural Resources in 50+ Languages, Lee & Low Books, Miranda Paul and Baptiste Paul, Redfin, Author Gayle H. Swift,  T.A. Debonis-Monkey King’s Daughter, TimTimTom Books, Lin Thomas, Sleeping Bear Press/Dow Phumiruk, Vivian Kirkfield

MCBD 2019 is honored to have the following Author Sponsors on board

Honorary: Julie Flett, Mehrdokht Amini,

Author Janet Balletta, Author Kathleen Burkinshaw, Author Josh Funk, Chitra Soundar, One Globe Kids – Friendship Stories, Sociosights Press and Almost a Minyan, Karen Leggett, Author Eugenia Chu, CultureGroove Books, Phelicia Lang and Me On The Page, L.L. Walters, Author Sarah Stevenson, Author Kimberly Gordon Biddle, Hayley Barrett, Sonia Panigrah, Author Carolyn Wilhelm, Alva Sachs and Dancing Dreidels, Author Susan Bernardo, Milind Makwana and A Day in the Life of a Hindu Kid, Tara Williams, Veronica Appleton, Author Crystal Bowe, Dr. Claudia May, Author/Illustrator Aram Kim, Author Sandra L. Richards, Erin Dealey, Author Sanya Whittaker Gragg, Author Elsa Takaoka, Evelyn Sanchez-Toledo, Anita Badhwar, Author Sylvia Liu, Feyi Fay Adventures, Author Ann Morris, Author Jacqueline Jules, CeCe & Roxy Books, Sandra Neil Wallace and Rich Wallace, LEUYEN PHAM, Padma Venkatraman, Patricia Newman and Lightswitch Learning, Shoumi Sen, Valerie Williams-Sanchez and Valorena Publishing, Traci Sorell, Shereen Rahming, Blythe Stanfel, Christina Matula, Julie Rubini, Paula Chase, Erin Twamley, Afsaneh Moradian, Lori DeMonia, Claudia Schwam, Terri Birnbaum/ RealGirls Revolution, Soulful Sydney, Queen Girls Publications, LLC

We’d like to also give a shout-out to MCBD’s impressive CoHost Team who not only hosts the book review link-up on celebration day, but who also works tirelessly to spread the word of this event. View our CoHosts HERE.

Co-Hosts and Global Co-Hosts

A Crafty Arab, Agatha Rodi Books, All Done Monkey, Barefoot Mommy, Biracial Bookworms, Books My Kids Read, Crafty Moms Share, Colours of Us, Discovering the World Through My Son’s Eyes, Descendant of Poseidon Reads, Educators Spin on it,  Growing Book by Book, Here Wee Read, Joy Sun Bear/ Shearin Lee, Jump Into a Book, Imagination Soup,Jenny Ward’s Class, Kid World Citizen, Kristi’s Book Nook, The Logonauts, Mama Smiles, Miss Panda Chinese, Multicultural Kid Blogs, Raising Race Conscious Children, Shoumi Sen, Spanish Playground

TWITTER PARTY Sponsored by Make A Way Media: MCBD’s super-popular (and crazy-fun) annual Twitter Party will be held 1/25/19 at 9:00pm.E.S.T. TONS of prizes and book bundles will be given away during the party. GO HERE for more details.

FREE RESOURCES From MCBD

Free Multicultural Books for Teachers: http://bit.ly/1kGZrta

Free Empathy Classroom Kit for Homeschoolers, Organizations, Librarians and Educators: http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/teacher-classroom-empathy-kit/

Hashtag: Don’t forget to connect with us on social media and be sure and look for/use our official hashtag #ReadYourWorld.

#NotYourPrincess: Voices of Native American Women edited by Lisa Charleyboy and Mary Leatherdale

Just as they did with Dreaming in Indian: Contemporary Native American Voices, Lisa Charleyboy and Mary Beth Leatherdale have once again created an anthology of Native American voices from Canada and the United States. This time, however, it is devoted to the voices of indigenous women only. For Charleyboy, this work is "a love letter to all young indigenous women trying to find their way, but also to help dispel those stereotypes so we can collectively move forward to a brighter future for all."

#NotYourPrincess is divided into four sections, all of which contain a collection of  poems, prose, art, and photographs by women and teens detailing some of the issues that have impacted their past, present and future as Native women.

In the first section, "The Ties That Bind," is about the ties to the past, recognizing a heritage and identity marred by the trauma and humiliations of the residence schools where Native children were taught to feel shame about who they are, and forced to assimilate to white society, or the shame felt at having everything taken by the government and wearing blankets in an attempt to protect themselves and to hide their shame. But, as Lianne Charlie (Tagé Cho Hudän) shows in her picture montage, #LittleSalmonWoman, Native women are their past but they are their present, too and it's in the present that things can change, accented by the last two entries of this section, In Her Words by Winona LaDuke (Anishinaabe/Ojibwe) and Jen VanStrander  (Western Band of Cherokee).

The next section, "It Could Have Been Me," looks at the way victimization of indigenous women has always been perpetuated on Native women and those who now refuse to accept being victims and fight back. Even as young Native women are disappearing, are hurt and abused, actress Imalyn Cardinal (Cree/Dene) states flatly "I Don't Want to Be Afraid." And in "The Things We Taught Our Daughters," Helen Knott (DaneZaa/Cree) tackles domestic and sexual abuse and the way keeping silent was taught from generation to generation, and that now, it is time to speak up, to not accept this kind of treatment. As if in answer to Knott's is a poem by Patty Stonefish (Lakota) called "It Could Have Been Me" that ends with the word "I will not believe I am weak-/ I know I am indomitable./ I have the privilege of another day." I think this poem really shows the strength and the determination of young Native women refusing to be the victim anymore.

The third section, "I Am Not Your Princess," considers cultural appropriation in We Are Not a Costume by Jessica Deer (Mohawk) and the kind of erasure that happens when an indigenous person doesn't fit peoples preconceived ideas of what a Native person should look like, as in A Conversation with a Massage Therapist by Francine Cunningham (Cree/Métis), or the refusal to be stereotyped in Stereotype This by Melanie Fey (Diné), and What's There to Take Back? by Tiffany Midge (Hunkpapa Lakota) in response to a call for submissions about recreating Tiger Lily into "a real image of Indigenous womanhood."

Section four, "Pathfinders," looks at Native women who are forging a different, more positive present and future for themselves and their children. In the poem When I Have a Daughter, Ntawnis Piapot (Piapoy Cree Nation), tells her future daughter "Don't wait. Don't whine. Don't pine./  Go for it. Work for it. Earn it" even if it means being shunned and ostracized, have the courage to stand up and fight for justice. Which is exactly what 13-year-old Annalee Rain Yellowhammer (Hunkapapa, Standing Rock Sioux) did when she signed on to try and stop the Dakota Access Pipeline. In Defender of Mother Earth, this young activist writes "We demand 'rezpect' for out water, our land, and our voices. This is followed by photographs of successful Native athletes in Living Their Dreams. There are other successful women contributing to this section, but they point out that being a pathfinder isn't without obstacles and difficulties that must be overcome simply because they are Indigenous women. But these women have forge a path that celebrates their identity as strong, independent Native women following their dreams, leading the way for future generations.

#NotYourPrincess is not necessarily an easy book to read, but certainly one that should be read by Native and non-Native people, male and female. Native girls and women reading it will find a celebration of the multiple identities of their womanhood, of "taking control of how they and their traditions are seen" and of shattering stereotypes. It is impossible not to be affected by these contributions of different women, but it is also not an easy book to review. There is so much in the short one and two page offerings of women expressing themselves so freely, that just talking about it doesn't do justice to what is contained between the covers. My advice: Read #NotYourPrincess

Pair this with Dreaming in Indian for a more well-rounded though far from complete look at what it means to be Native in today's world.

This book is recommended for readers age 14+
This book was an EARC received from NetGalley

A Picture Book Roundup for Native American Heritage Month

Whenever I do a picture book roundup, I try to always use books from the library, or if I already own the book, I check to make sure it is available to borrow around the country.  I do this for a reason - once upon a time, very early in my blogging career, I reviewed a book I just loved only to discover it was no longer available to buy or borrow - except from one library in Florida and libraries in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.

Then, for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month last May, I made it a point to read only books written about the Asian American experience by authors who were themselves Asian American and that were available in the library. I found that a lot of the books I wanted to read were just not easily available even though they appeared on lots of lists recommending them.

For Native American Heritage Month, the situation was no different. Lots of recommendations for hard to find books that looked really interesting. Luckily, all public libraries can do inter-library loans and the books below are available in libraries around the country.

Legends:

Chukfi Rabbit's Big, Bad Bellyache: A Trickster's Tale 

told by Greg Rodgers, illustrated by Leslie Stall Widener

Cinco Punto Press, 2014, 40 pages, age 5+

Chukfi Rabbit is a wily rabbit. He's a lazy boy, but he sure does like to eat. So when Ms. Shukata Possum needs a new house, she asked her friends to help, promising dinner with fresh homemade butter after the work is done. Well, Chukfi Rabbit loves butter, but he does not like working. Can he find a way to eat that tempting homemade butter without doing any work? Remember, he's a trickster. Chukfi Rabbit is an old Choctaw tale was discovered among Choctaw interviews in the Oral History Archives at the Oklahoma History Center by Greg Rodgers while he was doing other research. This is a trickster tale that will bring a smile to anyone reading it even as it teaches an important lesson about being a good neighbor. And a real feeling of authenticity permeates it in the Choctaw names of the animals, the clothing they wear and the food the food they eat. Widener's detailed illustrations are all expressively depicted in a soft pastel palette. Author and illustrator both members of the Choctaw Nation. 

Rabbit's Snow Dance, a traditional Iroquois story

told by James & Joseph Bruchac, illustrated by Jeff Newman

Dial BFYR, 2012, 32 pages, age 4+

It's summertime and long-tailed Rabbit is longing to be able to eat the tasty leaves and buds that grow on the tops of trees. But how to reach them? Rabbit decides to make it snow by singing his special snow song, after all, it always brings snow in the winter when he sings it. Taking his drum into the forest, Rabbit drums, dances and sings "I will make it snow,/AZIKANAPO!" and sure enough, flakes being to fall. So Rabbit keeps singing and dancing and the snow piles up higher and higher until at last, he can reach the tops of the trees. But now Rabbit was really tired from all that singing, dancing, and drumming, so he decides to take a nap in the treetop before he eats. But remember, it's summer so while he naps, the snow melts away.  What a surprise Rabbit has when he wakes up and steps off the tree branch expecting snow.  As he falls, bits of his tail get caught in the tree branches, and he lands a short-tailed rabbit. This is another trickster rabbit tale, although there is no explanation about its origin. It's a fun read aloud and the stylized watercolor, gouache and illustrations are a whimsical as the rabbit's antics. The Bruchacs, father and son, are of Abenaki heritage, a tribe of Algonquian-speaking people in the northeastern part of North America. 

Fiction:

Hungry Johnny by Cheryl Minnema, illustrated by Wesley Ballinger

Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2014, 32 pages, age 4+

Young Johnny sure does like to eat, especially after playing outside in the snow. Going home, he tells his Grandma "I like to EAT, EAT, EAT." Grandma is cooking, and there's even fruit and sweet rolls, but Johnny has to wait to eat. There is a community feast that evening they will be going to. Waiting is hard for a hungry boy, but after a long drive, there is "a l-o-n-g [Ojibwe] prayer," then the elders must eat first. Finally is it time for Johnny and Grandma to sit at the long community table, but just as he gets ready to eat, Johnny sees his Grandma's very old friend Katherine come arrive. Johnny knows just what to do - he jumps up and offers his chair to Katherine, telling her "it's time to EAT, EAT, EAT."  Johnny may want to EAT, EAT, EAT, but by the time he sits down at the table, he has learned some important lessons about thankfulness, patience and respect, thanks to his loving Grandma. Cheryl Minnema and Wesley Ballinger are both members of the Milles Lacs Band of Ojibwe.

Jingle Dancer by Cynthia Leitich Smith,

illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu

Morrow Junior Books, 2000, 32 pages, age 4+

More than anything, Jenna would like to jingle dance at the next pow-wow just like her Grandma Wolfe.  She practiced and practiced and Grandma Wolfe even said Jenna could dance Girls. Which would be wonderful except there just wasn't enough time to mail-order the tins for rolling jingles so Jenna's dance wouldn't sing like her Grandma's. Unless...Visiting different women and relatives in her intertribal community, Jenna manages to borrow enough jingles for her dress and dedicates her dance to each woman who helped her. This is a lovely intergenerational story about an important shared tradition in Jenna's family. The language of the story is as lyrical as the beautifully done full color watercolor illustrations. Leitich Smith has incorporated some interesting cultural elements of Jenna's life as a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, expanding them in her not-to-be-skipped-over Author's Note at the end of the story, along with a Glossary for unfamiliar words. Like Jenna, Cynthia Leitich Smith is also member of the Muscogee Creek Nation.

Saltypie, a Choctow Journey from Darkness into Light 

by Tim Tingle, illustrated Karen Clarkson

Cinco Puntos Press, 2010, 32 pages, age 6+

Saltypie is Tim Tingle's homage to his strong, loving grandmother and how she faced the difficulties and problems she encountered, and passed that on to her family. A member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, in 1915, his Mawmaw moved to Texas with her husband and 2 year old son. One morning Mawmaw was standing on the porch of their house, when she was hit in the head with a rock by a boy she never saw coming, simply because she was Indian. Bleeding, her 2 year old son, thought the blood looked like the sweet filling of his mother's cherry pie, but tasted like "saltypie" instead. Saltypie became the word that helped the family deal with trouble, "Sometimes you don't know where the trouble comes from. You just kinda shrug it off, say saltypie. It helps you carry on." I thought the subtitle of this story has a nice double meaning. It is Tim's journey from darkness to light about his grandmother's life, and his grandmother's journey from darkness to light after she has surgery to gives her her sight back - lost years ago to a disease. 

I had read Saltypie in Tingle's collection of stories about the Choctaw people (a book I highly recommend and in fact, I think I will revisit it this week), but I don't think any of the original feeling was lost in turning it into a picture book. It is complimented by Karen Clarkson's softly painted illustrations that really capture all the emotions of the family on each page, but especially the last image of Mawmaw, whose eyes are open for the first time since that fateful morning in 1915. 

Toby and the Secret Code, A Choctaw Adventure by Una Belle Townsend

illustrated by Gwen Coleman Lester

Doodle and Peck Publishing, 2016, 32 pages, age 6+

As he reads his class report, Toby couldn't be prouder of his hero and namesake, his great-great-grandfather, Tobias Frazier. Tobias Frazier was one of 19 Choctaw soldiers in World War I who helped the US Army by using the Choctaw language to create a secret code, one the enemy couldn't figure out. When Toby's friend Charlie said he wished they could have a secret code like the code talkers, Toby offered to teach him some Choctaw worlds. Toby's grandfather, Papa Tobe, even helped them with pronunciation, as the boys played soldiers with walkie-talkies. One morning, when Toby arrived at his grandfather's fishing hole, he found Papa Tobe on the ground, hurt and muttering in Choctaw. Luckily, Toby could now understand what he was saying and was able to get help for him quickly. Toby never would have saved his grandfather if he hadn't been inspired by his WWI hero and code talker. This is a nice intergenerational story about a part of Choctaw history that is not well know. There are lots of basic Choctaw words with pronunciation for young readers to learn, including colors, numbers and days of the week. There is also a Glossary, a list of the 19 code talkers, including Tobias Frazier, and websites for more information about the Choctaw Nation. Illustrator Gwen Coleman Lester is a member of the Choctaw Nation.

Nonfiction:

Crazy Horse's Vision by Joseph Bruchac, illustrated by S.D. Nelson

Lee & Low, 2006, 40 pages, age 6+

As a boy, Crazy Horse was called Curly because of his curly hair. And although he was small, he was a natural leader among the other Lakota boys, always reminding them to be brave. By the time he was 13 years old, Curly had already tamed a wild horse, and killed his first buffalo, giving it's meat to those who could not hunt for themselves. After witnessing a terrible fight between the Lakota and the nearby white soldiers, in which the Lakota leader was killed, Curly decided he needed a vision to guide him. Without telling anyone what he was doing, and without the proper preparation, Curly left the Lakota camp, riding into the hills. There he fasted and prayed, until he had as vision that gave him the guidance he sought for his life, and hearing the word "keep nothing for yourself." Though his father was angry at him for defying tradition, when Curly told him about his vision three years later, his father gave his son his name, Crazy Horse after interpreting his vision. I found this to be an excellent work for understanding both the idea of Lakota naming traditions and the practice of the vision quest. The illustrations are sweepingly beautiful and at the same time, very personal. They are somewhat stylized, and readers would do well to read both the Author's Note about Crazy Horse's life and the Illustrator's Note about his choice of styles. color, and texture as they relate to his Native American heritage. S.D. Nelson is a member of the Standing Rock Sioux.

There is a Teacher's Guide for Crazy Horse's Vision available from publisher, Lee & Low.

Buffalo Song by Joseph Bruchac, illustrated by Bill Farnsworth

Lee & Low, 2014, 40 pages, age 7+

Coming up a herd of buffalo that had been killed by white hunters, a Nez Perce man and his son discover one buffalo calf still living. Taking it back to the camp of Walking Coyote and his wife Mary. They have been trying to save any surviving calves from destroyed herds, but now must take them to the priests at St. Ignatius Mission for their good pastureland. After a harrowing journey over treacherous terrain, they arrive at the mission but the priests refuse to take the small buffalo herd. Eventually, the herd is sold to a Mexican/Piegan rancher, Michel Pablo who is trying to bring back the buffalo herd to its former glory. Buffalo Song is a poignant story that is actually based on the efforts of the real Walking Coyote and Michel Pablo. As white settlers crossed the great plains, buffalo were killed en masse for their tongue meat and hides (something not really made clear in the book), and then left to rot until they became an endangered species. Be sure to read Afterword to learn about early efforts to save the buffalo. Bill Farnsworth's gauzily painted illustrations in a palette of earth tones add much to the story.

I had put in library requests for three more picture books for Native American Heritage Month, but they didn't get here yet.  They are all books I have read and would recommend:

Native American Heritage Month may be over for 2016, but there are so many good Native American stories that you don't need to confine your reading to one month a year. Here is a PDF to download with some suggestions from Dr. Debbie Reese and the First Nations Institute: Native American Children's Literature Recommended Reading List

NOVEMBER IS NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH

Rain Is Not My Indian Name by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Cassidy Rain Berghoff and her best friend Galen Owen have promised each other to always celebrate their birthdays, both having been born on noteworthy days - Rain on New Year's Day and Galen on July 4th. Now that their friendship seems to be moving into the relationship realm, Rain had already decided that for her 14th birthday, it was time to kiss Galen, really kiss him, French kiss him. But it was a kiss destined never to happen. Galen was hit by a car and killed on New Year's Eve.

Rain is unable to bring herself to attend Galen's funeral, and in fact, holes up in the house for the next six months. By June, though, she is somewhat ready to emerge from hiding.  Her older brother has let her know that he would like her to participate in their Aunt Georgia's Indian Camp, a camp for Native American teens to explore their culture while living in a very white community. Rain isn't really interested in it, but finds a way to be there without participating. When she was young, her grandfather taught her all about photography. Rain has become a very talented photographer and is hired to take photos of Indian Camp for a news article in the local newspaper. The paper is run by Fynn's girl friend, Natalie, who has also been living in their home for a while.

Rain is a little confused when she first arrives at camp to find her former best friend, Queenie, there. When Rain learned that Queenie and Galen were romantically involved, their friendship began to change, and completely dissolved when Queenie hurt Galen. To make matters worse, Queenie had gone to Galen's funeral, something Rain couldn't do, and had even read a poem she had written. Now, no one understands why an African American girl is participating in Indian Camp until they learn that Queenie has recently discovered that she is part Native American, her great grandfather was Seminole.

Rain's intention is to keep a neutral distance from the camp and just take photographs, but when she learns that Mrs. Owen, Galen's mother, is challenging the town council for giving the camp some public funding, her attitude about and involvement in it can't help but change. Having been subjected to all kinds of stereotyping, anti-Indian prejudice and demeaning sentiments in and out of school her whole life, Mrs. Owen's challenge just becomes too much for Rain to ignore.

Rain is a teenager who has a lot to deal with - coming to terms with Galen's death, her brother's pending marriage and the baby he and Natalie are expecting, the possibility of rekindling her friendship with Queenie, and exploring her feelings about her own Native American heritage. Rain's mother, who was killed by a freak lighting strike a few years earlier, was Muscogee, Creek-Cherokee, and Scots-Irish, and had always referred to her family as her "patchwork tribe." Her dad, stationed overseas at a military base, is Irish, German and Ojibwe. The family lives in Hannesberg, Kansas, a mostly white community, which is one of the reasons Aunt Georgia felt Indian Camp was so important for the few Native teens who live there.

Rain Is Not My Indian Name is Cynthia Leitich Smith's debut novel and she written a main character who is sensitive, funny and for the most part very in touch with her own feelings about herself.  And even though it is narrated in the first person by Rain, the reader gets even more insight into her life through the short journal entries the begin each chapter.

Rain says she is basically OK with who she is: "Being a mixed blood girl is not big deal...Dealing with the rest of the world and its ideas, now that makes me a little crazy sometimes." And yet, she wants nothing to do with Indian Camp, and in school, around Thanksgiving when all the negative pop culture depictions of Indians come up "as bogeymen on the prairie, windblown cover boys selling paperback romances, or baby-faced refugees from the world of Precious Moments" (pg 13), she hides behind sci-fi fanzines rather than doing or saying anything, just as she hides behind her camera for Indian Camp or in the house for six months after Galen's death.

Rain Is Not My Indian Name is a coming of age novel about learning to (re)connect with the world in a new way and Indian Camp just may be the way for Rain to do that.

But it is also a much needed novel about what it feels like to live in a white community when you are culturally mixed, and part of that mix is Native American. And for readers who aren't Native American, like myself, reading this novel is an important eye-opening experience.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was borrowed from the NYPL

NOVEMBER IS NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH

Thunder Boy Jr. by Sherman Alexie, illustrated by Yuyi Morales

Thunder Boy Jr. by Sherman Alexie, illustrated by Yuyi Morales
Little, Brown BFYR, 2016, 32 pages

When he was born, Thunder Boy Smith Jr was given his name by his dad, Thunder Boy Smith Sr, and he really loves his dad a lot, he thinks his dad is just awesome, but...Thunder Boy Jr hates his name and just wants to have one his own.  A name that sounds like who he is, one that celebrates something cool that he has done, or expresses something about his personality. So, Thunder Boy Jr tries on a bunch of different names that reflect the things he has achieved or wants to in the future, like climbing a mountain and being called Touch The Clouds, or learning to ride a bike at age three and being named Gravity's Best Friend, or traveling the world with the name Full of Wonder:

What a surprise, then, when his dad tells him it is time for Thunder Boy Jr to have a new name.  And the name he chose is just so fitting. Thunder Boy Jr is renamed Lightning. Now, father and son are amazing- their love is loud and bright and together they light up the sky:

Thunder Boy Jr. is told in the first person, so readers know exactly how he feels about his name, and he has some very strong opinions about it. Thunder Boy is an endearing character, a bundle of energy, and has a great imagination. And all that is superbly captured in Yuyi Morales' bold, colorful digitally painted illustrations.  And there is a wonderful story behind the illustrations, which were made from the remains of an antique house in Xalapa, Mexico. You can find out how that what done in the note by the artist at the front of the book.

I think this is a smart book about a young Native American boy asserting himself and declaring his individuality within a loving intact family and community.  But, it is not a book about Native American naming traditions which are many and varied among the different tribes. Rather it is a book about identity, about finding oneself. Sherman Alexie has said in an interview that when "you talk about the Native American search for identity...it's almost always a story of loss and pain. I wanted to write a picture book in which a kid goes on a search for identity in the context of a loving family." (The Washington Post April 18, 2016)  Inspired by Jack Ezra Keats' The Snowy Day, Alexie went on to say "I wanted to replicate that experience [of a brown-skinned character, a boy who is just like him], because in literature in general, there aren't many Native American children."  I certainly hope he continues to explore this need and create more picture books like Thunder Boy Jr.

This is a book that shouldn't be missed - by anyone.

This book is recommended for readers age 4+
This book was sent to me by the publisher, Little, Brown BFYR

NOVEMBER IS NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH