Aspiring Educators Promote Advocacy and Literacy A group from MEA’s Aspiring Educators of Michigan (AEM) designed a multi-layered project for March is Reading Month that gave children from several elementary classrooms across the state a window into another culture, which in turn helped them look more closely at their own communities. Members of the AEM Social Justice Committee designed the project to value children’s voices and help young people to see their actions can make a difference in the world, said Maya Murray, the committee chair and a junior studying elementary education at Michigan State University. The project was built around a 2021 Caldecott Medal-winning picture book, We Are Water Protectors, described as a bold and lyrical rallying cry to safeguard the Earth’s water from harm, written by Carole Lindstrom, an Indigenous writer who is Anishinabe/Metis and
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is tribally enrolled with the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe. “We Are Water Protectors is a culturally relevant and important addition to have on the shelves, since it shows how one person can stand up for the community they love by taking action and advocating for what is right and for the voices that have been historically silenced,” Murray said. Inspired by Indigenous-led movements to protect the planet’s water, and vibrantly illustrated with watercolor paintings, the book is described as “a tribute to Native resilience” and “an inspiring call to action for all who care about our interconnected planet,” in a starred review by Kirkus Reviews. It is the first Caldecott Medal‑winning book illustrated by an Indigenous woman, Michaela Goade, who is Tlingit and a tribal citizen of the Central Council of Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska.
AEM members learned about the book through a diverse children’s literature workshop offered by aspiring-educator leaders at Wayne State University, including Abriana White, an at-large member of the AEM Board of Directors, who stressed the importance of bringing more diverse books to classroom read-alouds. “I am proud to be part of this project because children will have an opportunity to learn the importance of advocacy in their communities,” White said. The group of aspiring educators purchased copies of the book for the project from Black Stone Bookstore & Cultural Center near the AEM chapter at Eastern Michigan University. Titled “More than a Land Acknowledgment,” the project was supported by a NEA Create grant.
Essay Contest Each of the ten AEM chapters at universities across the state
