Recommended: Books that Challenge, Delight, and Inspire: Contemporary Native Perspectives

Sue Christian Parsons, Ph.D.

Spring 2019: Contemporary Native Perspectives

When Oklahoma-born Traci Sorell realized that her own child had no books to reflect his contemporary Cherokee culture, she committed to write one herself. The result of that effort, We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga, articulates the Cherokee value of gratitude in all circumstance and seasons of life. This nonfiction book speaks to readers simply and directly: Cherokee people say otsaligheliga to express gratitude. It is a reminder to celebrate our blessings and reflect on struggles—daily, through the year, and across the seasons. Sorell and illustrator Frané Lessac take readers through the seasons, explaining Cherokee traditions and community values.

Fall—Uligohvsdi-- is a time to release and renew--…as we clean our houses, wear new clothes, enjoy a feast, and forget old quarrels, remembering the suffering of ancestors and relishing hope in the birth of a baby. Winter—Gola—finds families gathered together, caring for each other, remembering those who have passed on and passing on traditions to the new arrivals. As the Earth renews itself in Spring—Gogeyi-- families express gratitude through song and action—planting, creating, retelling important stories—and even in hard goodbyes. Summer—Gogi—is filled with activity—crawdad gigging, stickball, the Green Corn Ceremony—and, always, gratitude for ancestors’ sacrifices to preserve our way of life.

We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga is a true picture book, words and images intertwined to tell a richer story than either might alone. That story sways gently between joy and sacrifice, hardship and hope, but remains firmly tethered with gratitude. Lessac has tucked opportunities for discovery throughout her painted spreads. Sorell’s narrative is sprinkled with Cherokee words displayed in English letters and Cherokee syllabary along with a phonetic pronunciation. Back matter includes a glossary, author’s note further explaining Cherokee culture, an overview of Cherokee syllabary, and resources for further exploration.

The Importance of Contemporary Native Perspectives

There are 570 sovereign Native Nations within the borders of the United States; 39 in Oklahoma. 1 Each was a functioning nation before the U.S. was established. They all continue with their own histories, citizens, governments, and traditions. Approximately 5.2 million American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) individuals are part of these nations, comprising about 1.7 percent of the total U.S. population. Interestingly, children make up a larger percentage of AI/AN communities than the U.S. population at large: 32% of Native communities vs. 24% of the total population are under 18. Oklahoma has the second highest proportion of American

1 http://www.ncai.org/about-tribes; https://www.okhistory.org/research/aitribes)

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Indian/Alaska Natives in the country: about 12.9 percent of the state population. 2 Bottom line: our Oklahoma classrooms are rich with Native students. Unfortunately, our schools’ book shelves are not typically rich with Native representations.

Of 3,134 books received from U.S. publishers for review by the Collaborative Children’s Books Council in 2018, 34 (1%) featured Native characters in a significant role. Only 23 of those few books, were written by Native authors. This low representation—a consistent issue over the years--is powerfully illustrated in this graphic (Huyck, 2018) 3 that alludes to Sims-Bishop’s (1990) powerful assertion that all children need to see themselves mirrored in books. Considering authorship is particularly important as American Indian/Alaska Native cultures have often been, and continue to be, broadly stereotyped and misrepresented in broader society, including in the world of children’s literature. Consider, for instance, the derogatory portrayals in popular, acclaimed books such as the Little House on the Prairie series and The Indian in the Cupboard. 4

Further complicating the situation, Native representations in children’s literature consist largely of historical perspectives and traditional tales; there are very few books that feature contemporary Native experiences; indeed, very few beyond the mid-1800s. Unless educators are exceedingly intentional about selecting and including books with authentic Native perspectives, it is likely that AI/AN children in our classrooms will not see themselves in books. Just as critical, children of other races and cultures will not see them either. While conducting a recent research study (Parsons & Brown, forthcoming), my colleague and I were surprised to hear Oklahoma-raised young adults express surprise that AI/AN individuals were part of their day-today experiences. As Walter Dean Myers pointed out in a 2014 New York Times opinion

2 http://www.ncai.org/about-tribes/demographics

3 https://readingspark.wordpress.com/2019/06/19/picture-this-diversity-in-childrens-books-2018-infographic/? fbclid=IwAR15QnligSn-e7GDwKtIfbKPn5NcRu3sE3SFmibUn2Q-NrOlrKAyVL5xyoA

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For a quick look at the problems with these books, see https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/littlehouse-prairie-was-built-native-american-land-180962020/; https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/26/books/lauraingalls-wilder-book-award.html; https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/entertainment/books/1986/11/09/plastic-indians-and-nativeamericans/84365fca-ef93-4927-a07a-184333c0e29c/?utm_term=.364849269ec4. Oklahoma scholar Rhonda Taylor’s exploration (2010) addresses the issue in more depth with an eye to what teachers and librarians can do: https://doi.org/10.1080/095183900413313.

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editorial, 5 absence of representation in children’s literature makes it easy for stereotypes to take hold and to maintain their hold on society. First Nation communities and culture—vital, alive, relevant—should be well represented in every Oklahoma classroom—including on the book shelves.

Other Recommended Books for Young Readers

The books listed here were authored by members of First Nation communities that live in Oklahoma. All have content reflecting 20 th or 21 st century life. See below for additional resources for selecting high quality, authentic literature with Native perspectives.

Annino, Jan Godown, illus. by Lisa Desimini, afterword by Moses Jumper, Jr. (Seminole). She Sang Promise: The Story of Betty Mae Jumper, Seminole Tribal Leader (hardcover National Geographic 2010/paperback Scholastic 2018). Biography.

Betty Mae Tiger Jumper was the first and so-far only Tribal

Chairman for the Seminoles, one stellar accomplishment in a life filled with them. Annino details Jumper’s life from challenging beginnings in the Florida Everglades—tribal members threatened to throw her in the swamp to do away with bad spirits from her white father, but her family intervened and fled to a nearby reservation— through her spectacularly accomplished life. Betty Mae became a nurse, then returned to the Seminole community as an active and effective advocate for health and education. Proficient in both Creek and Mikasuki, she served as an interpreter in healthcare and legal contexts. Betty Mae helped organize a Tribal council, founded and ran a tribal newspaper. She was the first women elected to the Tribal Chairman position, and the only woman Chairman to date. Annino narrates Jumper’s story in free verse illuminated and extended by Desimini’s lush paintings. Back matter includes a glossary, afterword from Jumper’s son, Moses Jumper, Jr., maps and chronology, an author’s note, and additional information and resources. (You may also be interested in Legends of the Seminoles (1994), traditional stories told by Betty Mae Jumper herself, written with Peter Gallagher; illus. Guy LeBree.)

Coulson, Art (Cherokee Nation), illus. by Nick Hardcastle. Unstoppable: How Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Defeated Army. (Capstone, 2018). Biography.

In a life as big and significant as Jim Thorpe’s, there is a lot to tell. Coulson focuses tight on one event and, in doing so, highlights Thorpe’s personal character and determination as well as the bigger societal issues surrounding the marginalization of American Indians. The center of Unstoppable is the 1912 football game between the Carlisle Indian Industrial School and the West Point U.S. Military Academy. Coulson spins this underdog story with vivid and exciting detail—enough to have readers “on the edge of their seats”—but also expertly contextualizes the story so that readers understand not only the

5 https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/16/opinion/sunday/where-are-the-people-of-color-in-childrens-books.html

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significance of that win (Carlisle 27, West Point 6) and the true athletic greatness of Thorpe, but also the extreme educational and social inequities that marked his life and the lives of other American Indians in the early 20 th century. Back matter includes a glossary, more information about Thorpe’s life and those of his teammates, as well as sordid details of the Carlisle school and other such Indian boarding schools.

Herrington, John B. (Chickasaw). Mission to Space. (White Dog Press, 2016). Autobiography.

John Herrington built on a stellar Navy career to transition to NASA where he launched into space on the space shuttle Endeavor to provide mechanical support and a fresh crew to the International Space Station. During that 13-day mission, Herrington performed three space walks. In Mission to Space he chronicles his early passion for space, his training, and his 2002 journey into space and back home. Using his personal photos and engaging first-person narration, Herrington—a member of both Chickasaw and National Native American Halls of Fame—highlight his Chickasaw culture and the rigor and excitement of space travel. End matter includes an English to Chickasaw glossary.

Smith, Cynthia Leitich (Muscogee Creek), illus. by Ying-Hwa Hu and Cornelius Van Wright. Jingle Dancer. (HarperCollins, 2000). Realistic Fiction.

Jenna, a Muscogee Creek girl living in Oklahoma, tells her grandmother that she wants to jingle dance like her grandmother has done notably for so many years. Grandma Wolfe tells Jenna she can dance at the upcoming Pow Wow, but there isn’t time to order the materials to make jingles for her dress. Resourceful Jenna enlists the help of friends and family, borrowing jingle cones from various dresses, but never so many that those dresses lose their voices. With their help—and plenty of practice—Jenna dances for her benefactors when they—for various reasons—can’t dance themselves. This gentle story, rich with cultural detail, shows the love and appreciation between generations of women and a community that values the voice of a child and her dreams. End matter includes a glossary and information about Creek Nation origins and culture.

Tallchief, Maria (Osage) with Rosemary Wells, illus. by Gary Kelley. Tallchief: America’s Prima Ballerina (Puffin Books, 1999). Autobiography/Biography.

Tallchief narrates her own story in a clear, direct voice, beginning with, I was born on an Osage Indian Reservation in Fairfax, Oklahoma in 1925. In those first few pages, she details life in the Osage community-- including the extreme wealth that resulting from the discovery of oil on Osage lands—and in her own family as the child of an Osage father and

Scots-Irish mother who, despite cultural stigmas on women dancing, encouraged her in both.

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At age 12, Maria’s father asked her to choose one or the other—and she chose dance because through dance she would also have music. In engaging prose, rich with metaphor and imagery, Tallchief (with Rosemary Wells) tells of the hard and determined path she took to become a world-renown ballerina. Her story wells up with passion for the beauty and power of dance—and of a strong woman.

Tingle, Tim. (Choctaw). Illus. by Karen Clarkson. Saltypie: A Choctaw Journey from Darkness into Light. (Cinco Puntos Press, 2010). Autobiography/Family Memoir.

Most families have a word or phrase that means something only inside their circle, perhaps something uttered in the middle of a celebration or a mispronunciation from a young child that instantly evokes a memory, a reminder of shared experiences and the truths that come with them. In the opening pages of Saltypie, Tim Tingle’s grandmother soothes him after a bee sting, telling him that indeed his wound was “saltypie.” The narrative travels back in time to when his grandmother--a young Choctaw woman raised in an Indian boarding school in Oklahoma and now living in Texas raising her family where Indians were most unwelcome—is hit in the head by a rock thrown, as Tingles father later explains to him, just because she was Indian. As blood trickles down her face, her young son, thinking it looked like cherry pie, reaches to taste it—spitting and exclaiming, “salty pie!” in his surprise. “Salty pie” becomes family code for misfortune but also for dealing with and moving past adversity. Tingle’s narrative skips around in time, but the theme of persistence and resilience through love never skips a beat.

Looking for more? The American Indian Library Association (https://ailanet.org/public-libraryresources/) provides a wealth of resources to support understanding and selection.

I owe many thanks to Traci Sorell, not only for her beautiful book but also for sharing her cultural expertise and fact checking this article.

Suzii Parsons believes that books truly matter in the lives of young people. She is the Jacques Munroe Professor of Reading and Literacy at Oklahoma State University. You can contact Dr. Parsons at sue.parsons@okstate.edu.

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