The First Step

Finding quality American Indian children's literature is a genuine challenge for several reasons. Obviously, the amount of choices are lacking. The oft-quoted statistic from CCBC Choices is that 40 of the 3,000 titles they received had substantial American Indian content and only 9 of those were from American Indian authors and illustrators. The real concern is that when cultural authenticity is considered, an even smaller portion remains to recommend. There is no magical seal of cultural authenticity, as many opinions form that idea.

I've struggled with how to approach that evaluation process. Some of the most popular and widely-held works are some of the most problematic. It takes a good deal of chutzpah to tell libraries that their holdings are insufficient and then tell them to reorder without the aid of their traditional reviewing resources.

To those who, like me, are just starting out on the process of learning to evaluate American Indian children's litearture, there are a few resources I would recommend:

A Broken Flute: The Native Experience in Books for Children and the Oyate website:
http://oyate.org/catalog/oyatePubs.html, see also oyate.org

http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/

http://www.nativeculturelinks.com/nations.html

The Wisconsin Department of Education has an extensive bibliography on their site specific to Wisconsin Nations:
http://dpi.wi.gov/amind/aisbib.html

For Minnesotans and those studying Ojibwe resources, I would recommend The Minnesota Humanities Center. (Search "american indians" under the "Search our Resources" section and then click "search" rather than hit enter):
http://minnesotahumanities.org/


Book of the Day:
Mama's Little One by Kristina Heath

This picture book echoes traditional Mohican cultural principles to tell the story of a young child being instructed by his or her mother. The reader follows the child through the daily activities, with the importance of good behavior driving each action. Never does the narrative feel like a set of rules as the narration carries an obvious affection for both the young child and their traditional values.