American Indian Education Knowledgbase

This KnowledgeBase archive includes content and external links that were accurate and relevant as of September 30, 2019.

The American Indian Education KnowledgeBase is an online resource to aid education professionals in their efforts to improve the education of American Indian students and close the achievement gap American Indian students have faced in public, Bureau of Indian Education, and other schools.

Task 4: Apply to Reading and Children's Literature

Guideline: While American Indian students need to read and learn about the wider, non-Indian world, they also need to see people like themselves and other American Indians accurately portrayed in what they read. Unfortunately, many children's books, even some recent ones, often portray American Indians in a stereotypical or negative fashion. Educators should seek out relevant reading materials for native students.

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References

Presentations

A Critical Bibliography on North American Indians, for K-12

The past ten years or so have seen an increase in both the volume and quality of books about American Indians for children. Several excellent nonfiction series have appeared (most notably, Chelsea House's "Indians of North America" and Lerner Publications' "We Are Still Here" series; titles from both are reviewed in this bibliography), and Native authors and artists are finally seeing print with major publishers. Fiction has not fared so well, as authors' "creative license" is often used as an excuse for stereotypical flights of fancy masquerading as multicultural literature. Nevertheless, it is in books where the greatest potential exists for bringing Americans in touch with the American Indian of reality, not fantasy. With the emphasis on multicultural literature from children's book publishers these days, how does one sort out which titles have been rushed into print or repackaged to meet the demand for books on "diversity" from sensitive and accurate works that avoid stereotypes? Several bibliographies and guides have been published in recent years, some of them mere booklists of "Indian" books without any analysis (often appearing as chapters in guides to "multicultural literature"). Some are annotated bibliographies that simply describe the storyline and content. The most useful guides, however, are those that critically evaluate the images, descriptions, and portrayals of Native people, such as this bibliography. The accuracy of the portrayal of the Indian character(s) is the focal point of these annotations. This is important. Books are usually reviewed by the major review journals for their literary accomplishment, reading level, appeal to young readers, and attractiveness of illustrations. Almost never do these mainstream reviews consider the accuracy of the portrayals of Native cultures, or, for that matter, of any other cultures. A book may have a riveting and exciting storyline, but appalling depictions of Indian characters.

The annotations in this bibliography address all of these concerns. Like the best of its peers, it contains critical annotations and evaluations---not just plot summaries---of Indian books. Both positive and negative depictions are described, and the editors are not hesitant to point out controversial titles and disagreements about specific books. There is good balance and fair treatment in these reviews.

Teaching Reading With Puppets - Will Native Languages Survive?

In Canada and the United States today, there are approximately 210 indigenous languages are still spoken out of the over 300 spoken before the arrival of Columbus. However, all is not well with these remaining indigenous languages. For a language to stay alive, somebody has to be learning it. Recent research indicates that only 35 of the remaining languages spoken in the United States and Canada are spoken by young people. Will these remaining languages survive? Today, children are no longer being punished routinely for speaking their language in schools. Many schools with indigenous populations, particularly on Indian reserves and reservations, have indigenous language programs. However, having a language programs does not guarantee that children are learning their languages.

What Are the Best Non-fiction Books About History and Culture of Native Americans?

In this Quora blog, “Everything You Know About Indians is Wrong” by Paul Chaat Smith and “Being Comanche” by Morris W. Foster are offered as non-fiction reading about the history and culture of Native Americans. "Being Comanche" is more academic but it is accurate and respectful and doesn’t treat Native people are historical artefacts.

The contents of this website were developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education and are intended for general reference purposes only. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education or the Center, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. Some resources on this site require Adobe Acrobat Reader. This website archive includes content and external links that were accurate and relevant as of September 30, 2019.