BUILDING BACKGROUND: Some Online Sources

These websites provide links to information about all aspects of Native American culture and life, past and present.  Many also provide links to bibliographies and reviews of literature and other media by and about Native Americans.

http://www.hanksville.org/NAresources.html  "Index of Native American Resources on the Internet" : This is a massive website with extensive links to Native American arts, culture, museums, online texts, legal and political issues, as well as links to literature and bibliographies.  The section on books brings up a list of links to individual author sites as well as links to reviews and bibliographies.

http://www.nativeculture.com/lisamitten/indians/html  "Native American Sites": Maintained by Lisa Mitten, a former librarian and currently a Social Sciences Subject reviewer for CHOICE Magazine,  the site provides information on issues of current interest including the "mascot issue" and links to organizations, programs, and events of interest to students of Native American culture.

http://nmnhwww.si.edu/anthro/outreach/outrch1.html  The homepage of the Anthropology Outreach Office of the Smithsonian Institution, this site offers fairly high level information on tribes, customs, history, and resources for teachers and librarians.  Click on the link to "A Critical Bibliography on North American Indians, for K-12" for annotations of suggested books.  The introduction to this section was prepared by Lisa Mitten and includes tips on selecting culturally sensitive and accurate Native American materials for libraries and classrooms.

http://ipl.org/ref/native  The Internet Public Library offers the opportunity to browse by author, title, or tribe.  The articles provide links to essays, articles about authors, information about tribal people, book reviews, and bibliographies.

http://indigenouspeople.org/natlit/whatgood.htm   "Indigenous People":  Focusing on all indigenous people, this site has good links to specific tribes and people with biographies and historical information as well as literature.

TOOLS FOR COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT: Online and Print Resources

http://www.slj.com/articles/discussion/P7015.asp   A good place to start.  This article in School Library Journal entitled "Authenticity & Sensitivity: Goals for Writing and Reviewing Books with Native American Themes," (by Debbie Reese), addresses issues of accuracy and cultural sensitivity selecting books by and about Native Americans.  She points out that even reviews must be suspect and suggests resources to help librarians check facts.

http://nativeculture.com/lisamitten/aila.html   This is the professional homepage for the American Indian Library Association, affiliated with ALA.  Maintained by Lisa Mitten, this page provides tips for selection and a section of links to resources for collection development.

www.oyate.org   "Oyate":   Books can be purchased through this site.  Annotated bibliographies, some book jackets, and prices are displayed as lists by grade level and media.  Posters, reference material, audio and video, and teachers'' materials are available.  There is a section on "Books to Avoid".

www.kstrom.net/isk/mainmenu.html   "Native American Indian Resources":  This enormous website provides links to masses of Native American information on all aspects of culture, everything from languages and basketry to the recipes and the Mayan number system.  Also contains vast bibliographies, mostly extensively reviewed by the late Paula Geise.  Books are arranged by interest level, subject, author, tribe, and media.  Also includes recommended curriculum materials.  A "Big Baddies" list with explanations and alternative selections is very valuable and provides insight into issues of sensitivity and accuracy in selecting Native American materials.

www.nativeauthors.com   "North American Native Authors Online": A commercial site with books available for purchase online.  The site provides access to "over 700 titles from over 90 different publishers."  All books and tapes in their catalog are authored or co-authored by people of Native American ancestry.

Slapin, Beverly & Doris Seale, eds.  Through Indian Eyes: The Native Experience in Books for Children. University of California, 1998.   Marvelous combination of essays, poetry, annotated bibliography, and tips for selection.  There is an extensive illustrated section on "How to Tell the Difference" between culturally sensitive and accurate materials and those containing stereotypes. 

Also Recommended:

Ruoff, A. LaVonne Brown.  American Indian Literatures: An Introduction, Bibliographic Review, and Selected Bibliography.  MLA, 1990.   

Native American Fiction  For Young Adults: Recommended Novels

These are my personal recommendations.  Obviously, the list is limited due to time and availability constraints, but I feel that these provide a starting point for anyone interested in Native American fiction.  Since most of these books are available from multiple sources, I have not included any particular publishing information.

Momaday, N. Scott.  House Made of Dawn.   This novel won a 1969 Pulitzer Prize for its Kiowa author - the first such award to a Indian writer.  The story follows Abel, a Pueblo returned from the horrors of World War II.  The story is told through interior monologues and weaves a complex texture that might be difficult for some readers to follow.  In spite of this, the language, imagery, and metaphoric power of the writing move the reader forward. (High School)

Kingsolver, Barbara.  Pigs in Heaven.  The sequel to The Bean Trees.  Taylor Greer and Turtle, a Cherokee child abandoned in her car in the prequel, visit Hoover Dam with complex consequences leading to a tribal legal hassle over Turtle's adoption.  With a title taken from a Cherokee myth about six lazy boys who became Pigs in Heaven (the Pleiades), the novel combines Kingsolver's luminous and insightful writing with humor and down-to-earth situations.   (High School)

Dorris, Michael.  A Yellow Raft in Blue Water.  Won the National Book Critics' Circle Award.  The story is told from the viewpoints of three multi-generational women and weaves back and forth in time from about 1930's to the present, portraying life on a reservation in the Great Plains.  The ending is left up in the air and could provide an interesting assignment for students asked to write resolutions.  (High School)

Cannon, A.E. The Shadow Brothers.  Novel about a Navajo teen as told by his non-Indian adoptive brother.  Henry Yazzie is one of only two Indian boys in a school he attends off the reservation.  He faces issues of identity as he questions how he fits in as a minority and a Navajo.  Henry is an athlete and this book would appeal to both boys and girls.   (Middle and High School)

Alexie, Sherman.  The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven.  Actually twenty-two intertwined stories, the unifying thread in this book is life in and around eastern Washington's Spokane Indian Reservation.  The stories focus on the difficult lives of Alexie's cousins both on and off the reservation.  This book provided the basis for the film Smoke Signals.  Some rough language and situations, but the humor and fine writing make this a worthwhile pick for mature YA's.  (High School)

Alexie, Sherman.  Reservation Blues.   The tale of Coyote Springs, an Indian Catholic rock band.  Funny and insightful, this novel, like  "…Lone Ranger…" centers around life on the Spokane Indian Reservation.  Combining wit, rock-and-roll, and history, the characters, especially lead guitarist Thomas Builds-the-Fire, are real people who will appeal to YA's no matter their ethnicity.  These characters are musicians first, Indians second, but their context is heartbreakingly and unmistakably reservation Indian with all the problems attendant thereto.  (High School)

Silko, Leslie Marmon.  Ceremony.  The story of a Laguna Pueblo Indian, Tayo, this story recounts his struggles to adjust after World War II and the redemption he finds in the ceremonies of his own culture.  Although Silko has written books since, this is considered a classic.  (High School)

Bruchac, Joseph.  Dawn Land.  The story of Young Hunter, and Abenaki who lives 10,000 years ago.  He is sent on a journey to save his tribe and as on any other hero's quest, he encounters many adventures.  This is a great book combining legends and natural history.  (Middle and High School)

Speer, Morgan.  The Whipping Boy.   The central character is Tom Freshour, a mixed-blood Choctaw Indian who is assigned from his school to accompany a salesman through 1890's Oklahoma Territory.  Along the way he encounters a plot to swindle land from farmers.  Good adventure story with a historical setting.

 

(Middle and High School)

Deloria, Ella Cara.  Waterlily.  A novel of the Dakota people told from a woman's point of view.  It portrays the life of the people beginning from the time when their traditional way of life was beginning to be upset.  Interwoven into the story are many historical facts about plains Indians.  The author was an anthropology research assistant and uses the book as a vehicle to educate as well as entertain.  (Middle and High School)

Hillerman, Tony.  The First Eagle.  The most recent of Hillerman's mysteries featuring Navaho tribal police officer Jim Chee, this story combines elements of Hopi and Navaho culture in telling the story of  Robert Jano, a Hopi accused of murder.  Probably for high school die-hard mystery fans or kids interested in Southwest Native American culture.  (High School)

Erdrich, Louise.  Tracks.  A story set in the Chippawaw nation at the turn of the century.  Nanapush, a tribal elder, and Pauline, and young girl who has embraced Catholicism, tell the story of Fleur, Pauline's mother.  In the course of their entwined stories, the contrasts and conflicts of old and new ways are highlighted.  (High School)

Native American Non-Fiction for Young Adults: Stories, Poetry, History, Biography

Again, this is a personal sampling of the many titles available for YA's. Some of these are for adults but would be valuable to High School libraries.

Menchu, Rigoberto.  I, Rigoberto Menchu.    The autobiography of the Nobel Peace Prize winning activist for the indigenous people of Guatemala.  Written when she was 23 and translated into many languages, it is a heartrending personal story about the conflict between modern and traditional cultures and the horrors of political war.  Aside from the politics, however, she communicates her Maya culture with its connections to the natural world in a very personal way.  Long but written clearly and with strong emotion so is easily accessible to high school students.  (High School)

Aaseng, Nathan.  Navajo Code Talkers.  A 1992 Junior Literary Guild selection.  This fascinating book describes the efforts of the Navajo military communications experts who, during World War II, used the Navajo language as the basis for a complex code used in the Pacific and never broken by the Japanese. A fascinating and unusual way to approach lessons on World War II and the contributions of the Navajo in particular.  (Middle and High School)

Hungry Wolf, Beverly.  The Ways of My Grandmothers.   The author writes about the lives of Native women as experienced by her people during the recent past.  Very personal and beautifully written, this well-illustrated volume contains history, memoir, and humor.  (Middle and High School)

Matthiessen, Peter.  In the Spirit of Crazy Horse.  This book about the American Indian Movement (AIM) was suppressed by the US government for eight years while a legal battle raged. Since its publication in 1991, it has appeared on most top ten lists in Native American studies classes, both for its political content and for its historical value as an account of modern Indian activism.  (High School)

Allen, Paula Gunn.  Spider Woman's Granddaughters:  Traditional Tales and Contemporary Writing by Native American Women.  American Books Award, 1990.   An anthology of writings by native women, mostly contemporary writers dealing with modern issues, but including some traditional stories that tell of women's roles in Native American myths and legends.  (High School)

Neihardt, John G. Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux .  A "retelling" of conversations and correspondence between Black Elk, a Lakota, and Neihardt, a poet writing in the 1930's.  The book describes Black Elk's traditional boyhood, his spiritual observations, and several battles including the Little Bighorn and Wounded Knee.  (High School)

 

Brown, Dee Alexander. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West.  A recounting of the shameful treatment of native people beginning in 1860 with the Long Walk of the Navaho through Wounded Knee 30 years later.  This book, written in 1970 from the Indian point of view, radically changed how Americans view the treatment of native people.  (High School)

Erdoes, Richard and Alfonso Ortiz, eds. American Indian Myths and Legends.

 

A collection that appears on most top ten lists.  A translated/transcribed set of native tales collected by the editors during the 1960's.  Although most are from Plains reservations (mostly Lakota), other tribes are represented and there are stories from the Southwest.  What makes these special is that each retold tale includes a brief introduction to the teller.  These are really good stories, funny and lively.  (High School)

Hoig, Stanley.  Night of the Cruel Moon.  Book written for YA's about the Trail of Tears.  Very detailed and well-illustrated account that is accessible to Middle Schoolers as well as interesting enough for High School students.  Good treatment with plenty of historical detail but personal details to make this event real to kids. (Middle and High School)

Bruchac, Joseph.  Sacajawea: The Story of Bird Woman and the Lewis and Clark Expedition.  Told with alternating points of view by James Merriweather Clark and Sacajawea, this book really brings history to life.  This book educates and entertains and manages to balance a historical perspective at the same time.  (Middle and High School)

Videos By or About Native Americans:

These are not educational videos, but feature films that depict modern Native American life on the reservation.  I recommend them because video often speaks clearer about attitudes, ideas, and locales than print can do, especially when we bring our own cultural biases and preconceived notions to bear.  As with the above lists, these are simply some films I can recommend.  I'm sure there are many others equally good.

Pow Wow Highway. Jonathan Wacks, 1989, 91 minutes, Rated R  for strong language and a naked behind shot. (High School and up)

 

A road picture set on the reservation.  Called a "rez classic" by Oyate Publishing, I just thought this picture was funny and I felt as if I were being invited along and given a glimpse of a different way of life. 

Smoke Signals. Chris Eyre, 1999, 87 minutes, PG-13.  (Grades 8 and up).

 

Adapted from one of the stories in Sherman Alexie's  The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven , "This Is What It means to Say Phoenix, Arizona", this is a wonderful movie.  Victor Joseph and his friend Thomas Builds-the-Fire travel to pick up his father's ashes, but the trip is just a frame for the wonderful interaction between the characters.  Funny, poignant; the ending makes grown men weep.

Medicine River, Stuart Margolin, 1994, 96 minutes, rated PG (High School and up). 

 

Based on the novel by Tom King, this is a love story starring Graham Greene (Thunderheart, Northern Exposure) as the love interest.  Very funny  in an understated, deadpan way but with serious messages too, since the film deals with political issues as well as romance.  Very entertaining.

 

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