National Native American Heritage Month

I am feeling a little, no, a lot of conflict inside as I read through some of the books about Thanksgiving that we read to our children. There are so many that romanticize the original Thanksgiving story and make it a "feel good" experience. The only problem is that most of the materials we use to teach about and celebrate this holiday do not include the perspective of some major players. Books like those above that I read this afternoon, gloss over the experience of the indigenous people.

Today, a Presidential proclamation was released from The White House regarding National Native American Heritage Month. I learned of this through Debbie Reese's site American Indians in Children's Literature. One line stood out to me in relation to how we teach, As we work together to forge a brighter future, we cannot shy away from the difficult aspects of our past." As a teacher, I am compelled not only to educate students about our past, but teach them to read critically and question the stories that have been passed down for so many years that we accept them as the only truth and the only perspective.

Fortunately, there are also books like Thanksgiving a Native Perspective and 1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving, that don't simply share the myth of the First Thanksgiving, but provide a whole other perspective. The facts have always been available, but since they didn't fit within the context of our myth, they haven't always been taught.

If you are interested in learning more about Thanksgiving beyond the feast of the Pilgrims, please read 1621, or stop by Debbie Reese's blog. She has addressed this topic several times over the years: Good Books About Thanksgiving and Native Americans and Thanksgiving. Oyate also has a fantastic online resource Deconstructing the Myths of The First Thanksgiving. It is hard to change lessons and the materials that we use, but we owe it to our students to go beyond the same old history we have been teaching. The Common Core requires students to read critically. We can be models in our classes and ask such questions as: Whose perspective is represented in this resource? Does the work accurately reflect the culture of those included? Are those voiced heard? Who benefits from this telling of the story? 

As we celebrate National Native American Heritage Month, I hope to evaluate materials carefully and as the proclamation encourages, "celebrate and honor the many ways American Indians and Alaska Natives have enriched our Nation."

It's Monday! What are You Reading?

Jen & Kellee over at Teach Mentor Texts host a meme every Monday that invites people to share the children's and young adult books they have been reading over the past week and what they plan on reading the following week.

Past Week:

Picture Books

Of the picture books above from my list on Goodreads, my favorite this week by far was This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen. I just cannot believe that he has managed to do it again. If you have read I Want My Hat Back, you may understand what I mean. I was not sure how he could top that one, but he has once again managed to make me laugh, think, and wonder. I love it!

The Moccasins comes in at second place. The story is told simply and the illustrations are also simple. The story is of a boy taken in by foster parents and given the gift of moccasins. It is a beautiful story of family love. This book was part of an order I got in from Oyate. The order also included these three cool board books below, but they aren't on Goodreads. All three are from the Fond du Lac Ojibwe Head Start in Minnesota. The first two feature contemporary Native American children. niimiwin follows a boy and girl through preparations for and participation in Pow Wow. The pictures are fantastic and the text includes Ojibwe words along with the English. Boozhoo again has a simple text of Ojibwe words along with English as it shows children doing daily activities. Our Journey is a beautiful book teaching readers to greet and thank every part of creation from the north, south, east, and west. I am looking forward to reading more of the books that I got in this order. I am thankful that a friend from the Ho-Chunk Nation Youth and Learning Center came to visit and showed me some excellent books to purchase for our library.

Newbery Challenge

From my Goodreads review - Not a favorite. It is difficult to like the main character. It was an Anne of Green Gables type of plot, but again, the main character was not nearly as enjoyable so I didn't like it as much. I also did not like some beliefs that it taught like the idea that a woman is not fully developed until she has loved a man. Hmph.

Non-fiction

From my Goodreads review - Maybe I am expecting too much, but I found this one a bit too simplistic. Picture book bios are a tricky thing with so little space. Lincoln is portrayed as a hero rather than a human who did some great things. Didn't he have ANY flaws?

For the Coming Week:

I plan to try and finish several books that I have been working on. Professional Development books take so much longer to read since I need to read a bit and then reflect before moving through the books. I am busy with Lies My Teacher Told Me, Other People's Children, Courageous Conversations About Race, and I am still kind of stumbling through the middle-grade novel Three Times Lucky. Lucky has been a bit of a challenge for me. I want to finish it, but somehow I haven't gotten into the story very well. If I don't finish soon, I will abandon it and move on to something else. I am also going to read From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler this week. It is a treat to finally get to one of my all time favorite Newbery books. I hope you have a great week of reading!