National American Indian Month, Thanksgiving, and Jingle Dancer
In the United States, November is National American Indian
and Alaska Native Heritage Month. November is also the month when American
Thanksgiving—a holiday that’s, to say the least, pretty problematic from a
Native American standpoint—is celebrated. All over the country, parents and
teachers look for books on Thanksgiving that will be interesting and fun for
kids to read without portraying Native Americans—past or present—in an
inaccurate or biased way.
One resource that can be helpful when choosing books about
Thanksgiving or Native American topics is the website American Indians in
Children’s Literature, a blog
maintained by Debbie Reese, a Nambe Pueblo Indian woman who is a former
elementary school teacher and currently a professor at UIUC's American Indian
Studies Program .
In a recent post, Reese discusses her own take on the holiday and
recommends some books on Thanksgiving.
It’s easy to find books that tell the story of the first
Thanksgiving (with more or less accuracy), and there are many illustrated retellings
of Native American folk tales—again, with varying degrees of authenticity and
respect for their original sources. What’s harder to find are engaging
children’s books that depict the lives of modern-day Native Americans. (I have
met many children who don’t even realize that Indians still exist!)
One such book that I like a lot is Cynthia Leitich Smith’s
Jingle Dancer, in which Jenna wants to dance in at the powwow, but doesn’t have
enough jingles for her dress. From the opening pages, which show Jenna watching
a recording of her grandma’s jingle dance on a VCR, the book juxtaposes
elements of traditional Ojibway culture with Jenna’s recognizably contemporary
life. And Jenna solves her problem in a way that combines personal resourcefulness
and support from her community.
September 15, 2007
