And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Date: Wednesday, July 07, 1999 11:15 AM Subject: PLEASE READ AND PASS ON In a message dated 5/26/99 1:38:10 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes of the following information she received: I've spent the last couple of months working on a review article about a children's book. I want to share the review with all of you, because we have similar interests in culturally authentic materials. In March, Scholastic (one of the largest publisher's of children's books) released a book called _My Heart is on the Ground: The Diary of Nannie Little Rose_. The book is part of Scholastic's series of historical fiction diaries. The series is called "The Dear America" series. Many have come out in the last 3 years. They are of uneven quality - some are well done. This one is highly problematic. It is set in 1880 at Carlisle Indian School. For those of you unfamiliar with Carlisle, it was one of the earliest boarding schools established by the US govt. This one was founded by an army officer named Pratt, who is known for saying "Kill the Indian, Save the Man." Children from across the US were taken from their families to be "educated" at Carlisle. Many died there. Many ran away, and died as they tried to get home. The Scholastic book is authored by a woman named Ann Rinaldi. In her author's note she says that she visited the school, saw the poetic names on headstones, and knew that she had to use them to tell the story of Nannie Little Rose. So, so took many names from headstones and created characters for this story. I do not think it even occurred to her that the Native American people in the US would object to her use of these children's names. For her, I think they were just names. To us (I'm Pueblo Indian), the boarding school's are a cause of great sadness, great pain. Those children died there, away from their families. They were abused. But the book Rinaldi has written doesn't tell that story. Instead, her main character likes it there, as do many of the other characters, and do not want to return home. Rinaldi has made it seem like the boarding school was a good thing, and says that she's sure the children whose names she used will look down at her from their "Happy Hunting Ground" and smile on her for telling this story. I could go on and on, but I'd rather direct you to the review, which is on-line at <http://www.oyate.org>. It was written by nine different women. We worked together, by phone and email, as we prepared the review. Some of the women are Native, some are not. One is from Canada. The Canadian govt has officially apologized for the boarding schools they had there, which were modeled on the ones here. In the US, most people don't know what those early schools were like, if they even know they existed. I'm writing to all of you, appealing, I guess, to read the review because it affects all of us in our efforts to get quality, culturally authentic and culturally sensitive material into the hands of parents and children. Scholastic is about to release another book in this series - this one is the diary of a Navajo girl on the Long Walk. I haven't seen it yet, but a colleague indicates it is also poorly done, and makes it seem like the Navajo people "had it coming." Scholastic has also just released another diary - this one of a boy - who was at a Japanese internment camp. This, too, I understand, is highly problematic. I believe, in our work we are committed to searching for quality material. However, I think as individuals, we can also work at critiquing poor materials that enjoy huge sales. Scholastic is making huge profits from these historical fiction diaries. Please share the URL for the review with parents, teachers and librarians. Unfortunately, I don't think Scholastic will withdraw the book. And, I do not want to say "don't buy it" because Scholastic (and others) would brand me as a censor. I do, however, seek to provide information so that people can make informed decisions about their selection process. If you have time to read the review, and have any comments or feedback, please get in touch with me. Shorter versions of the review will be published in various places such as Rethinking Schools, Aboriginal Voices, Multicultural Review, but journal editors cannot run the entire review, which is rich with detail. Sincerely, Debbie Debbie Reese Doctoral Student Dept. of Curriculum and Instruction College of Education, University of Illinois Champaign, IL 61820 Office Telephone: 217-244-8061 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reprinted under the fair use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
