Native American Children's Literature

Founded in 2006 by the preeminent voice in Native American Children’s Literature, Dr. Debbie Reese (Nambé Owingeh), this is an incredible resource full of helpful articles and links regarding the publishing of material for children on Native peoples. Covering everything from problematic phrases to resource lists for ‘Native? Or, not?’ the blog is an authoritative voice on the topic of indigenous children’s literature.

Caldwell-Wood and Mitten’s article is one of the earliest pieces about criteria for evaluating children’s literature for harmful language and stereotypes of Native peoples. Its recommended and not recommended lists of titles contain annotations that help the reader to grow an understanding of why something is harmful versus helpful when analyzing materials. At the end there is also an excellent questionnaire to keep on hand when evaluating materials for positive and appropriate portrayal of Native Americans.

This article by Dr. Debbie Reese of the Nambé Owingeh people is primarily aimed at teachers but contains good general knowledge for appropriate and respectful selection of materials about Native people. This is a critical examination of material selection for instructional use. The article also contains a bibliography of recommended further reading with print materials which lend themselves to more in-depth coverage of the topic.

Found in the free encyclopedia, Wikipedia, this article is a valuable place to begin learning more about Native Children’s literature. While brief, the article contains references also highlighted in this bibliography as well as a small picture of some of the controversy surrounding certain authors of books about Native peoples. It also provides a small timeline of historical material authored or illustrated by Native Americans going back to 1881.

In this article published in the Indian Country Today newspaper, author Janey Robideau delves into the power of illustrative representation. She highlights the negative stereotypes portrayed in classic Disney movies, comparing it to more recent illustrations in children’s literature. She reminds us of the power of images, especially with young children learning to read and associate words and pictures.

This article dives into the importance of representation for kids by examining the ideas of Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop. Dr. Bishop uses the terms windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors “to explain how children see themselves in books.” (Paragraph 3). The article helps to explain the importance of and impact on children seeing themselves in fictional and nonfictional media.

The American Indian Library Association (AILA), gives these awards every 2 years, starting back in 2006. The criteria focuses on both text and illustration “infused with, or relfect[ing], the values and worldview of American Indian cultures.” (Criteria for nominations 2019). This source provides a critical selection of children’s books free of harmful stereotypes and can be used to develop a better sense for language respectful of Native peoples in children’s literature. The most recent 2022 awards and all previous awards can be seen via the link above.

This Internet Public Library (IPL) webpage provides access to a list of Native North American authors that can be searched alphabetically by author, titles, or tribes. Sadly, this resource has not been updated since 2015 when the IPL shut down. But it does still contain some useful information with limited bibliographies of authors’ works. I recommend using the website to learn author names and tribal affiliations for more in-depth research elsewhere.

Muscogee author Cynthia Leitich Smith offers both contemporary book lists and resources for teachers and librarians to support and instruct from on her blog. While this specific citation relates to a webpage focused on Native Children’s literature, her main website itself is also useful for keeping up to date with news about indigenous youth literature.

Founded in 1993 by Dr. Lee Francis III, The Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers works “to promote the works and words of Native writers, storytellers, and creatives.” (About). They focus on mentorship, education, activism, and promotion to support Native authors in their careers. Wordcraft Circle has projects focusing on youth literacy and funding materials for Native classrooms as well as youth mentorship. They also appear to be working on a list of Native authors, though the page only says “coming soon.” (Resources).