While young adults in the United States hail from a wide variety of
cultures, most question their place in the world pondering who they will become
and what characteristics makes them important. This question is perhaps more complicated for
youth of American Indian (AI) tribal cultures as their ancestors were the first
settlers of America yet many are still relegated to the confines reservations,
isolating them from the rest of the country. Youth are left to contemplate who they are as
American Indians (AI) and whether they want to continue their lives in tandem
with the ways of their people or whether they want to break away and life amongst
typical Americans who view them as a stereotypical curiosity. Because the American Indian population is a
small one, this demographic does not see themselves represented in a
contemporary manner, resulting in the deprivation of “messages or strategies
for how to be a person” (Leavitt et al, 2015, pp. 40). This “theory of invisibility” reduces
hundreds of tribal groups to visions of sports team mascots and western film
side-kicks. Stereotypical as it seems, life
on the reservation is one of poverty and second class American citizenship yet
quality young adult novels tackle such issues with humor, sensitivity, and
hope, showcasing the resulting strengths that result from hardship.
The novels I
will be discussing are contemporary, however, it would be negligent not to mention
to one of the most well-known books depicting AI coming of age, 1961 Newberry
Medal award winning Island of the Blue
Dolphins by Scott O’Dell. Strength
and powerful lessons learned from adults is a theme critical to contemporary
novels of this genre, Karana’s story takes place a century prior in an island
off of the state of California.
Following a deal gone horribly awry with white traders, Karana’s father
and many warriors are killed, leading to an exodus of her tribe from the Island
of the Blue Dolphins. A missionary ship
comes to rescue survivors but Karana jumps ship to remain in wait for the next
ship with her younger brother who has fallen behind. Unbeknownst to Karana, she will soon lose her
younger brother to a pack of wild dogs and the ship will not come back for her. In fact, Karana will not be rescued for
another eighteen years. No nonsense
parenting makes the difference in this novel as the protagonist was taught to
be an active member of society from an early age and knows what must be done
for her to survive. Unlike most children
of her age, she knows how to hunt for food, sew clothing, and build
shelter. Karana’s story transcends time
and though she does not share the same modern struggles of AI youth, her story
leaves a legacy of strength and perseverance carried forward in contemporary AI
literature.
Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time
Indian, winner of the 2008 National Book Award, focuses on Junior- a
budding 14-year old cartoonist whose life on the Spokane Reservation starts out
rough due to childhood illness. As
mentioned in a New York Times review of his first young adult novel, the author
himself “grew up on the Spokane Reservation in tiny Wellpinit, Wash., and made
his name as a poet before expanding into short stories” (Barcott, 2007). Alexie
tempers Juniors difficult childhood with humor and beautiful illustrations by Ellen
Forney, qualities which shine positive possibilities on what might be a
depressing story of poverty and cycles of dysfunction. Perhaps the brightest spot in this dubious
childhood are Junior’s loving and encouraging parents, and although his father
is an alcoholic, representing a sensitive fact of reservation life allows
Alexie to prove that alcoholism and love for one’s children are not mutually
exclusive.
Best friend Rowdy is rough, tough, and always looking
for a fight and though the two boys have grown up together, they could not be
more different. When Junior receives
some serious advice from a teacher who advises “The only thing you kids are
being taught is how to give up” (p. 163), the protagonist perseveres through
numerous hardships including lack of transportation and makes it to the all-white
Reardan High School every day. He
ultimately finds that his white classmates are more acceptant of him being at
their school than his friends on the reservation, including Rowdy, are tolerant
of him trying to better himself.
Across many young
adult novels focusing on AI youth, basketball is a sport that transcends
race. In fact, Rowdy and Junior are
teammates when they attend school together on the Rez, yet they become
opponents when Junior makes the team at his new school. During a game pitting the boys against each
other, the distaste that his community feels towards his decision to explore
life off of the reservation is palpable as he endures slurs from the
spectators. It becomes that Junior is
considered by his own people to be a part-time Indian as he hovers between two
identities: impoverished Native American and white student.
Similarly, basketball
indoctrinates fifteen-year old protagonist Nate within his new high school in
Spokane, Washington in J.R. Nakken’s 2013 novel, Three Point Shot. An
interesting tidbit is that J.R. Nakken grew up on a reservation herself and
based her protagonist on stories from her husband’s youth. Nate grew up on a reservation with his
grandmother while his mother pursued a job outside of the Indian community in
order to make enough money to support the two of them. It is this hope for a better life off of
tribal lands which makes Nate hopeful for his future but uncertain as he gains
a white step-father he is not quite ready to trust. Nate, his mother, and grandmother are
Assiniboine Indians yet he allows his classmates to believe he is Navajo rather
than explain to them where he really came from.
Nakken’s main
character demonstrates perseverance akin Junior’s in The Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian, a trait that his
grandmother coins as “Assiniboine Perseverance” (1368). Nate’s all-time sports hero is John Stockton,
an AI NBA player who personifies success with many Native American youth in the
United States. When Nate is framed by
some members of the basketball team who do not care his Sophomore presence on
the varsity team, he works hard to proclaim his innocence and impress those
around him with his honesty in the face of adversity. Though he comes from humble origins, Nate
decides to open himself up to friendship, trusting others to fulfill what he
thinks is his legacy as a member of a tribe.
Both The Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time
Indian and Three Point Shot, examine
the perpetuation of poverty throughout generations. Such struggles force Native American young
adults to either remain stagnant on the reservation or leave to earn a living
higher than that of their parents. An
interesting perspective on reservation life is found in Navajos wear Nikes: A reservation life by Jim Kristofic, a novel
which turns the tables on Native Americans trying to find their identity
amongst the white man. A 2012 finalist for the Spur Award recognizing
the best fiction and nonfiction western novels, this autobiography tells the
story of 8-year-old James as he adjusts to the Navajo reservation where his
white mother has found a job as a nurse in the only tribal run health
system. James and his brother face
difficulties of their own as they go from being part of the majority in
Pittsburgh to trying to blend in with Native American children taunting them
because they are white.
Enlightening here is the realization James has after 8
years among the Navajo: he never wants to leave the reservation and cannot
imagine what it would be like to once again live amongst a majority population. Instead of coming of age believing that he
needs to choose between the Native and White ways of life, James appreciates
the strength and tradition of the Navajo people, seeing positivity in their
resilience. Amongst the traits that
James appreciates is the tough love doled out from Navajo adults to their
children. Navajo parenting is depicted by
Kristofic as the farthest from “helicopter parenting” as possible, sharing
anecdotes about tribal parent throwing their children buck-naked into the snow
to toughen them up as the Navajo have a reputation for bravery and strength.
Returning to the fact that the author is not himself AI,
it is safe to assume that he represents the phenomena discussed by McMahon,
Kenyon, and Carter in their article “My Culture, My Family, My School, Me”:
Identifying Strengths and Challenges in the Lives and Communities of American
Indian Youth” as Strengths Perspective.
Kristofic’s novel is important for AI youth to read because he focuses
on the positive aspects of his life on the Navajo reservation. While the protagonist James acknowledges the
difficulties that young Native American children face, he chooses to focus on
the positive aspects of reservation life that shaped him into the adult he is
today. This perspective allows AI
readers to acknowledge the strengths that result from persevering through
difficulties which is especially important if youth are not seeing themselves
portrayed accurately in other media and is a theme also employed by Alexie and
Nakken.
In an attempt to allow American Indian young adults to
better understand their culture and themselves, the following fifteen books
included in the Annotated bibliography represent the spirit American Indian
Youth Literature Award (AIYLA). The
AIYLA is presented every two years by the American Indian Library Association
and though not all of the books listed have won this specific award, however,
they represent “authentic and balanced characters…exhibiting the wide range of
positive and negative human emotions, behaviors, reactions, and lifestyles”
while portraying American Indian characters as able “to achieve success on
their own terms and in the context of Native cultures or communities” (AIYLA,
2016). These “good books”, portraying
the demographic in light of strength and positivity, may be the catalyst that
allows AI youth to transcend the Theory of Invisibility, coming into the scope
of modernity.
References
Alexie, S., & Forney, E. (2007). The absolutely true
diary of a part-time Indian. New York: Little, Brown.
Barcott, B. (2007, November 11). “Off the rez”. The New York Times.. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/books/review/Barcott3-t.html?_r=0
Donnermeyer, J. F., Edwards, R. W., Chavez, E. L., &
Beauvais, F. (2016). Involvement of American Indian youth in gangs. Free
Inquiry in Creative Sociology, 28(1), 73-80.
Kristofic, J. (2011). Navajos wear Nikes: A reservation
life. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
Leavitt, P. A., Covarrubias, R., Perez, Y. A., &
Fryberg, S. A. (2015). “Frozen in time”: The impact of Native American media
representations on identity and self‐understanding. Journal of Social
Issues, 71(1), 39-53.
McMahon, T. R., Kenyon, D. B., & Carter, J. S. (2013).
“My culture, my family, my school, me”: Identifying strengths and challenges in
the lives and communities of American Indian youth. Journal of Child and
Family Studies,22(5), 694-706.
Murphey, Michael P. (2015). “Book review: Navajos wear
Nikes”. MyLife Magazine. Retrieved
from http://mylifemagazine.com/book-review-navajos-wear-nikes
Nakken, J. R. (2013). Three-point shot. Place of
publication not identified: 1stBooks.
O'Dell, S. (1960). Island
of the Blue Dolphin. Cambridge:
Houghton Mifflin Company & Riverside Press.
Annotated
Bibliography:
Coming of Age Books Focusing
on Native American Young Adults
Citation: * Alexie, S., & Forney, E. (2007). The absolutely
true diary of a part-time Indian. New York: Little, Brown. 272 pages.
Owned by Library: Yes
Source in which the book is recommended: National Book Award
Winner, 2008
Multicultural or International Group: Native American
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Format: Book
Annotation: Junior decides that if he wants to be successful in
life, he must venture out from the confines of the Reservation where low
standards are the norm and day to day life is a struggle. He attempts to complete high school at an
all-White Spokane high school, much to the disappointment of his friends and
fellow tribe members.
Annotation Source: self
Citation: Alexie,
S. (2012). Blasphemy. New York: Grove Press. 304 pages.
Owned by Library: Yes
Source in which the
book is recommended: American Indian Library Association recommended
author.
Multicultural or
International Group: Native American
Genre: Fiction/Short
Stories
Format: Book
Annotation: “The
ultimate collection from the most famous Native American fiction writer.
Fifteen new stories and fifteen selected favorites from Alexie's acclaimed
collections, beginning with his groundbreaking debut, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in
Heaven.”
Source of Annotation: WorldCat
Citation: Bruchac, J. (2005). Code talker: A novel about
the Navajo Marines of World War Two. New York: Dial Books. 231 pages.
Owned by Library: Yes
Source in which the
book is recommended: ALA Best Books for Young Adults, 2005
Multicultural or
International Group: Native American
Genre: Young
Adult Fiction
Format: Book
Annotation: “The
United States is at war, and sixteen-year-old Ned Begay wants to join the cause
-- especially when he hears that Navajos are being specifically recruited by
the Marine Corps. So he claims he's old enough to enlist, breezes his way
through boot camp, and suddenly finds himself involved in a top-secret task,
one that's exclusively performed by Navajos. He has become a code talker. His
experiences in the Pacific -- from Guadalcanal to Iwo Jima and beyond -- will
forever change him.”
Source of Annotation:
WorldCat
Citation: Carvell,
M. (2002). Who will tell my brother?. New York: Hyperion Books for
Children. 150 pages.
Owned by Library: No.
Source in Which the
Book is Recommended: YALSA Quick Picks
for Young Adult Readers, 2003
Multicultural or
International Group: Native American
Genre: Juvenile
Fiction
Format: Book
Annotation: “During
his lonely crusade to remove offensive mascots from his high school, a Native
American teenager learns more about his heritage, his ancestors, and his place
in the world.”
Source of Annotation:
WorldCat
Citation: Dorris,
M. (1996). Sees Behind Trees. New York: Hyperion Books for Children. 104
pages.
Owned by Library: Yes
Source in Which the
Book is Recommended: Notable
Children's Books in the Language Arts,1997 NCTE
Children's Literature Assembly
Multicultural or International
Group: Native American
Genre: Juvenile
Fiction
Format: Book
Annotation: “Walnut, a Native American boy with a special gift to
"see" beyond his poor eyesight journeys with an old warrior to a land
of mystery and beauty.”
Source
of Annotation: CLCD
Citation:
Edwardson, D. D., Ferrari, A., Kroupa, M., & Marshall Cavendish
Corporation. (2011). My name is not easy. New York: Marshall Cavendish.
248 pages.
Owned by Library: FSU
no, Leroy Collins yes
Source in Which the
Book is Recommended: National Book Award Finalist, 2011
Multicultural or
International Group: Native American
Genre: Juvenile
Fiction
Format: Book
Annotation: “ Alaskans
Luke, Chickie, Sonny, Donna, and Amiq relate their experiences in the early
1960s when they are forced to attend a Catholic boarding school where, despite
different tribal affiliations, they come to find a sort of family and home.”
Annotation Source: CLCD
Citation:
Erdrich, L. (2012). The round house. New York, NY: Harper. 321 pages.
Owned by Library: Yes
Source by Which the
Book is Recommended: National Book Award Winner, 2012
Multicultural or
International Group: Native American
Genre: Fiction
Format: Book
Annotation: “When
his mother, a tribal enrollment specialist living on a reservation in North
Dakota, slips into an abyss of depression after being brutally attacked,
13-year-old Joe Coutts sets out with his three friends to find the person that
destroyed his family.”
Annotation Source: WorldCat
Citation: Gansworth, E. L. (2013). If I ever get
out of here: A novel with paintings. New York: Arthur A. Levine Books. 359
pages.
Owned by Library: Yes
Source by Which the
Book is Recommended: 2014 Honor Book, American Indian Youth Literature
Award
Multicultural or
International Group: Native American
Genre: Juvenile
Fiction
Format: Book
Annotation: “Seventh-grader
Lewis "Shoe" Blake from the Tuscarora Reservation has a new friend,
George Haddonfield from the local Air Force base, but in 1975 upstate New York
there is a lot of tension and hatred between Native Americans and Whites--and
Lewis is not sure that he can rely on friendship.”
Annotation Source: WorldCat
Citation: Hale, J.C. (1998). Bloodlines: Odyssey of a native daughter. Tucson: University of
Arizona Press. 187 pages.
Owned by Library: No
Source by Which the
Book is Recommended: NEA Native American Book List
Multicultural or
International Group: Native American
Genre: Fiction/Autobiography
Format: Book
Annotation: “In
this collection of bittersweet autobiographical essays, Hale reveals and
examines her often conflicting experiences as the daughter of a Native American
father and mixed-blood mother, a single parent, and a fiction writer.
Disregarded by her siblings, who are ten to 14 years older than she, and
mistreated by her mother, Hale provides a portrait of dysfunctionalism
perpetuating itself.”
Annotation Source: Library
Journal
Citation: Hogan, L. (1998). Power. New York:
W.W. Norton. 235 pages.
Owned by Library: Yes
Source by Which the
Book is Recommended: NEA Native American Book List
Multicultural or
International Group: Native American
Genre: Juvenile
Fiction
Format: Book
Annotation: “In
Florida, an Indian girl is torn between loyalty to her Westernized mother,
advising her to reject the ways of her tribe, and an aunt who supports tradition.
The conflict is played out in the course of a hunt for a tiger.”
Annotation Source: WorldCat
Citation: Kadohata,
C., & 3M Company. (2008). Weedflower. Place of publication not
identified: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. 272 pages.
Owned by Library: Yes
Source by Which the
Book is Recommended: Booklist
Editors' Choice: Books for Youth,2006 American
Library Association
Multicultural or
International Group: Native American
Genre: Juvenile
Fiction
Format: Electronic
Book
Annotation: “After
twelve-year-old Sumiko and her Japanese-American family are relocated from
their flower farm in southern California to an internment camp on a Mojave
Indian reservation in Arizona, she helps her family and neighbors, becomes
friends with a local Indian boy, and tries to hold on to her dream of owning a
flower shop.”
Annotation Source: CLCD
Citation: *Kristofic,
J. (2011). Navajos wear Nikes: A reservation life. Albuquerque:
University of New Mexico Press. 211 pages.
Owned by Library: No
Source by Which the
Book is Recommended: 2012 Spur Award Finalist for Best Western Non-Fiction
Contemporary Novel, positive review: http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2011/12/19/thrust-reservation-life-jim-kristofic-newbie-tough-noodle-68349
Multicultural or
International Group: Native American
Genre: Autobiography
Format: Book
Annotation: The author, who is white, is brought to
live on the Navajo Reservation when he is in elementary school. Over the course of eight years, Kristofic
overcomes bullying by his Navajo classmates and adopts their customs and
traditions as his own.
Annotation Source: self
Citation: *Nakken,
J. R. (2003). Three-point shot. Place of publication not identified:
1stBooks. 276 pages.
Owned by Library: No
Source by Which the
Book is Recommended: Positive review:
http://archive.heraldnet.com/article/20150920/BLOG60/150929926
Multicultural or
International Group: Native American
Genre: Fiction
Format: Book
Annotation: 15-year-old
Nathan relocated from his grandmother’s Reservation to a public high school in
Spokane. Through a common love of
basketball, Nathan bonds with his classmates but hides the facts of his true
ancestry.
Annotation Source: self
Citation: *O'Dell,
S. (1960). Island of the Blue Dolphins. Cambridge: Houghton Mifflin
Company & Riverside Press.
Owned by Library: Yes
Source by Which the
Book is Recommended: Newberry Medal, 1961
Multicultural or
International Group: Native American
Genre: Fiction
Format: Book
Annotation: Karana, left alone on an island off of
California for 18 years, uses skills taught to her in childhood to make a
rewarding life for herself. By forgoing
edicts such as women being unable to forge weapons, the girl hunts for food,
builds shelter, and tames wild animals in an effort to create a semblance of a
life she once knew
Annotation Source: self
Citation: Smith,
C. L. (2001). Rain is not my Indian name. New York: HarperCollins. 135
pages.
Owned by Library: FSU
no, Leroy Collins yes
Source by Which the
Book is Recommended: Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database (CLCD): Wordcraft
Circle of Native Writers & Storytellers Award, 2001 Winner United States
Multicultural or
International Group: Native American
Genre: Juvenile
Fiction
Format: Book
Annotation: “Tired
of staying in seclusion since the death of her best friend, a fourteen-year-old
Native American girl takes on a photographic assignment with her local
newspaper to cover events at the Native American summer youth camp.”
Annotation Source: CLCD
Citation: Tingle, T.
(2014). House of purple cedar. 326 pages.
Owned by Library: FSU
no, Leroy Collins yes
Source by Which the
Book is Recommended: American Indian Library Association Best Young Adult
Book, 2016
Multicultural or
International Group: Native American
Genre: Fiction
Format: Book
Annotation: “Rose
Goode, a Choctaw Indian girl living in pre-statehood Oklahoma, must endure a
life plagued by white land-grabbers, who savagely beat her grandfather and burn
down her school, an event in which she is the only student to survive.”
Annotation Source: WorldCat
