Decolonize your White Kid’s Bookshelf
Here in the U.S., the month of November is Native American Heritage Month. I’m white and try to be anti-racist—and am trying to raise my white kids to be anti-racist too—so being conscious and critical of what books make up our bookshelves is vital (same goes for learning about the Lenape people that first lived where we live in New Jersey). I don’t want my kids growing up with only books by white men and women informing their world views (and I especially don’t want their knowledge of Native peoples to come from the racist Little House books. the way mine did growing up in Ireland in the 80s). So I seek out and celebrate children’s books by Native writers at all times, but wanted to post this short list in celebration of Native American Heritage Month (since I used to work in book publishing and know a book can’t get too many mentions by random readers on the Interwebs).
For white people reading this, please check out Dr. Debbie Reese’s incredible American Indians in Children’s Literature (Dr. Reese’s ongoing “Best Books” lists are a far better resource than my short list below). I read Dr. Reese’s blog and also cross-check new titles I come across with her archives (as often books that are marketed as “Native” are not by Native writers). I learn a lot and am grateful for her expert critiques. Also fellow white people, look at your Twitter and Instagram feeds and decolonize those too.
Kiss by Kiss / Ocêtôwina
Kiss by Kiss / Ocêtôwina: A Counting Book for Families by Richard Van Camp and translated into Plains Cree by Mary Cardinal Collins.
Kiss by Kiss / Ocêtôwina by Richard Van Camp (and translated into Plains Cree by Mary Cardinal Collins) is a gorgeous board book, perfect for sharing with babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. It has a beautiful cadence—”One kiss, two kiss, three kiss, four!”—and is filled with beautiful photos of families smooching. I love the way the numbers are painted and the beautiful colors in the text. I love that it’s bilingual with Plains Cree. I love that it encourages playfulness and unconditional love (“Your kisses are as welcome as the light from the sun!”). I love that it shows affection in different relationships (it shows parents—both solo and with partners—but also possibly a grandfather as well as siblings) This is a book I wish I’d had when my own kids were younger (my 5 year old still loves it) and is definitely one to gift to those with babies and young kids. Richard Van Camp has other beautiful books for children.
Blueberry Patch / Meennunyakaa
by Norman Chartrand and Jennifer Leason
Blueberry Patch / Meennunyakaa by Norman Chartrand and his great-niece Jennifer Leason is a strikingly beautiful book about an Elder sharing his childhood memories of the annual Salteaux summer migration to the blueberry patch in 1940s Duck Bay, Manitoba. I’m an avid gardener, and I try to plant native plants so that our yard supports native pollinators and the birds and mammals who rely on them, so I’m always looking for books to sharer with my kids about native plants. This one is beautiful to read and puts Native people at the heart of the story (I find that Indigenous peoples are erased from North American native plant guides, and gardening as a whole is very Euro-centric). There’s something about the freshness of the childhood memories Chartrand recounts that I find particularly compelling (“I played with the other children. We played our hearts away. I felt like a high-flying nighthawk.”) The English and Anishinaabemowin words are beautiful and Leason’s images are stunning. I love the inclusion of the bannock recipe at the end!
Nibi Emosaawdang / The Water Water
written and illustrated by Joanne Robertson and translated by Shirley Williams with Isadore Toulouse
Nibi Emosaawdang / The Water Walker by Joanne Robertson (and translated into Anishinaabemowin by Shirley Williams with Isadore Toulouse) is an incredible book about Native activism and how children can work together to change the world. This is for older kids (2nd grade and up I’d say, based on my experience of reading it to my kids though my 5 year old loves it too), and is about the Water Warrior Grandmother Josephine Mandamin. It is so simply told, but so utterly compelling. Robertson, who is a member of Atikameksheng Anishnawbek, is a water activist too and worked with Mandamin on the book. The translators Shirley Williams and Isadore Toulouse are from Mandamin’s home community of Wiikwemkoong Unceded First Nation on Manitoulin Island in Ontario. Williams and Mandamin were sent to the same residential school, where they were forbidden to speak their language. I am so grateful that I can read Mandemin’s story in Anishinaabemowin (badly, and relying entirely on the pronunciation guide at the end and the English text) and that the Anishaabemowin is appears in larger font and above the English text. It is another way to show my kids what resistance looks like. This is the best book I’ve read to my kids about activism (it truly doesn’t feel like an “issue” book, but rather is a beautifully illustrated and engaging tale). Highly recommend for any parent or educator who wants to inspire children to care for our planet and work with their community to make change.