Note, this is by no means a complete list, and I'm not even capable of that; this is merely a list of some things on my mind right now, that are useful to ask when reading fiction about American Indians.
- Are the people in the book noted as having a specific tribe/nation?
- Are the facts of their lives consistent with the real lives of that specific tribe/nation?
- Whether or not a specific tribe/nation is named, does the book use details from various parts of Indian Country all at once, for example clothing from one tribe and religion from another, as if it were pick-and-choose by the author's decision?
- Does the geography match the tribe/nation?
- If the people are contemporary, are the details of their lives entirely traditional? Entirely modern? A mixture?
- If the book is set in the past, does the text imply that the people won't be around until contemporary times?
- Does the book value modern technology and modern culture over older, traditional ways? Does it do the opposite? Does it imply that the two are in conflict? Does it make anyone choose? Does anyone get punished or rewarded for such a choice?
- Does the book show traditional ways to be thriving or under threat? If they're under threat, whose fault is it?
- Are the people mystically wise, such that they seem more like archtypes than fully complex humans?
- Do the people exist to teach some white person/people or any non-Native person/people a particular lesson?
- Do the people exist to enact anything that is for the especial benefit (in-book) or plot-advancement (textually speaking) of white people or any non-Native people?
- Do the people live in Indian communities, or is there a focus on one lone Indian?
Those are the things on my mind right now. Feel free to question, disagree, or add. Be sure to go read, and pass around, Beverly Slapin's HOW TO WRITE A HISTORICAL YOUNG ADULT NOVEL WITH AN INDIAN THEME FOR FUN AND PROFIT at Debbie Reese's blog American Indians in Children's Literature.
- Are the people in the book noted as having a specific tribe/nation?
- Are the facts of their lives consistent with the real lives of that specific tribe/nation?
- Whether or not a specific tribe/nation is named, does the book use details from various parts of Indian Country all at once, for example clothing from one tribe and religion from another, as if it were pick-and-choose by the author's decision?
- Does the geography match the tribe/nation?
- If the people are contemporary, are the details of their lives entirely traditional? Entirely modern? A mixture?
- If the book is set in the past, does the text imply that the people won't be around until contemporary times?
- Does the book value modern technology and modern culture over older, traditional ways? Does it do the opposite? Does it imply that the two are in conflict? Does it make anyone choose? Does anyone get punished or rewarded for such a choice?
- Does the book show traditional ways to be thriving or under threat? If they're under threat, whose fault is it?
- Are the people mystically wise, such that they seem more like archtypes than fully complex humans?
- Do the people exist to teach some white person/people or any non-Native person/people a particular lesson?
- Do the people exist to enact anything that is for the especial benefit (in-book) or plot-advancement (textually speaking) of white people or any non-Native people?
- Do the people live in Indian communities, or is there a focus on one lone Indian?
Those are the things on my mind right now. Feel free to question, disagree, or add. Be sure to go read, and pass around, Beverly Slapin's HOW TO WRITE A HISTORICAL YOUNG ADULT NOVEL WITH AN INDIAN THEME FOR FUN AND PROFIT at Debbie Reese's blog American Indians in Children's Literature.
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