HipWriterMama interviews Cynthia Leitich Smith

HipWriterMama, one of our fabulous postergirlz, interviewed author Cynthia Leitich Smith as part of the Winter Blog Blast Tour. Cynthia is the author of Rain Is Not My Indian Name, one of the recommended reads in this month's issue of readergirlz. Here's an excerpt of their interview:

HWM: November is all about celebrating Native American Heritage Month over at readergirlz. I was shocked how difficult it was to find good books, that treated Native Indians with respect, rather than as a stereotype. Why do you think this is the case, even in 2009?

Cynthia Leitich Smith: Big question. It’s a combination of reasons.

The first is that many folks in the United States—including some in youth literature--are still in an active state of denial (or ignorance) about the nation’s history with regard to Native people and our reality today. Especially the former is painful—after all, we’re talking about child abuse, rape, land theft, and genocidal efforts.

Perhaps because of misplaced ancestral guilt, it’s easier for some to believe that we all had a great time together at the first Thanksgiving and then Native people either (a) became savage warriors who had to be exterminated or (b) mysteriously died out through no one’s fault.

Certainly, that’s—to a significant degree—what’s still taught in American schools.

Of course there are some terrific teachers and school librarians trying to counteract this, but possibly the majority of Americans are carrying false information about Indians, delivered by our educational system itself.

I’ve had my share of school visits where the very young students had already been taught that Native people were either scary or extinct or both—taught not only at school and through books but also from other media and influential adults.

Grandma says, “My, aren’t you the savage little Indian!” (I overheard this in a bookstore, said to a young child who was misbehaving.).

To further complicate matters, a significant number of people who think of themselves as open-minded tend to equate “Native American” with either (a) supernatural, super-ecological largely inhuman creatures or (b) a tragic, defeated and dying people whose glories (and achievements) exist only in the misty past.

It’s a mess.

That’s the big-picture challenge.

Extend that to books, and often you’re looking at authors (a) who’ve been raised in that mainstream (sometimes contradictory) belief system, (b) who honestly don’t begin to realize how off-base many/most of their assumptions are, (c) who’re consulting “original” resources drafted by enemies of Native people, and (d) are trying to connect with a mainstream audience that shares many of their same biases. You get the idea.

It’s entirely possible to write across race successfully. I do it, and I have no intention of stopping. Miranda, the protagonist from ETERNAL (Candlewick, 2007) is Asian (Chinese), and I’m not. Kieren, the protagonist from TANTALIZE: KIEREN’S STORY (Candlewick, 2011) is Mexican American, and I’m not. And I fully realize that we’re humans. We all make mistakes.

But in writing cross-culturally about Native people, it’s critical for non-Indians to begin as if they know absolutely nothing, take a significant amount of time to acquaint themselves with the truth, and proceed in a patient, open-hearted, and respectful manner. It can be done. I’ve had friends and students and colleagues who’ve done it. But you have to stretch, perhaps more than you might realize at the beginning.

That said, writers are only a part of the equation. For the reasons I mentioned above, readers—including gatekeepers—may be more likely to find that an inaccurate book that embraces popular stereotypes rings “true” to them than one that reflects Native realities.

For example, over the years I’ve had several readers mention—some in a questioning way—my inclusion of Native characters with a higher education in my books. Cousin Elizabeth from JINGLE DANCER is an attorney. Aunt Georgia from RAIN IS NOT MY INDIAN NAME (HarperCollins, 2001) is a retired school teacher and a science teacher at that.

The final big reason is numbers and interest level. Native people are 1.5 percent of the population. As I mentioned, there are certainly writers who succeed in writing cross-culturally about American Indians, but when it comes to writers from within the communities, the pool is small. We need to nurture interest and aptitude where we find it.

Likewise, our numbers of Native teachers, librarians, reviewers, editors, agents, marketing people, and bloggers are small and in some cases non-existent or at least statistically non-existent.

We need more friends, more loud mouths who advocate for quality Native voices and visions and well-executed cross-cultural additions to the body of youth literature.

Read the full interview at HipWriterMama's blog.

NativeWiki

When I looked up Lee Francis, the author of this month's non-fiction recommended read, Native Time: A Historical Time Line of Native America, I discovered NativeWiki. In their own words:

NativeWiki is a free, open-to-the-public library of information about indigenous nations and peoples (past and present) of the world. We feature major sections on Nations and Peoples, Documents and Materials, Geographic Regions and a Picture Gallery of selected images. Begun in April, 2007, we currently have 1,309 content pages, 1,177 media files, and 2,305 registered contributors. Watch and help us grow!

To learn more, visit http://www.nativewiki.org

Jana Mashonee

Yesterday, a friend was listening to A Change Is Gonna Come covered by Jana Mashonee, featuring Derek Miller, which immediately caught my ear:



When I looked at her list of recordings, I discovered that she had released a holiday album called American Indian Christmas featuring sung in ten different Native languages. I think her version of Amazing Grace, sung in Lumbee, is lovely.



After we watched that video, I journeyed over to her website, where I learned about Jana's Native Youth Motivational Presentation. She talks to kids and communities about culture pride and identity as well as big life choices, discussing alcohol, tobacco, and drug awareness. Her foundation, Jana's Kids, offers three different types of scholarships to Native American youth: academic, artistic, or athletic.

To learn more about the Jana's presentations, and available scholarships, please visit her website and click on Jana's Kids on the top menu.

Kudos to Jana for her work in her community, and best wishes for her career!

Representation of Native Americans in the Film Industry

We are celebrating Native American Heritage Month this November, and I thought this clip was appropriate from Tyra Banks.



Any recommends for most excellent movies starring Native Americans? My top is Smoke Signals!

November 2009: rgz Newsflash!

rgz celebrates Native American Heritage Month!

After meeting with the staff of the American Indian Library Association at the Summer ALA Conference, rgz is now working hand in hand with If I Can Read I Can Do Anything, a national reading club for Native American youth. They are our new partners for TBD 2010! But more about that soon…

rgz RAVE: New Moon Frenzy



Are your toes curling for the premiere of New Moon? Will you still love the book better? Hit the rgz blog on November 21st to dish with TwilightMOMS and rgz. Be ready to express all your vampiric impressions. The frenzy starts at 6 p.m. PST/9 p.m. EST at the readergirlz blog!

Join the fun for a chance to win a Twilight necklace from Gypsy Wings and other fantastic swag!

rgz welcomes Marlene Carvell in honor of Native American Heritage Month!

In November, we are pleased to welcome Marlene Carvell into the rgz Circle of Stars. We’ll be discussing her beautiful literary verse novel, Sweetgrass Basket. Please join us as we chat about related topics all month at the rgz blog. rgz LIVE! with Marlene will be held there on Tuesday, November 24th at 6 p.m. PST/9 p.m. EST.

Gather the postergirlz recommended reads to accompany Sweetgrass Basket:

• Moccasin Thunder: American Indian Stories for Today, edited by Lori Marie Carlson



• Rain is Not My Indian Name by Cynthia Leitich Smith



• Who Will Tell My Brother? by Marlene Carvell



• The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie



• Native Time: A Historical Time Line of Native America by Lee Francis

rgz RAVE Homecoming!

And then close out November with us as members of our Circle of Stars return to the rgz blog for our first rgz RAVE Homecoming! Chatter alongside former rgz features:

Coe Booth, Dia Calhoun, Janet Lee Carey, Cecil Castelucci, Justina Chen, Rachel Cohn, Holly Cupala, Liz Gallagher, Nikki Grimes, Lorie Ann Grover, Ellen Hopkins, Sarah Miller, Mary Pearson, Mitali Perkins, Dana Reinhardt, Laura Resau, Melissa Walker, Ellen Emerson White, Rita Williams-Garcia, Sara Zarr...

...and others from the young adult community who jump on in. It will be a Fan Fiesta! Here’s a time for you to drop some love to your fav YA author. The event will be at the rgz blog on November 30th, 6 p.m. PST/9 p.m. EST.

Co-founders Dia Calhoun and Lorie Ann Grover will be making their way to New York City to accept the National Book Award’s Innovations in Reading Prize for rgz! If you are at the National Book Award Dinner, be sure to say hello!

rgz is returning to the Constant Contact newsletter service next month. Feel free to verify your receipt by signing up for the new format on the blog once it is available! As always, if you have any suggestions for our award winning online book community, contact us at divas@readergirlz.com.

Thanks for joining us as we read, reflect, and reach out!

Best in books,
the readergirlz divas~

Justina Chen, North of Beautiful
Melissa Walker, Lovestruck Summer
Holly Cupala, Tell Me A Secret (2010)
Lorie Ann Grover, Hold Me Tight
Dia Calhoun, Avielle of Rhia

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rgz Blog-o-Hunt for Native American Heritage month!

It's time for another rgz blog-o-hunt for Native American Heritage month!

The rules: Find the answers to the questions below and email your responses to readergirlz@gmail.com with the subject line "rgz blog-o-hunt" by November 30th. The first 25 correct entries will win rgz buttons and bookmarks!

Cynthia Leitich Smith sent these questions:

1. Sherman Alexie wrote the screenplay for a movie that was a huge hit at the 1998 Sundance festival. What was it called?

2. What is Sherman's recent, award-winning, YA novel that shares the life of a Native American male teen?

3. Where does Joseph Bruchac live?

4. Joy Harjo and Cynthia Leitich Smith are enrolled members of the same Nation. What is the name of the tribe?

5. What will Richard Van Camp's next novel be called?

6. In addition to Moccasin Thunder, featuring Native authors, Lori M. Carlson also edited a YA anthology highlighting Latino voices. What was it called?

HINT These great blogs will help you find some answers:

http://www.cynthialeitichsmith.com/
http://www.josephbruchac.com/
http://www.fallsapart.com/smoke.html
http://www.joyharjo.com/
http://www.nativewiki.org/Richard_Van_Camp

Good luck, readergirlz!

Cynthia Leitich Smith and Joseph Bruchac on rgz LIVE! Thursday

Celebrate Native American Heritage Month by joining in a live chat with authors Cynthia Leitich Smith and Joseph Bruchac on Thursday, November 6th at 6 PM PST/9 PM EST.

Where? The readergirlz forum, of course! See you there.