Introduction and Professional Resource

Introduction:

For my project on the literature of a traditionally underrepresented group I choose to focus on American Indian literature. Initially, this might not seem like an underrepresented group. The Native American theme is very popular in children’s books and there are many award winning children’s novels with an Indian theme. Yet, in a flashback to the insider/outside debate, the story of American Indians is still underrepresented. In African American literature, or Asian American literature, the author usually belongs to that cultural group. Yet with Native American literature the author is very rarely native. In 1995 98.5% of children’s books with an Indian theme were written by non-native authors. This outsider approach has created a homogenous view of American Indians. In 1994 out of 70 books published, only 31 specified a certain Indian nation. When they did specify, more often than not it was Navajo or Cherokee. As a result, children are often left with a very outdated picture of who the American Indian is. They see them stereotyped and permanently stuck in the past, wearing feathers in their hair and painting their faces to go to war. The picture of the contemporary Indian is lost in most current children’s literature. In the three books that I have reviewed the main character is Indian, but each has an individual tribe name identified and none of them are what is considered a “mainstream” tribe name like the Cherokee. While factually correct literature about American Indians from the past is important, it is also vital that children realize that Indians are not just something in our past. All the books I looked at are set in contemporary times and each chooses to grapple with the stereotypes of the contemporary American Indian in their own unique and authentic way. One of the authors chose to buck the stereotype that all modern Indians are poor and alcoholics. The other two authors chose to deal with some of the difficult issues surrounding current Native culture. Each of the authors is an insider to their own story and they each give us their tales with style. Most importantly, the protagonists in each story are able to offer the reader a “window and a mirror” with characters that the reader can really imagine instead of the image of the fanciful Indian in the woods or prairies of long ago America.

Professional Resource:

Knoeller, Christian P., and Gail Zdilla. "A First Opinion: Breaking Down Stereotypes of Contemporary. A Second Reaction: A Strong Adolescent Voice Reflects American
Indian Life" Rev. of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian. First Opinions, Second Reactions Sept. 2008: 25-28.

This review consisted of two separate “looks” at the novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian. The reviewers were college English professors, not necessarily experts in the field of Native American literature, but credentials beyond that were not provided. The “first opinion” primarily discussed the multiple social issued raised in Sherman Alexie’s work. It provided an in-depth look at some of the themes explored in the novel, including social acceptance, alcoholism, and death. Knoeller also spends time discusses the cartoons that are included in the novel and while he provides brief titles of the various cartoons, without having read the book it would be difficult to ascertain their value or what they added to the reading of the novel. Nevertheless, Knoeller seems to have captured the spirit of the novel when he describes it as having, “playful illustrations, disarmingly candid narrator, and pitch-perfect humor.”
The “second reaction” of this review focused on how this novel could be used in a school setting as an accompaniment to learning about Native Americans. Zdilla almost immediately raises the concern discussed in the introduction of this paper, that children in schools today do not spend nearly enough time learning about the contemporary American Indian. The review discusses how this novel will appeal to young readers because many of the situations will appear familiar to them even if the protagonist does not have all of the same experiences. This too reflects the “mirror and window” analogy. Zdilla raised the idea that reluctant readers may use the cartoon illustrations to be drawn further into the text and this is an interesting idea. When considering whether this novel would be a good addition to your classroom experience, Zdilla’s closing comments are a vital thought to remember. “Junior’s voice will stay with adolescent readers and help them understand the reservation experience, haunted by alcohol abuse and oppression but rich in family love, and know something about what it feels like to be American Indian in a White world.” In order to help give students a different perspective on their world, one of the goals of multicultural literature, Zdilla seems to argue that Part-Time Indian would be a way to achieve this.