"As November kicks off National American Indian Heritage month, it's a safe guess that books about Natives will be widely circulated. And a number of these books will be read because someone, somewhere, praised the book, gave it an award, added it to a recommended reading list and helped it become a best-seller.
But, it's time to let the real experts step forward.
“We read about 200 books before we find one good one,” said Beverly Slapin, a book reviewer at Oyate, a nonprofit Indian education organization based in Berkeley, Calif. “After we read them and throw them against a wall, we have to pick them up and review them.”
Slapin said about percent” of children's literature books with Native themes “are absolutely horrible,” a wrenching conclusion for an organization that promotes truthful and honest representations of Native people."
Get the Story:Jodi Rave: Sifting through ‘Indian' themes (The Missoulian 11/1) Relevant Links:
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