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Native women win major award for ‘Water Protectors’ book
Wednesday, January 27, 2021
Indianz.Com
Growing up in Nebraska, Carole Lindstrom’s favorite novel series was “The Little House” series by Laura Ingalls Wilder about a young woman’s life as a settler on the Great Plains in the late 19th Century.
But while she loved reading about Wilder’s adventures, Lindstrom couldn’t help but feel frustrated by how the author depicted her people.
“I just remember being so torn and not understanding why this book that I loved so much could talk about me so badly, as a savage and as a wild Indian,” she said. “I wasn’t those things. My mother wasn’t those things. My grandmother wasn’t those things. Our people are not those things.”
Eventually, Lindstrom decided to become an children’s literature author and tell her people’s stories herself. That journey culminated this week with Lindstrom, a citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, winning the prestigious Caldecott Medal for her latest work – “We Are Water Protectors” – along with Tlingit illustrator Michaela Goade.
It marks the first time a female Native author has won the award and the first time a Native author and illustrator have won what is considered the most highly sought-after honor for writers of children’s literature.
Published by Roaring Brook Press, “We Are Water Protectors” tells the story of a young Ojibwe girl who decides to fight a pipeline that threatens her people’s land and water. The whimsical story and its celebration of indigenous culture are accentuated by Goade’s swirling watercolors that capture the sacredness of water. The story was inspired by the 2016 movement that saw indigenous people from around the world stand up against the Dakota Access Pipeline, which they feared would rupture and permanently damage the water and sacred burial grounds around the homelands of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. Lindstrom said she wasn’t able to participate in the demonstration near Cannonball, on the North Dakota portion of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, but she became determined after reading news reports of the event to write about it. Initially, she intended to write a young adult’s novel that would offer a heavily researched, nuanced portrayal of the historic event. But she also knew that it was important to publish the story sooner rather than later so that it might have a greater impact on the national debate over pipelines and their potential impact on the environment.Oh, @MichaelaGoade I have no words to describe how proud of you I am. I love you so so much. You are so extremely talented and just an amazing person inside and out. CONGRATULATIONS!!!! So very well deserved. I wish I could hug you in person!! 💙💧💙 @MacKidsSL @MacKidsBooks pic.twitter.com/SXKmjIAx0g
— Carole Lindstrom 🪶🦬 (@CaroleLindstrom) January 25, 2021

“She’s just so special, magically talented,” she said. “I’m so proud of her. She so deserves this medal.” She said she’s proud to be able to share a story that might inspire more young people and others to help fight for Native and environmental justice. “I adore writing for young people,” she said. “They are so magical in everything, the things they think and the things they say.” And Lindstrom said she’s happy to have been able to create a hero for Native children. “I want her to shine out so everyone can shine out,” she said.I am still struggling to find the right words. More to come but for now, w/ a VERY full 💙 gunalchéesh to @ALALibrary, the Caldecott committee, my dear @CaroleLindstrom & the team @MacKidsSL! To EVERYONE who lifted this book up, thank you & I love you. pic.twitter.com/QdAYhgWjlh
— Michaela Goade (@MichaelaGoade) January 25, 2021
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