Native Americans – Peaceful Reader

My friend Tina is an extremely avid reader and usually has great recommendations. Last time we were at the library together she loaded me up with several good choices. This was one of my favorites!

Something to Hold

Katherine Schlick Noe

2011

250 pages

Something to Hold takes place in 1962 on the Oregon Indian reservation, Warm Springs. Kitty’s dad works for the government forestry service putting out forest fires in the great Northwest. Her family lives on the reservation, which is fine, but she and her siblings will attend the reservation school as well. She’s unsure of how this will go as she already feels uncomfortable feelings from some of the local children. This is such a great description of what Native life would be like then and probably now as well. The story is based on the author’s own growing up experiences and as a reader I enjoyed her recollections immensely. Noe’s website has an interesting biographical information about her years on the reservation.

Quote that made me mad as Mr. Nute their teacher “teaches” them about Columbus Day as they prepare for a celebration honoring Mr. Columbus and the Native children don’t know or understand the state song:

“We are all immigrants,” he says, “And America is the greatest country in the history of mankind. It was established on the backs of those who came before us.”
Mr. Nute pauses for a second to let that sink in, then he unleashes an oration on Columbus Day and the ideals on which this country was founded. All made possible, Mr. Nute tells us, because this one man and a bunch of others who came after him had the courage and vision to seek out this empty and savage New World, to plant their flags so that civilized men could tame it, men like our country’s forefathers and the great exploreres who made the Oregon Territory safe for the pioneers, all of whom sacrificed so much so that we can have the freedom-the unearned and unappreciated luxury-to sit here and wallow in our ignorance.
“Now, let’s take it from the top,” Mr. Nute says quietly. “One more time.” (56)

This is a lesson for Native children? Yes, I know. The audacity. This attitude is still what gets our country into trouble. This story grabbed me as Kitty deals with friendship, bullying, racism, and attitudes. She learns so much about herself in this one important year. Tina said it first so I’m just agreeing and repeating but this one should be honored with an award this year.

I don’t know why it took me so long to discover this wonderful series. Next year I plan to put it on our 5th grade book club reading list. Thank you to V. for pushing me toward this title.

The Birchbark House (1999)

Omakayas and her family are Ojibwe Indians living on Madeline Island. The year is 1849 and Omakayas (Little Frog) is seven years old. She has one older sister, Angeline, and two younger brothers; one a baby and the other, Pinch, is pure trouble. The book is set up on the cycle of the seasons as this small tribe of Ojibwes enjoy the warm days of summer preparing for fall and winter. The snowy months prove difficult for the tribe as many are short on food and sickness robs Omakayas of her baby brother. Erdrich set it up nicely in this seasonal manner to help us feel in the moment with this peaceful tribe. I have a romantic notion for Native tribes and this book shares all the positive as they begin to feel the encroachment of the white man on their land and Omakayas understands more about her gift for dreams.

The Game of Silence (2005)

The sequel to The Birchbark House continues the thread through seasons with several adventures. Another small tribe arrives by canoe, bedraggled and starved, as they escape from the white man and sickness. Old Tallow gets lost during a heavy snow as she searches for game to hunt and Deydey leads the priest on a mission just as the ice over the lake begins to crack and break. Any of these problems demonstrate the difficulties native people had even without the added fear of losing their way of life. Omakayas learns to accept her dreams as she uses a particularly powerful dream to rescue her father. She is a strong and unique young female character who takes pride in her family and the way of life she’s too often taken for granted.

A quote:

“The air cooled quickly. It was a little cold to sleep outside, but Deydey spread out the fire and built it up to a huge blaze. When the fire had all burned down to a bed of coals, he spread out the coals and then all of the family heaped sand on top of the big spread-out remains of the fire. They were making their bed. The soft comfortable sand was their mattress. Underneath, the coals would continue to give off a gently heat. They all lay down under the stars. There were no mosquitos or flies when the air was so chilly. Yet the warmth from underneath kept them comfortable. Deydey made this sort of sand bed often on his trips, and the children loved for him to make it for them.” (72-73, The Game of Silence)

Louise Erdrich’s native heritage helped to shape this series as she recounts events in her own family’s past. I have a few other books ahead of it but I plan to read the third and final book, The Porcupine Year. A post by Carol Hurst talks about The Birchbark House. The Game of Silence is discussed in this article at KidsReads and The Porcupine Year has this article also at KidsReads.

Tag: Native Americans

Another Outstanding elementary fiction

Louise Erdrich; books with historical significance