Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2020 was on January 31, 2020... and I missed it! :( I wasn't feeling well this past week and the days completely got away from me. I really apologize!!
MCBD is in its 7th year and was founded by Valarie Budayr from Jump Into A Book and Mia Wenjen from PragmaticMom. Their mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in homes and school bookshelves while also working diligently to get more of these types of books into the hands of young readers, parents, and educators. You can visit the MCBD website or see my blog post for more information about this year's event as well as a list of sponsors and co-hosts.
Wisdom Tales Press very kindly sent me this book to review for MCBD 2020:
Spirit of the Indian Warrior
edited by Michael Oren Fitzgerald & Joseph A. Fitzgerald
Available as: paperback, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 120
Publisher: Wisdom Tales Press
Publication date: June 7, 2019
Suggested tags: young adult, nonfiction, cultural
From the publisher:
"Richly illustrated with historical photographs and paintings, Spirit of the Indian Warrior presents the thoughts of some of history’s greatest warriors and tribal leaders. It offers an intimate window into the cultural values of courage, loyalty, and generosity.
When the first Europeans landed in North America, its native peoples faced a challenge unlike any before. Many warriors and chiefs vowed, like Tecumseh, “to resist as long as I live and breathe.” Some eventually accepted treaties of peace, but they soon found, like Chief Joseph, that these were worth little: “What treaty that the whites have kept has the red man broken? Not one. What treaty that the whites ever made with us red men have they kept? Not one.”
Hope for the future, however, remains strong among their proud descendants. And the words of the Indian warrior live on and inspire the people of America’s First Nations, as well as people across the world. "
* I want to first disclose that I am not a member of any American Indian or Alaska Native tribe or culture, and while it is a culture that I greatly respect and am very interested in, my personal knowledge and understanding of American Indian culture is limited. I have used the phrase "American Indian" to refer to the culture in my review because it seems to be the phrase that the members of this culture wish to be used: the editors have used this phrase throughout the book, and the speakers of the quotes within the book also seem to predominantly refer to themselves as "Indian" or "American Indian." I hope this was the correct choice. I have done my best to ensure that the words and phrases I have used in my review are respectful, but if anything I have said is incorrect or offensive, please let me know so that I can correct my mistakes and learn from them. Thank you! *
I really enjoyed this collection of quotations from American Indian warriors and tribal leaders. I am very interested in American Indian culture and history, but I don't know very much about either, unfortunately. In my studies toward becoming a librarian, I took some classes in multicultural literature, and I learned that it's important to look for multicultural books that are both accurate (the book contains correct information about the culture and its history, values, etc.) and authentic (the author of the book is a member of that culture, or the author can explain how they have learned about that culture in order to be able to portray it authentically and respectfully). Lately, I have been trying to find more accurate and authentic books that can help me learn more about American Indian culture - particularly books that are written by members of the culture.
While the editors of this book do not seem to be members of any American Indian tribe or cultural group (from what I can find on the publisher's website here and here), they do seem to have a great interest in and respect for American Indian culture and have extensive educational backgrounds and personal experiences. It does say both editors were "adopted" into the Crow tribe - from what limited information I can find online about this, it seems to require a lot of interaction with members of the tribe and a serious study of their culture, and the adoption is a very important event attended by many members of the tribe. However, again, the information I could find on this was very limited, and I am not clear on whether this means they are able to now refer to themselves as American Indians, or if it is more of an honorary adoption. (If anyone can point me towards more information about adoptions into tribes, I would love to learn more!) ... All this is to say that in my humble opinion I do think this would be considered an accurate and authentic book, as it is a collection of quotes from members of the culture, and the editors seem to have a great respect for and knowledge of the culture.
I think the editors did a great job choosing quotations for this book. They seem to have included quotes and songs from members of many different tribes. The quotes speak about related themes, like warriors, bravery, integrity, etc., but they all have a unique opinion to offer. Quotes by or about women are also included, to show their important roles in the tribes during times of war. The book is full of photos and artwork of members of tribes, artifacts, and important moments in American Indian history. I liked that photos of modern warriors were included as well - members of the U.S. Armed Forces from the 1940s to the present. A list of speakers and tribes quoted in the book, as well as artists and photographers, sources, and biographical notes is included at the back of the book.
The only thing I wish the editors did differently was to separate the quotes into related groups, maybe by including some chapters or headings - for example, one about preparing for war, or one about women's perspectives, etc. The book is one long collection of quotes, which works well as is, but I think grouping them together into related themes might have helped readers understand and locate quotes easier.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book, and I'd like to read other collections by these editors, as I think they did a great job of including lots of related quotes expressing a variety of opinions from members of many different American Indian tribes. I have been taught American history from the same perspective since I was young, and this book really helped me see things from another viewpoint. Much of it was difficult to read, but it made me want to learn more of American history and American Indian history from this perspective to get a better understanding of the whole picture, rather than just from the one side that I have been taught.
Final verdict: I loved it! I thought this book was great! I might buy it for myself and I would definitely recommend it to others.
{ My reviews are honest and my opinions are my own;
your reading experience may vary, so give it a read and see what you think. :) }
Happy Multicultural Children's Book Day! See you again next year!
#ReadYourWorld
