It's my turn to write the blog post for Ask Prescott. I hope this finds you rejuvenated after a short vacation and managing the challenges of fully remote teaching this week. Remember, the librarians are here to help so reach out if we can provide support or collaboration in any way that makes this experience better for you and the students.
I am envious of my Library Team members and fellow bloggers. They always seem to hit just the right tone or create a post that is visually appealing. Those posts are popular, widely read, and clearly hit on the interests of our blog readers in meaningful ways. I on the other hand frequently seem to be going down the twisty path of self-reflection about the challenges of our DIE work upon which we've embarked. It stretches well beyond the Include Shared Foundation we used to frame our work for this year.
As we've mentioned in previous posts the Library Team as a whole is participating in Project Ready, investigating our role in de-centering whiteness, disrupting the literary canon, and building a truly diverse and inclusive collection in our libraries. Even more significant in this process is our own accountability for being part of a system that has at times lost young readers who have not seen themselves reflected fairly, accurately, or at all in the books that have been selected in the past. Not only are we working on the collection, but we are also working on ourselves to be better.
This week we worked through a module called Indigeneity and Colonialism, which "provides context and consideration for Native Americans living in the U.S. today." Also, in previous posts, I've mentioned my work at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center as two of the most edifying years in which I learned to acknowledge my own lack of understanding of the experiences of Indigenous Peoples in the United States. I also learned quickly that I could not speak for these tribal nations nor represent myself as having great insights into tribal cultures. I was a work in progress then as I am now and learn something new every time I encounter work by "Dr. Debbie Reese who is enrolled at Nambe Owingeh Pueblo, a federally recognized tribe." Her long history of work on the representation of Native people in children’s literature has been a guidepost for me and many over the past twenty years.
In an article, published in the journal Language Arts, Volume 95, Number 6, July 2018, Dr. Reese discusses "Native American Heritage Month and its intersection with Thanksgiving." She suggests that we move with intention away from the mythic Thanksgiving of Plymouth and focus on choosing better books to bring into the classroom. She suggests we choose books that are tribal specific, written by Native writers, and set in the present day. She also strongly urges us to keep Native peoples visible throughout the whole year. How you ask are we to do that? Dr. Reese has a blog filled with outstanding recommendations and critical reviews of books currently being read in schools that demand reconsideration. American Indians in Children's Literature also asks us to consider teaching children to encounter stories through the lens of critical literacy. That critical lens asks questions when engaging with literature. Whose story is this? Who benefits from this story? Whose voices are not being heard? In fact, children from a very young age should be encouraged to ask these questions. While Dr. Reese's focus is on Indigenous Critical Literacy, we should adopt this practice to every book we add to our collections both library and classroom as we continue to learn to tell the whole, true story. As we continue to de-center whiteness and take an anti-racist stance we must continue to unlearn the lessons of the dominant culture and it's biased history and learn the history and culture through the lens of a critical stance opening our minds to acknowledgement and change.