The story continues with the pages on the left showing how the activities were traditionally done, and the pages on the right showing how the contemporary sister does similar activities: fishing, planting, harvesting, playing soccer (and a traditional ball game), getting ready for winter, sledding hearing stories, and collecting maple syrup. вЂњMy grandparentsвЂ™ grandparents walked beside the same stream where I walk with my brother, and we can see what they saw.вЂќ It begins with a Lenape Indian girl going to the creek, as she knows they did in previous generations: When the Shadbush Blooms by Carla Messinger is dual story of a familyвЂ™s activities through the cycle of the seasons. The next story is a must read for teachers and parents hoping to break the stereotypes of American Indians. My girls noticed вЂњshe has a TON of jingles mommy!вЂќ An article in the back of the book explains the jingle dance in more detail, and provides a glossary of terms.Дetail of a page about collecting вЂњmaple sapвЂќ in the spring: from вЂњWhen the Shadbush BloomsвЂќ by Carla Messinger with Susan Katz, and wonderfully illustrated by David Kanietakeron Fadden. When you watch the video, notice the woman in white about halfway through. My girls loved this warm story, and enjoyed watching a clip of jingle dancers after the story. In a sweet story about love and tradition, Jenna is able to achieve her goal with her familyвЂ™s and communityвЂ™s support. Jenna wants to dance in the powwow, but her dress doesnвЂ™t have enough jingles (aluminum cones attached to the dress to give it a voice). In вЂњ Jingle Dancer вЂќ by Cynthia Leitich Smith we meet Jenna, a young girl of Muscogee (Creek) Nation and Ojibway (Chippewa/Anichinabe) decent who lives in a contemporary community with her family in Oklahoma. In the back of the book, there is a Passamaquoddy language glossery of animals, and we learned that вЂњmooseвЂќ must come from the Passamquoddy word вЂњmooz.вЂќ Listen here to author Allen Sockabasin reading Thanks to the Animals in Passamaquoddy, with his daughter Kendra Sockabasin reading in English. He thanks each animal for their help in keeping his precious baby warm. Joo Tum, his father notices he is gone and turns back on the trail to find him. Baby Zoo Sap falls off the sled and is kept warm and dry by all of the animals of the forest. They take apart their wooden house and stack the cedar logs on the bobsled, and make their way through the snowy forest. In вЂњ Thanks to the Animals ,вЂќ byВ Allen Sockabasin a 1900вЂ™s Passamaquoddy family is moving from their summer home on the coast to the deep woods for the winter. The first book appeals to even the youngest readers. The illustrations are works of art by themselves, and completely enhance these unique stories. Also, the adventures and characters are interesting, and easy to relate to, and illustrate that Native Americans are not an extinct group of people. In fact, the authors devote their time to educate the public about their specific language and culture, and several of the books have additional resources in the back to expand our knowledge. These books are written about the everyday experiences of children in specific native nations, and do not push stereotypes onto the reader. First, these are 5 great stories, who happened to have American Indian characters. I chose the following 5 books to share with your children for several reasons. It is so important not to teach your children about a generalized single story, but rather share the magnitude of the diversity among the different tribes, and specify which group and time period you are discussing. In Canada there are 630 First Nations governments not including Inuit nor MГ©tis. Numbering over 3 million, today there are 500 American Indian tribes who live diverse, contemporary lives across the US. This post contains affiliate links.В Thank you for your support! Here are 5 wonderful Native American books for kids to begin the conversation about American Indians. There also is a tendency to erroneously teach young children about tipi-living, feather-wearing, tomahawk-carrying вЂњIndians.вЂќ Native American people are not static or extinct in fact they are contributing members to society, with deep-rooted traditions and values that are pertinent to our world today. When choosing books about Native Americans, it is imperative to make sure the story does not depict indigenous characters inaccurately or negatively, nor lump together various tribes and people into a general and indistinct group. In choosing multicultural literature, there are many great titles, and some pretty awful stories too that perpetuate stereotypes.

Native american cartoon