Shining the Light on Authentic Native Voices in Children's Literature at the Upcoming NCTE Conference

by Andrea M. Page

The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) November conference is here! With so many fantastic sessions to attend, I’d like to shine a light on several Indigenous/First Nation/Native creatives who will be presenting at this year’s conference.

Did you know that according to the Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC), of the estimated 3427 books published in 2021 in the U.S. by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) authors, only 60 books, or 0.017% were written by Native authors? An additional 74 books about Indigenous people and their culture were written by non-Natives. The numbers are slowly rising since the first detailed set of data released by the CCBC in 2002, when only six Native authors published books, yet at that time, 64 books were published about Indigenous people and/or culture written by non-Natives.

Educators know how important it is to recognize and appreciate diversity in children’s literature, and ensure children have access to books and characters that represent authentic voices. No group is more diverse than Indigenous cultures across the globe. In the United States alone, there are nearly 600 federally recognized tribes, all with similar traditions and values but very different cultures based on their geographic locations. Each tribe has its own worldview.

         Fall is a time of harvest and celebration.
After the hard work of planting seeds,
                       BIPOC voices are important, new ideas seed new experiences
laboring and growing,
                       Authentic Indigenous voices are taking root and thriving
and reaping the harvest,
                      Fresh Native Creatives, values, culture, and humor are plenty
it is a time to feast and celebrate.

Teachers, Librarians, and other attendees, whose goal is to enlighten readers and reflect with open minds on a variety of worldviews…join these Native Creatives who will be presenting at NCTE. Let’s shine the light on their authentic voices and celebrate together. Hope to see you there!

THURSDAY

Darcie Little Badger
A.28 Shining a Light on Rural YA Literature: Presenting the Winners of the Whippoorwill Award for Rural Young Adult Literature
Thursday, 09:30 - 10:45

Carole Lindstrom
B.04 Birds Aren’t Real: Literature as Truth and Light in Dark Times
Thursday, 11:00 - 12:15

FRIDAY

Traci Sorell
E.31 Possibilities of Poetry: Excavating and Exploring Identity in the Elementary Classroom
Friday, 09:30 - 10:45

Angeline Boulley
F.06 Constellations and Not a Single Star: Shining and Rising Native Voices on Collaboration and Writing Truths
Friday, 11:00 - 12:15

Carole Lindstrom
F.06 Constellations and Not a Single Star: Shining and Rising Native Voices on Collaboration and Writing Truths
Friday, 11:00 - 12:15

Traci Sorell
F.06 Constellations and Not a Single Star: Shining and Rising Native Voices on Collaboration and Writing Truths
Friday, 11:00 - 12:15

Laurel Goodluck
F.06 Constellations and Not a Single Star: Shining and Rising Native Voices on Collaboration and Writing Truths
Friday, 11:00 - 12:15

Traci Sorell
G.04 Bring the Light In: Children’s Literature for Truth Telling
Friday, 12:30 - 13:45

Monique Gray Smith
H.04 Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants with Adapter Monique Gray Smith
Friday, 14:00 - 15:15

Angeline Boulley
HI.01 High School Matters—Learning Liberated: Reading, Writing, and Discussion Grounded in Multimodal Pedagogies
Friday, 14:00 - 16:45

Traci Sorell
H.34 Teaching with the 2022 Charlotte Huck and Orbis Pictus Award Books ROOM 204-A 
14:00-15:15

SATURDAY

Traci Sorell
K.10 #DisruptTexts Now More Than Ever
Saturday, 11:00 - 12:15

Angeline Boulley
K.37 Teaching Young Adult Literature: Creating Space to Pursue Light and to Dream
Saturday, 11:00 - 12:15

Joy Harjo
L.30 #TeachLivingPoets and US Poet Laureate Joy Harjo Present Living Nations, Living Words, and Teaching Native Nations Poets
Saturday, 12:30 - 13:45

Traci Sorell
M.14 Connecting through Story: The Transformative Power of Daily Picture Book Read-Alouds
Saturday, 14:45 - 16:00

Arigon Starr
M.14 Connecting through Story: The Transformative Power of Daily Picture Book Read-Alouds
Saturday, 14:45 - 16:00

Jen Ferguson
N.08 Countering Harmful Media Narratives with Young Adult Literature
Saturday, 16:15 - 17:30

NCTE 2022 Native Authors
 
Darcie Little Badger (Lipan Apache). Author of  Elatsoe and A Snake Falls to Earth.
Website: darcielittlebadger.wordpress.com
 
Carole Lindstrom (Anishinabe/Metis, tribally enrolled with the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe)
Author of Girls Dance, Boys Fiddle, and We are Water Protectors.
Website: carolelindstrom.com
 
Traci Sorell (Cherokee Nation citizen)
Author of We are Grateful: Otsaliheliga, At the Mountain’s Base, Powwow Day, Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer, and Contenders: Two Native Baseball Players, One World Series
Website: tracisorell.com

Monique Gray Smith (Cree, Lakota and Scottish)
Author of My Heart Fills With Happiness, You Hold Me Up, When we are Kind, Lucy and Lola and I Hope, Tilly: A Story of Hope and Resilience, Braiding Sweetgrass, and Tilly and the Crazy Eights
Website: moniquegraysmith.com
 
Angeline Boulley (enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians) Author of Firekeeper's Daughter and Warrior Girl Unearthed.  
Website:  angelineboulley.com
 
Laurel Goodluck (Mandan and Hidatsa from the prairies of North Dakota, and Tsimshian from a rainforest in Alaska). Author of Forever Coursins. Fortcoming books: Rock your Mocs and Too Much
Website: laurelgoodluck.com
 
Joy Harjo (mem­ber of the Mvskoke Nation and belongs to Oce Vpofv (Hick­o­ry Ground)). 
Author of An Amer­i­can Sun­rise, The Good Luck Cat and For a Girl Becom­ing.
Website: joyharjo.com
 
Arigon Starr (enrolled member of the Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma) .
Illustrator of Super Indian and Tales of the Mighty Code Talkers  
Website  arigonstarr.com
 
Jen Ferguson (Michif/Métis)
Author of The Summer of Bitter and Sweet
Website: jenfergusonwrites.com

Resource:
Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC)
https://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/literature-resources/ccbc-diversity-statistics/books-by-and-or-about-poc-2018/

Andrea Page (Hunkpapa Lakota / German) is a children’s author, educator, and Board Member of the Children’s Literature Assembly of the NCTE. Her debut middle grade book, SIOUX CODE TALKERS OF WORLD WAR II, is the story of seven Native American Code Talkers’ military service in the Pacific Theater. Andrea lives with her husband in Rochester, New York. Visit her website at WriterAndreaPage.com.

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