[CALIBK12] Responses to Slapin review

[Debbie Reese]

Note to CALIB: This is a piece I wrote in 
response to the comments to Slapin's review.

Debbie
--------------------

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Reaction to Slapin’s review of Touching Spirit Bear

Beverly Slapin’s review of Touching Spirit Bear 
(posted here on September 20th) has generated 
discussion on a listserv sponsored by the 
American Library Association and other places as well.

I share some of the discussion and my responses 
here. I paraphrase a response and use italics to 
differentiate it from my response.

-------------------------

It is well written and a great story. Teen boys 
who are bullies need books like this to learn 
about the consequences of their behavior and that 
there are other ways of behaving. Errors 
regarding Tlingit culture are excusable because 
the book has so much value for bullies.

Debbie: Is it ok to use and misrepresent one 
culture (in this case Tlingit) because someone 
else (bullies who are presumably not Tlingit) stand to gain?

-------------------------

I will continue recommending the book because it 
was favorably reviewed and is on so many award lists.

Debbie: How knowledgeable are the people who 
wrote the reviews? When Ann Rinaldi’s My Heart is 
on the Ground came out, it was favorably reviewed 
and it was likely headed for Recommended Books 
lists. But 
<http://www.oyate.org/books-to-avoid/myHeart.html>our 
critique headed that off, because, I think, 
people knew that the information in the critique 
was (and is) irrefutable, and that it was irresponsible to laud the book.

-------------------------

IT IS FICTION! JUST A STORY! It doesn’t matter if it is accurate or not.

Debbie: If a work of fiction said that 2+2=7, 
everybody would know it was a mistake. But we, as 
a society, know so little about American Indians 
that we don’t know when American Indian cultures 
are being misrepresented, stereotyped, or otherwise inappropriately used.

American society is so enamored with a narrow, 
romantic view of who we (remember, I am Nambé 
Pueblo Indian) are that it is not open to 
criticism that gets in the way of wholeheartedly 
endorsing or recommending a book. People who love 
the book and don’t like Slapin’s review may feel 
the criticism is an attack on them, on their 
personal values. Critiques like Slapin’s are not 
personal attacks, but they can feel that way when 
the book under critique is well loved.

If there was only one book like Touching Spirit 
Bear out there, then maybe it wouldn’t matter. 
But there are more flawed stories about American 
Indians than there are good ones. All those 
flawed ones contribute to the misperceptions 
American have about American Indians.


Visit my Internet blog and resource: American 
Indians in Children's Literature.
To get to it, go to my faculty bio and click on 'Web Page'
http://www.nah.uiuc.edu/faculty-Reese.htm

Debbie A. Reese (Nanbé Ówîngeh)
Assistant Professor, American Indian Studies
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Native American House, Room 2005
1204 West Nevada Street, MC-138
Urbana, Illinois 61801

Email: debreese at uiuc.edu
TEL 217-265-9885
FAX 217-265-9880






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