More than just a blog: “American Indians in Children’s Literature”Debbie Reese
During the first half of 2006, I began to notice articles about professors using blogs as a means to disseminate research. Prior to this I had become an avid reader of political blogs, but had not considered starting one myself. As an academic, it is important that I publish my research in academic and professional journals that will lead to tenure, but I wanted my work to be read and used by practitioners---the parents, teachers, librarians and others who work with children on a daily basis. A blog was the answer. Through a blog, I could reach parents, teachers, librarians and others who do not have access to professional and academic journals. In May I started working on my blog, “American Indians in Children’s Literature,” and I chose Blogger as the home for my blog. From the start, I wanted to blog several times a week, but I also wanted to provide my readers with additional resources. I studied the template in Blogger and figured out how to create links to websites related to American Indians and children’s books. Over a few weeks, I developed my page so that visitors can find links to full-text on-line articles and websites that review books, but they can also find links to websites and blogs that are maintained by Native authors like Sherman Alexie and Cynthia Leitich Smith. Once I felt it was “ready” I began promoting it by sending weekly updates to listservs for three distinct audiences: 1) people who work with children’s literature, 2) people who work in education, and 3) people whose work is centered on American Indians. In addition, I send it directly to Native people with whom I am networked via email. I also submitted the blog to professional organizations, asking if it could be listed on their websites. Finally, I purchased a site meter software program that would help me see who was coming to my page, and by what method. Studying those site-visit statistics helps me further develop the site and choose blog topics. For example, when I saw that a lot of people found my site via an internet search for lesson plans on specific books, I responded by adding material about that book. A good example is Forrest Carter’s book, The Education of Little Tree. People came to my site looking for lesson plans on that book. Given its problematic representation of American Indians and the actual identity of the author, I blogged about it and included links to several articles about the book and Forrest Carter, also known as Asa Carter. I should note, at this point, that the content of the website is designed to help people develop a critical stance when evaluating American Indians in children’s books. This means recognizing negative and positive stereotypes, both of which stand in the way of seeing and accepting American Indians as people of the present day. I am accustomed to a great deal of resistance to my work. Many people think they are being personally attacked for liking and using classic and popular books like Indian in the Cupboard, or Touching Spirit Bear, or Little House on the Prairie. In fact, some people find my page by using “Debbie Reese” and “hypercritical” as their search terms! Nonetheless, I am confident that more and more people are learning how to look critically, let go of problematic books, and instead, select books that present us as we are---not savages, and not heroes---but people with good and bad qualities. I invite you to visit my page to see how I’m using blogging technology, but also, take time to read and think about the content of my site. In good faith and hard work, we can all effect change in the way today’s society views American Indians. Here is the blog site: American Indians in Children's Literature: Critical discussion of American Indians in children's books, the school curriculum, popular culture, and society-at-large.
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