Perpetuation of Native American Stereotypes in Childrens Literature Es

Perpetuation of Native American Stereotypes in Children's Literature Caution should be used when selecting books including Native Americans, due to the lasting images that books and pictures provide to children. This paper will examine the portrayal of Native Americans in children's literature. I will discuss specific stereotypes that are present and should be avoided, as well as positive examples. I will also highlight evaluative criteria that will be useful in selecting appropriate materials for children and provide examples of good and bad books. Children will read many books as they grow up. They take from these books visual images and these images are their perceptions, which can last a lifetime. There are too many books featuring painted, whooping Indians wearing feathers and attacking forts, or maliciously scalping peaceful settlers. There are also too many books in which white benevolence is the only thing that saves the day for the incompetent childlike Indian. Teachers, librarians, parents, baby-sitters, relatives, and anyone else who buys a child a book must be aware of the perceptions each book will provide a child. In her book Through Indian Eyes: The Native Experience for Children, Doris Seale states, "It is no longer acceptable for children both Native and non-Native to be hurt racist ideologies which justify and perpetuate oppression." There are many books in children's libraries today that perpetuate the stereotypical Native American. By definition, a stereotype is a "fixed image, idea, trait, or convention, lacking originality or individuality, most often negative, which robs individuals and their cultures of human qualities and promotes no real understanding of social rea... ...ay as to be needlessly offensive, insensitive, or inappropriate? 10. Does the material contain much of value but require additional information to make it more relevant or useful? (Library Services Institute for Minnesota Indians, 1970, pp. iv-v) Works Cited Berkhoffer, Robert F. 'The White Man's Indian. Alfred A. Knopf Publishers, New York: 1978. Dowd, Frances Smardo. "Evaluating Children's Portraying Native American and Asian Cultures". Childhood Education; (68 Summer 92), pp. 219-224. Library Services Institutefor Minnesota Indians. Guidelines for Evaluating Multicultural Literature: 1970, pp. iv-v. Norton, Donna. 'Through the Eyes of a Child. Prentice Hall Inc., Englewood Cliffes, New Jersey: 1995. Seale, Doris. Through Indian Eyes: The Native Experience in Books for Children. New Society Publisher, Philadelphia, PA: 1992.