Summary
An accessible and educational illustrated book profiling 50 notable American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian people, from NBA star Kyrie Irving of the Standing Rock Lakota to Wilma Mankiller, the first female principal chief of the Cherokee Nation
An American Indian Library Association Youth Literature Award Young Adult Honor Book!
Celebrate the lives, stories, and contributions of Indigenous artists, activists, scientists, athletes, and other changemakers in this beautifully illustrated collection. From luminaries of the past, like nineteenth-century sculptor Edmonia Lewis-the first Black and Native American female artist to achieve international fame-to contemporary figures like linguist jessie little doe baird, who revived the Wampanoag language, Notable Native People highlights the vital impact Indigenous dreamers and leaders have made on the world.
This powerful and informative collection also offers accessible primers on important Indigenous issues, from the legacy of colonialism and cultural appropriation to food sovereignty, land and water rights, and more. An indispensable read for people of all backgrounds seeking to learn about Native American heritage, histories, and cultures, Notable Native People will educate and inspire readers of all ages.
Author Notes
Adrienne Keene is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, an assistant professor of American studies and ethnic studies at Brown University, and holds a doctorate in culture, communities, and education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She cohosts the podcast All My Relations and is the longtime author of Native Appropriations, a blog discussing representations of Native peoples in popular culture. Her writing has appeared in such outlets as Teen Vogue , the New York Times , Stanford Magazine , and Indian Country Today , and she has appeared on NPR, CBC, Al Jazeera, PBS, BuzzFeed, and Slate's Represent podcast.
Ciara Sana is a Chamoru artist currently based in Bellingham, Washington, but grew up in Guam, where she was surrounded by a mix of Indigenous Chamoru culture and people from all over the Pacific islands, Asia, and the U.S. mainland. Ciara's art is deeply rooted in her culture and inspired by all the different styles and flavors found on the beautiful island. The goal of her work is to empower and uplift others, celebrate differences, and encourage love.
Booklist Review
This is a well-composed, highly readable introduction to significant Native people. Noting that telling the stories of Native American, Kanaka Maoli (Hawai'ian), and Alaska Native peoples is important decolonial work, this volume distributes its 50 entries across these 3 groups, including a balance of gender identities, ages, locations, tribal affiliations, and work. Entries are two pages long, beginning with a full-page, color portrait of the subject. Covering people from Sequoyah (1770--1843), who created the Cherokee Syllabary, to Bobbi Jean Three Legs (born 1992), Standing Rock Lakota and Cheyenne Lakota activist, the entries serve to inform readers, while broadening their knowledge of and appreciation for the myriad ways in which Native populations work to ensure rights for their people, protect the environment, and preserve their heritage. Other essays run from two to four pages, and cover issues like settler colonialism, how tribal citizenship is determined, and current issues in Indian Country. The approachable writing style and pictorial elements make this suitable for inclusion in middle- and high-school libraries, as well as public and community college collections.
Library Journal Review
Keene (Cherokee; American studies and ethnic studies, Brown Univ.) celebrates 50 noteworthy Native American, Alaska Native, and Kanaka Maoli people, urging readers to look beyond persistent stereotypical messages about Indigenous cultures and explore the harmful consequences of settler colonialism. Keene profiles mostly living individuals, of varying ages, gender identities, and tribal affiliations, including environmental justice organizer and artist Jihan Gearon (Diné and Black); athlete Nick Hanson (Inupiaq); cultural educator Earl Kawa'a (Kanaka Maoli); seed keeper Rowen White (Akwesasne Mohawk); and teacher and culture keeper Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu (Kanaka Maoli). Portraits of the subjects, illustrated by Sana (Chamoru), are enlivened by rich colors and bold graphics. VERDICT Bright and appealing yet never simplistic, this is a strong addition for every library.
Excerpts
Introduction Into An Indigenous Future The United States as we know it has not always existed--there is a deep and rich legacy of people inhabiting these lands long before the first European colonists arrived and altered the course of history. The lands in what is currently known as the United States encompass the homelands of 574 federally recognized American Indian tribal nations, as well as hundreds more state-recognized and non-recognized tribal nations. In addition, through later acts of land seizing--and in the case of the Hawaiian Kingdom, illegal overthrow--our extended Indigenous community also includes Kānaka Maoli and Alaska Native people. These three groups encompass vast diversity--innumerable cultural groups, nations, languages, histories, experiences, struggles, and joys. Indigenous people are the first people of the lands around the world. To be Indigenous is to be of a place, to have creation stories of how your people emerged from the land, and to be connected to a community from that place. As the first people of their respective lands, American Indian people, Alaska Native people, and Kānaka Maoli have expertly stewarded and cared for the land, built vast cities and societies, utilized democratic governance, and carried and shaped cultural practices and traditions for centuries. But because of the destructive legacy of settler colonialism, most Americans know very little about Native people beyond the stereotypes of Hollywood Indians, igloos, or Hawaiian grass skirts, but our reality is much different. We have--and have always had-- leaders across all sectors, from science, art, and activism to education, fashion, politics, and beyond. I am a Native person who was raised far away from her Cherokee community, surrounded by non-Natives, and educated in predominantly white schools. Growing up, the lesson I learned in school about Indigenous people was that we were people who existed only in the historic past, that we and our cultures were extinct and had no connection to the present day. I never learned about any Native people other than historic male leaders like Sitting Bull and Geronimo, and I was surrounded by images in popular culture of harmful stereotypes. But this narrative of Native people couldn't be more wrong. We are not extinct, and there are so many important Native people of the past and today whose stories and lives have resonance, power, and are worth learning about. Now, as a scholar who studies, writes, and teaches about the importance of representation, I know the power of sharing stories that push beyond stereotypes and move Indigenous people from the historic past into the modern present and the future. Not only are most of the images and stories we hear about Native people stereotypical, Indigenous people are also largely invisible in American culture. This invisibility is reflected in Hollywood, the media, education, statistics--everywhere--and it didn't just happen: it's a direct result of the ongoing genocidal policies and practices of colonization. But the Indigenous world I know is dramatically different. When I open my social media feeds each day, I see a world full to the brim of Indigenous joy, vibrant cultural revitalization, Native babies speaking their languages, Native fashion shows, Indigenous futurisms, awe-inspiring beadworkers, hilarious Indigenous memes, resilience, and brilliant community-focused work. In my life, work, and writing, I want to showcase a bit of that Indigenous brilliance and joy, because it gives me so much hope. Being in this community has also introduced me to amazing Indigenous people I would never have encountered otherwise. Indigenous Goddess Gang , an online community and magazine started by Kim Smith, who is Diné, has a "Matriarch Monday" feature, where they post a different Native woman from history each week--it is how I first learned about several of the women in this book. Every Monday, I am so excited to see a Native person represented in a position or point in history that I had never known about. American history has purposely written Natives out of the national narrative, because our continued existence serves as a reminder that this country exists on stolen lands and was built by attempting to destroy millions of Indigenous people. Therefore, the work of uncovering the stories of Native people unknown to most of the public is important decolonial work, and there's still so much for us all to learn. Because there was no way that just the fifty people in this book could equitably represent the full spectrum of such beautifully diverse Indigenous people, I strived to curate a balanced group. The people in this book represent a small slice of the Native experience, balanced across the three broad cultural groups of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Kānaka Maoli, as well as various gender identities, ages, locations, tribal affiliations, and work. I also intentionally focused on the inclusion of Black Native, female, LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit people. In the spirit of Indigenous relationships, I created the list of people in this book collaboratively and vetted the final group with community members and friends to ensure it maintained this spirit of inclusion. All of that said, this is in no way even close to representative of the incredible stories and perspectives of all Indigenous people. I hope this book inspires you to seek out more stories, listen to Native voices, and learn from the first people of this land. Our world is in a time of dramatic change. Political unrest and climate change have caused an increasingly uncertain future. Our people lived on this land for millennia prior to colonization, and I believe that Indigenous knowledge holds the key to the future. We have survived genocide, and our communities continue to advance, grow, develop, and change while maintaining our cultural roots. Given the opportunity, I know that our experiences and knowledge could turn things around. In order to embrace this Indigenous future, we need to learn from our present and our past. A common refrain about Indigenous representation is "we are still here," which is a powerful reminder that in spite of everything, we haven't been erased. I hope that this book and the stories of these incredible individuals can help us to see that not only are we still here, we have always been here, and always will be. Excerpted from Notable Native People: 50 Indigenous Leaders, Dreamers, and Changemakers from Past and Present by Adrienne Keene All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
