American Indians and Katrina

Additional info regarding American Indians and Katrina can be located at the American Indian Radio On Satellite page: http://www.airos.org/katrina.html

At the panel this afternoon, Lisa opened by bringing up the mascot issue here at UIUC. There was some discussion "what to do" about it... Many people in the audience have been actively working on the issue for over ten years, yet it remains in place. I view Chief Illiniwek as only one piece of a much larger picture in which Native imagery is presented in a romantic or alteratively, savage way. We learn this as children, when we go to Cowboys and Indians birthday parties, or Y-Indian programs, or Boy Scouts. In school, we see it all the time in the books our teachers assign and read to us. In an effort to interrupt that cycle in children's books, I've got a blog called American Indians in Children's Literature. If you are interested in revisiting old favorites like Little House on the Prairie, or newer bestsellers like Brother Eagle Sister Sky, spend some time on my blog. There's a lot to learn about issues of representation in children's books. Those warm and fuzzy books are loaded. Here's the address: http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/ It is being read by librarians and teachers across the country---Native and not---and is linked to by websites of the professional teacher organizations (e.g. National Council of Social Studies).