Month: November 2023

Sugar Falls by David A. Robertson, illustrations by Scott B. Henderson, and colours by Donovan Yaciuk

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Elder Betty Ross from Cross Lake First Nation has a story to tell. It may have taken her decades to tell her truth, but with the help of David A. Robertson, she has introduced the world to her resiliency and abuse at Canadian residential schools in the graphic novel, Sugar Falls: A Residential School Story. The hidden history of the Canadian Residential School System is shocking and needs to be talked about more than it has been in the past.

Betsy Ross was abandoned by her family at a young age. Betsy was eventually rescued and adopted by a loving family. Her world changed a few years later when, at the age of 8, she was taken away to a residential school against both her and her adopted family’s wishes. Her father made her promise to remember the strength of her relationships in order to survive. Those relationships would help light up any dark time she ran up against in the future.

When Betsy arrives at the school, she has no idea what to expect. She undergoes unspeakable abuses and indignities while at the school. She and other students are constantly berated and belittled by the priests and nuns. Her father’s words echo in her brain over and over filling her with hope, strength, determination, and resiliency she needs to survive this ordeal.

Betsy ended up changing her name to Betty in honor and remembrance of her friend, Helen Betty Osborne. Elder Betty Ross wrote this book with the help of David A. Robertson as a way to tell the truth about the residential schools.

 

Native American Heritage Month 2023

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November is National Native American Heritage Month. Celebrate the rich cultural traditions, histories, and contributions of Indigenous peoples in North America. Complete activities and read books written by Indigenous authors. Log your reading and activities throughout the month to earn badges. This reading challenge is live on Beanstack from November 1st to December 3, 2023. Curious what you need to do? Sign up on Beanstack today either online or on the app!

This reading challenge has four different prize bundles for different age groups: a children’s picture book bundle, a middle grade chapter book bundle, a teen book bundle, and a gift card to Birchbark Books for adults.

Looking for some ideas of what to read? Check out the following websites and book recommendations put together by our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion team.

Native American Heritage

Native American Rights Fund: ‘Our Mission: The Native American Rights Fund holds governments accountable. We fight to protect Native American rights, resources, and lifeways through litigation, legal advocacy, and legal expertise.’ – from Native American Rights Fund website

Native Tribes Have Lost 99% of Their Land in the United States (video 4:26) – ‘New data set quantifies Indigenous land dispossession and forced migration’ – from video description

American Indian Library Association: ‘AILA was founded in 1979 in conjunction with the White House Pre-Conference on Indian Library and Information Services on or near Reservations. At the time, there was increasing awareness that library services for Native Americans were inadequate. Individuals as well as the government began to organize to remedy the situation.’ – from American Indian Library Association website

Teaching and Learning about Native Americans : ‘Check out the answers to some of the questions that educators frequently ask about Native Americans.’ – from the National Museum of the American Indian

The Nation’s First Concentration Camp: A piece written by Primary Selections from Special Collections which is put together by the Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Center housed in the Main Street location of the Davenport Public Library.

Native American Tribes & the Indian History in Davenport, IA

 

Juvenile Books

Contenders: Two Native Baseball Players, One World Series by Traci Sorell

Finding My Dance by Ria Thundercloud

Indigenous People’s Day by Katrina Phillips

Living Ghosts & Mischievous Monsters: Chilling American Indian Stories by Dan Jones

Native Americans in History: a History Book for Kids by Jimmy Beason

Fact and Fiction of American Colonization by Tammy Gagne

We are Still Here!: Native American Truths Everyone Should Know by Traci Sorell

 

Young Adult

The Sea-Ringed World: Sacred Stories of the Americas by Maria Garcia Esperon

Notable Native People: 50 Indigenous Leaders, Dreamers, and Changemakers from Past and Present by Adrienne Keene

Apple: Skin to the Core: a Memoir in Words and Pictures by Eric L. Gansworth

An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People by Jean Mendoza

Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team by Steve Sheinkin

Trickster: Native American Tales: a Graphic Collection

 

Adult

A Brutal Reckoning: Andrew Jackson, the Creek Indians, and the Epic War for the American South by Peter Cozzens

The Seven Circles: Indigenous Teachings for Living Well by Chelsey Luger

We are the Middle of Forever: Indigenous Voices from Turtle Island on the Changing Earth

We Refuse to Forget: a True Story of Black Creeks, American Identity, and Power by Caleb Gale

An Afro-Indigenous History of the United States by Kyle Mays

Unworthy Republic: the Dispossession of Native Americans and the Road to India Territory by Claudio Saunt

Online Reading Challenge – November

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Welcome Readers!

This month the Online Reading Challenge travels to Africa. Our Main title for November is Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. Here’s a quick summary from the publisher.

Ghana, eighteenth century: two half sisters are born into different villages, each unaware of the other. One will marry an Englishman and lead a life of comfort in the palatial rooms of the Cape Coast Castle. The other will be captured in a raid on her village, imprisoned in the very same castle, and sold into slavery.

One of Oprah’s Best Books of the Year, Homegoing follows the parallel paths of these sisters and their descendants through eight generations: from the Gold Coast to the plantations of Mississippi, from the American Civil War to Jazz Age Harlem. Yaa Gyasi’s extraordinary novel illuminates slavery’s troubled legacy both for those who were taken and those who stayed—and shows how the memory of captivity has been inscribed on the soul of our nation.

This title is also available in large print, CD audiobook, and as a Libby eBook.

Looking for some other materials set in Africa? Try any of the following. As always, check each of our locations for displays with lots more titles to choose from!

Fiction Picks

Nonfiction Picks