A Kid’s Guide to Native American History by Yvonne Wakim Dennis and Arlene Hirschfelder
c.2009, Chicago Review Press
$16.95/$18.95 Canada
226 pages, includes index

Every year, at the beginning of summer, your best friend’s mom buys her a special charm for her bracelet, to celebrate another successful school year. It’s a tradition, she says, and you completely understand. Your family has lots of those.

Some people celebrate Hanukkah, while others have Christmas. Your family might have a special vacation spot you visit each year, or a celebration to mark a significant day. Or maybe your traditions are stories about Corn Husk Dolls, coyotes or salmon.

In the new book A Kid’s Guide to Native American History by Yvonne Wakim Dennis and Arlene Hirschfelder, you’ll read about customs, history-making people and the truth about the many nations that live in this nation.

Wait, you’re saying. What? America is just one nation, right?
Yes and no. There are many nations in this country. The word “nation” signifies a group of people who share a culture and are united under one government, which perfectly describes American Indians.

In each of our 50 states, you’ll find many people of the First Nations, as they sometimes prefer to be called.  Even New York City has a large population of Native people.

Don’t think for a minute, though, that you can lump all Native Americans together. Each nation has different cultural traditions. The Oneida, for instance, tell stories of a protector who lost her face because she became selfish, and Native Hawaiian tales explain why naupaka look like they’re broken.

Inupiat hunted seals, whales and walruses for food. Pueblo people craft storyteller dolls, which is a tradition created in 1964. Plains nations (Arapaho, Pawnee, Crow and Dakota) hunted bison and used almost every single part of the animal in their everyday lives.
In this book, you’ll learn how to act at a powwow (and how not to act). You’ll learn some stereotypes and truths – traditional clothing is not, for instance, a “costume.” If you’re a crafty kid, this book has directions for many everyday things you can make that are similar to traditional Native American items.

There are games to play, recipes to try, famous (and not-so-famous) people to learn about, stories to tell at your next sleepover and some cool new words that will surprise your friends.
Were your kids completely wowed by the dancing and clothing worn at the Winter Olympics’ opening ceremonies? Give them this book and take the learning a few steps further. Authors Yvonne Wakim Dennis and Arlene Hirschfelder start with the basics by pointing out what are disrespectful actions and by smashing old stereotypes.
From there, they divide the United States by region (including Alaska and Hawaii), relating history, cultural highlights and ceremonies, crafts and oral traditions from some of the major Nations along the way.

While the projects in this book are appropriate for kids of all abilities and there are games even younger siblings can enjoy, I think A Kid’s Guide to Native American History will be best enjoyed by children ages 8-12. Giving them a book like this could be the start of a beautiful new tradition.

Terri Schlichenmeyer has been reading since she was three years old and never goes anywhere without a book. She lives on a hill in Wisconsin with two dogs and 11,000 books. Readers with questions or comments may write to her in care of this publication.