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I am gearing up for a Native American study that will last about 4-weeks or so (really, until we have read the books and completed any projects that are started). I am looking to get my books in order. I need to purchase the books so to keep my wallet from exploding I need to get the best of best. This is my working list. I plan to use the If You Lived... books and add 1-2 other books per region. We did cover the If You Lived with the Hopi last year so that is not included.

 

If you lived with the Iroquois

*Need a book or two here

 

If you lived with the Cherokee

1st Strawberries

Sequoyah by Rumford

Only the Names Remain OR Trail of Tears (I have both, but assume the story is the same - which would you read?)

 

If you lived with the Sioux

Buffalo Hunt

*I'd like something else here

 

If You Lived with the Pacific Northwest

*I'd like something here

 

Though there is no If You Lived book for the Inuit I'd like to cover them as well, but I have no book ideas yet.

 

Longer Read Alouds. Not sure what we'll read, but these are the books already on my shelf. I am open to suggestions if there is something better. We've already Naya Nuki & Birchbark House.

 

Om-kas-toe

Moccasin Trail

Indian Captive

Sign of the Beaver

Sing Down the Moon

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For the longer read aloud, I would definitely do Children of the Longhouse - or something else by Joseph Bruhac. I would skip Indian Captive and Sign of the Beaver definitely.

 

We did a bunch of picture books... one that we read that might fill one of your slots was Echoes of the Elders - Pacific Northwest Indians. A really neat book with cool formatting and art. Also, for the Sioux, I'm pretty sure some of the Paul Goble books could be options.

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I agree with skipping Sign of the Beaver and Indian Captive - I remember reading on one website by Native Americans that it was one of the worst offenders of racial stereotyping. I also wouldn't recommend reading Om-Kas-Toe out loud, it was difficult to keep the "flow" going because the sentences were very choppy when I read it to DD last year.

 

For Inuits, we read Tikta'Liktak, which flowed better than Om-Kas-Toe. We did the Evan-Moor Native American history pockets for additional learning.

 

We read picture books for the Pacific Northwest: Clamshell Boy and Whale in the Sky.

 

This website might be helpful in finding some books from each tribe or nation. If you can find a copy of The Indian Book (terribly un-PC name, but it's a good resource) by Childcraft Annual, it has good information about the different tribes, their traditions, stories, etc. Your library might have it. It was one of the spines I used when we were studying Native Americans.

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RE Sing Down The Moon

One of my best memories of college is the time my children's lit teacher read aloud the first chapter of SDtM. The language is beautiful--I love Scott O'Dell. It is a deep book with some really sad/difficult parts, but if your kids can handle it (don't know their ages), it would be a top recommendation of mine, just for the literary value.

 

The writer of Om-Kas-Toe has several other books. He is well-respected within the First Nations community.

 

I actually liked Sign of the Beaver a lot as a story, but YMMV and you might want to preread. I did not find it disrespectful to NA peoples, but I'm not NA, so perhaps I'm not sensitive enough to discern what is offensive.

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Here are a few picture books we like:

 

In a Circle Long Ago: A Treasury of Native Lore of North America by Nancy Van Laan

The Legend of Bluebonnet by Tomie dePaola

Her Seven Brothers by Paul Goble

The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush by Tomie dePaola

Turquoise Boy: A Navajo Legend by Terri Cohlene

The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses by Paul Goble

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