♦ Students at the Native Nations Community School share presentations about the history, present, and future of Indigenous communities. The vivid artwork features a simple, bold style. The narrative starts with a general introduction of Native Nations in the United States. Each presentation contains illustrations with the student’s name, an overview of the subject, a brief list of the impact that the concept or historical moment had on Native American people, and the refrain “We Are Still Here!” The last pages show students and their families with a variety of skin tones and physical abilities studying the presentations on topics that include sovereign rights and relocation. Additional information, a time line, a glossary, sources, and an author’s note offer further context. The lyrical text and jewel-tone illustrations elegantly work together to stirringly portray the ongoing fight for Native American recognition and rights. VERDICT An essential purchase for introducing the impact laws and treaties had and continue to have on Native Nations.
—School Library Journal, starred review
♦ In this meticulously researched nonfiction picture book, Sibert honorees Sorell and Lessac team up once again to answer this question: What has happened to Native Nations and their citizens after the treaties with the U.S. government ended in 1871?
Lessac’s trademark colorful, folk-art–style illustrations show a Native American community school with a classroom of diverse students preparing for presentations at the Indigenous People’s Day assembly. Spread by spread, each child speaks, featured words and terms highlighting the journey Native Nations have taken to reclaim their land and rights. They show why Indigenous people say, “We are still here!” In the “Assimilation” presentation, Native children are dressed in militarylike uniforms, showing how U.S. leaders used schooling to destroy Native traditions. Dividing plots of tribal land for “Allottment” left much treaty land open for public sale. With “Termination” and “Relocation,” Native people were encouraged to leave their tribal lands and “act more like white people.” But Indigenous people say, “We are still here!” and the narrative arc turns to emphasize resilience. When activists speak up and organize, it strengthens tribal sovereignty. The tribes “protect and provide for future generations” by holding on to their traditional ceremonies, opening businesses to support their tribal members, and reviving their tribal languages. The illustrations, too, change their tenor, modulating from historical wrongs to emphasize contemporary strength, community, and joy.
An emphatic, triumphant declaration: “WE ARE STILL HERE!”
—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
♦ The creators of We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga (2018) here share important Native American concepts for younger readers. Using a framework of students giving presentations for an Indigenous Peoples’ Day celebration, Sorell and Lessac devote a two-page spread to each report topic: “Assimilation,” “Allotment,” “The Indian New Deal,” “Termination,” “Relocation,” “Tribal Activism,” “Self-Determination,” “Indian Child Welfare and Education,” “Economic Development,” “Language Revival,” and “Sovereign Resurgence.” For each, they define, offer examples of its use (often to the disadvantage of Indigenous peoples), and conclude with the refrain “We are still here!” “Allotment,” for example, explains how the U.S. government passed laws that assigned small sections of land to tribal citizens and sold the “leftover” land to white Americans and the railroads; “Relocation” describes the government’s encouragement of Indigenous peoples leaving tribal lands to resettle in cities, which resulted in many living in urban poverty. Lessac’s vibrant gouache illustrations include many historic scenes, including of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, the occupation of Alcatraz Island, arguments before the Supreme Court to challenge policies that prohibited traditional religious practices, and efforts to strengthen tribal languages. Appended with further information, a time line, a glossary, and sources, this makes a perfect introduction for those too young for Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, Debbie Reese, and Jean Mendoza’s An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People (2019).
—Booklist, starred review
♦ In this informational picture book by the team behind We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga, a diverse group of students and families are headed to (the fictional) Native Nations Community School for Indigenous People’s Day presentations. Each spread depicts a different student’s report on a subject significant to Native people’s experience since the late 1800s. Topics include assimilation, allotment, termination, language revival, and more; although these are dense and complex areas, Sorell makes them comprehensible for readers through the book’s unique format. Each classmate’s “presentation” includes a brief summary or definition (“Assimilation: Most U.S. leaders did not resoect our ways and thought it would be better for us to adopt their beliefs and practices”) with a handful of supporting details. Every presentation concludes iwth the line: “We are still here!” Warm gouache illustrtions help support the historical context while personalizing the contemporary setting. This book provies information that is omitted from most curricula (“most people do not know what happened to Native Nations and our citizens after treaty making stopped in 1871”) in an easy-to-understand manner. Above all, the message is reinforced for all readers: Native people are still here.
—The Horn Book, starred review
