The Children's Museum | Evaluating Resources

	Photo: Contact Press

	Even today, stereotypes, assumptions, misinformation, and Euro-American biases about Native American people continue. They appear in sports logos, in cartoons, in Disney movies, in commercial products and children's toys, in the media, in children's books, and in general conversation. To help you, as a teacher, spot some of the inaccuracies and distortions that books, toys, and classroom activities may present, we have prepared a list of 10 basic questions that you can ask to judge a book's merits or inadequacies.

	1. Are Native people presented as real and distinct human beings, or are they inappropriately defined by one characteristic and stereotyped?

	A.		Are they described as: "silent and creeping", "war like", "sure footed", "lazy", "picturesque and noble", "docile", "squaws", "braves", "friendly", "good Indian", "sitting Indian style"

	B.		Do the characters speak in a stilted language? Do they say "Ugh" and "How"?

	C.		Are they illustrated as: "Cute", "Dumb", "Ugly", "Savage and Violent", "Less than human" "Fantasized", "Anglicized", "Cartoon-like", "Barbaric", "Princess", "Chiefs", "Warriors"

	D.		Are they faceless?

	E.		Do they all look alike?

	F.		Are they all one color?

	G.		Are they inappropriately dressed as animals?

	2. Does the author respect Native American identity, or are non-native children dressed up as or playing Indian?

	A.		Does the author suggest making stereotypical objects in the classroom such as fringed clothing, bonnets or tomahawks? Linda Coombs, Aquinnah Wampanoag, explains her feelings about these activities: "It is not appropriate to reproduce clothing or take pieces of a person's culture and reduce it to a craft activity."

	3. Does the author understand that each nation has its unique language, dress, homes, and traditions, or does the author imply that all native cultures are alike and inappropriately mix the culture of one nation with that of another?

	A.		Do the illustrations show that all native people live in teepees, ride horses, hunt buffalo, wear feather bonnets, make pottery, paddle canoes, carve totem poles, and so forth?

	B.		Are Eastern peoples shown living in teepees, Plains people making pottery, and/or Pueblo people making totem poles?

	4. Does the author treat native spirituality, ceremonies, and sacred objects with respect, acknowledging that they are private, powerful, and property of the community; or are they openly discussed and even imitated?

	A.		Are sacred objects and ceremonies, such as the following, described and illustrated? Medicine Masks (False Face and Corn Husk) Medicine Bags Katsinas, Katsina Ceremonies Feather Bonnets Ceremonial Dances (Hopi Snake Dance, Sundance) Pipes Sandpainting Sweat Lodge Drums Dreamcatchers

	B.		Are adaptations of these inappropriately suggested as suitable for classroom activities? Such as "katsinas made of paper towel tubes", " totem poles carved from soap", "masks made of paper plates" and so forth? Linda Coombs, Aquinnah Wampanoag, explains her feelings about these activities: "It is not right to make a hobby out of someone's culture."

	5. Does the author recognize the ongoing identities of native nations, or is contemporary reality ignored?

	A.		Does the author inappropriately imply that native people have lost their communal identities and are disappearing or extinct?

	B.		Does the author inappropriately imply that native people should and will assimilate into the mainstream of the dominant culture?

	C.		Does the author inappropriately imply that there are no tensions between native peoples and those participating in the dominant culture?

	D.		Are native people portrayed as living and working in everyday situations such as kids in the neighborhood, police, politicians?

	E.		Are native people included in books with broader themes, not only books dealing with Native American topics?

	F.		Does the author perpetuate modern stereotypes such as "Wealthy casino Indian", "Drunken Indian", "Not really Indian"?

	6. Does the author acknowledge that Native people were here long before the Europeans came, or does history begin with contact?

	A.		Does the author use the inaccurate term "prehistoric" to describe this time, assuming that history needs to be written down to be valid?

	B.		Does the author ignore oral history?

	C.		Does the author inappropriately describe the native homeland as "empty" or a wilderness?

	7. Is Native American history acknowledged, valued, and fully presented, with Native people as active participants, or is history only told as a Euro-American narrative?

	A.		Columbus Is he presented as a hero? Is it implied that he "discovered" America? Is his harsh treatment of the native peoples of the Caribbean ignored? Are his motives, such as his quest for gold, land, and titles left out?

	B.		Pilgrims, Squanto, and the First Thanksgiving Does the author explain that the English Crown sold and assigned Wampanoag territory to the settlers before they even left England? Does the author inaccurately state that the Indians gave the Pilgrims the corn, rather than acknowledging that the first corn was stolen? Does the author ignore Massasoit's political motives for treaty-making and instead focus on the "friendly," "smiling," "giving away everything" Indians? Does the author acknowledge that the First Thanksgiving was a gathering of political allies, or does the author inaccurately portray it as a gathering of true friends, with mutual admiration and trust? Are Wampanoag women and children inaccurately included at the feast? Does the author acknowledge that Squanto sought his own ends and was viewed as a traitor by other Wampanoags?

	8. Does the author recognize that Native people maintained a rich sophisticated society, or does the author downgrade Native technology such as tools, utensils, houses, and boats?

	A.		Does the author inaccurately assume that native tools were "primitive" and less effective than European ones?

	B.		Is native life before the arrival of the Europeans portrayed as simple and childlike, or is it explained that native people were accomplished astronomers, architects, artists, and engineers with effective medicines, governments, and social structures?

	C.		Does the author imply that native people adopted European tools to improve their lifestyles, or is it clear that native people selected, adapted, and integrated European goods into their own culture?

	9. Does the author continue to describe Native nations today, or are they only mentioned before or during military conflicts and then omitted from textbooks?

	A.		Such as: the Wampanoag after King Philip's War, the Lakota after the Plains Indian Wars, the Cherokee after removal, etc.

	10. Is the author Native or has the author learned from, sought out, and credited the input of specific native people, or is the author working independently, as a self-appointed expert or spokesperson?

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