NAMH 2023: For "younger" readers and viewers

Last week's "Hodgepodge" was for works that didn't necessarily seem to go with anything else, but there was another category taking shape. I reserved those items for this week.

The tricky part is that "younger" is a fairly broad category (and there can be a fair amount of overlap even with those breakdowns), and it wasn't only books this time.

Pre-school:

Spirit Rangers (animated series, Netflix)

The Skycedar siblings (Chumash and Cowlitz) live in a national park with their park ranger mother and scientist father. They serve as junior rangers, but also as Spirit Rangers, where they can go to the Spirit Park and assist the spirit beings there. 

It's CGI, which I know not everyone loves, but the vivid colors really make the park beautiful, especially with the hot springs and other water.

There are simple lessons about things like courage and sportsmanship, with some extra fun for adults in hearing familiar voices, like Wes Studi as Sun and Tantoo Cardinal as Moon.

Remember by Joy Harjo, illustrated by Michaela Goode 

The artwork is really gorgeous here, with the important thing to remember being the connection to other life, and all life.

My Powerful Hair by Carole Lindstrom, illustrated by Steph Littlebird

This goes over the significance and history of hair really well, so covering times when hair was taken in residential school, times when hair was judged, but also when cutting hair can be appropriate and helpful. It provides good context that children can understand.

Elementary school:

Molly of Denali (animated series, PBS Kids) 

With a more traditional animation style, this is also the first nationally distributed children's show in the US to feature an Alaskan native.

One thing I appreciate is that the show features a much larger human network, with neighbors, friends, and extended family, but it is also clearly meant for older children, with more sophisticated concepts. It also teaches more about Alaska, with viewers submitting questions that Molly answers with filmed segments.

The Rez Detectives by Steven Paul Judd and Tvli Jacob, drawn by M.K. Perker

The humor in this comic book is a little juvenile, mostly being about how clueless the narrator is (setting up as a detective, no less), plus one of the villains. Then there are some surprisingly sophisticated site gags, and issues that one might not think of, like the residents of the reservation wanting ice cream on a hot day but being mostly lactose intolerant.

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

This covers a wide range of people in different areas and with different origins and time periods. There are historical segments in between that can provide context for the lives featured as well. The individual stories can be inspiring, and give ideas for reports.

Teens and older:

Surviving the City # 1 by Tasha Spillett, illustrated by Natasha Donovan and Donovan Yaciuk

Set in Winnipeg, this graphic novel treats the issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, imaginatively showing the influences and "ghosts", and also showing how easy it would be for someone to fall between the cracks. Nothing too terrible happens in this one, but the readers are very aware of the potential.

Frybread Face and Me

This movie -- currently available on Netflix -- focuses on teenagers, but as a coming of age story may mean more to adults who remember their own struggles.

Benny is sent to live with his Navajo grandmother while his parents split up, and has to deal with that, the displacement, and the judgment he faces from others as he becomes his own person.

"Frybread Face" is his cousin, Dawn, part of a tradition of teasing by aunts and uncles, mostly good-natured but not helpful, especially with the real issues the they face with families and life in general. Often there are not choices, but sometimes you can assert yourself, and sometimes you need to.

This is perhaps a minor detail, but the grandmother speaks only Navajo. When she is speaking to Benny, who cannot understand her, there are no subtitles, but when she is talking to Dawn, who does speak it, there are subtitles. It balances the empathy for not understanding with the need to know what is going on.

Anything I read or watch related to Native American Heritage going forward will not be written about until November 2024, probably.

I am still going to try writing some more about identity though.