Is there a Native American counterpart to the Little House on the Prairie series?

[cinnamon]

We've recently started reading and listening to this on CD. Oh, it's so good. :) Q loves it. I love it.

Little House in the Big Woods was fine, but LHotPrairie does have the anti-Indian vibe going on. I'm not interested in censoring this (or any book for that matter, I know that it is a snapshot of one moment in time), but I would like to be able to discuss with my almost-6 year old what was going on at the time in a way that respects ALL the major players involved. What's that saying.... history is written by the ones who win or something like that. Moving to "Indian Country" was an adventure for the Ingalls family, but I know that for Native Americans, the westward movement meant bloodshed, forced emigration, and the destruction of their way of life.

Does anyone know of any resources that I can use to help me talk about this with Q?

[chantele]

The Birchbark House by Louise Erlich
http://www.carolhurst.com/titles/birchbarkhouse.html

[hamamelis]

The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich
http://www.carolhurst.com/titles/birchbarkhouse.html

I met her! She used to buy stuff at the florist I worked at in high-school. She'd been married to Michael Dorris at one time and they lived in a nearby town. He was head of the Native American Studies program at Dartmouth. He wrote the book called The Broken Cord- I believe it was about an adopted native-american son with fetal alcohol syndrome. Sadly Michael committed suicide in the late 90's.

Ugh, what a sad 6 degrees that is. :(

[cinnamon]

The Birchbark House by Louise Erlich
http://www.carolhurst.com/titles/birchbarkhouse.html

That's exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for. Thank you!!

[ADDled]

We've recently started reading and listening to this on CD. Oh, it's so good. :) Q loves it. I love it.

Little House in the Big Woods was fine, but LHotPrairie does have the anti-Indian vibe going on. I'm not interested in censoring this (or any book for that matter, I know that it is a snapshot of one moment in time), but I would like to be able to discuss with my almost-6 year old what was going on at the time in a way that respects ALL the major players involved. What's that saying.... history is written by the ones who win or something like that. Moving to "Indian Country" was an adventure for the Ingalls family, but I know that for Native Americans, the westward movement meant bloodshed, forced emigration, and the destruction of their way of life.

Does anyone know of any resources that I can use to help me talk about this with Q?
Oh, man, we're on The Long Winter and Mike was reading a piece aloud the other day, and I just cringed when someone said "I'm free, white, and 21!"

I actually stopped his reading and couldn't stop myself from commenting to the boys that it wasn't enough to simply be free and of adult age in those times, sadly. The fact that he added "white" is telling.

[indigo]

Oh, man, we're on The Long Winter and Mike was reading a piece aloud the other day, and I just cringed when someone said "I'm free, white, and 21!"

I actually stopped his reading and couldn't stop myself from commenting to the boys that it wasn't enough to simply be free and of adult age in those times, sadly. The fact that he added "white" is telling.

I heard someone in Human Relations use that phrase during employee orientation when I started working at a very, very large corporation in 1989. I was so shocked.

[ADDled]

I heard someone in Human Relations use that phrase during employee orientation when I started working at a very, very large corporation in 1989. I was so shocked.
In the small town where I grew up and where some extended family still live, I have heard it many times, and RECENTLY. :(

[lunita]

The Birchbark House by Louise Erlich
http://www.carolhurst.com/titles/birchbarkhouse.html

Quick warning about this book. It is very very sad, like it made *me* cry sad. Someone very special and close to the main character dies. I was prereading it for Amanda, and decided to set it aside until she is closer to 10 (I did the same thing with the Bridge to Terabithia, which was one of my very favorite books as a kid).

[lunita]

I really like the If you Lived.... series from Scholastic for giving an interesting peek at history for different points of view. They're nonfiction, well illustrated, and the series includes several titles about Native Americans.