• When selecting texts about Native Americans, please keep in mind that each Nation has a unique culture and that stories are used to express the culture's values and traditions.
• As always, literature should be selected to support a clear purpose. Is the text intended to support a social studies curriculum on a specific Nation? Then select texts that come from that Nation's traditions. Is the text intended to be part of a genre study of traditional literature? Then help students clearly understand how this particular Nation told stories in this genre.
• Look for an author's note that explains the origin of the story.
• Pictures: Illustrations should help students learn about cultural differences among Nations.
  • Visually appealing
  • Reflect the culture's style/aesthetic (should differentiate between Nations)
  • Representation of culture helps students build background schema and visualize text
  • Pictures augment and support text. (Good images can mask questionable text)
  • Clear setting (should be geographically specific)
• Language
  • Culturally respectful language (no papoose, squaw, etc.)
  • Appropriate for grade level and/or student reading levels
• Tribally relevant
  • Social relationships in the story should reflect tribal values such as "significance of community, extended family structures, harmony between material and non-material aspects of life, and the respect for the relationship among all aspects of mother earth."
  • Should depict diverse experiences within a culture as appropriate (women, children, elders, and men should be shown as active and contributing members of the community)

Resources

• Download the Native American Youth Services Literature Award Review Criteria
• Oyate at www.oyate.org