Growing Up Native in America
Starred review from January 1, 2025
Gr 9 Up-Racial/social justice organization IllumiNative combats the "profound erasure" of Native peoples: "We are the story of America. And yet, our story is so often untold," writes founding codirector Crystal Echo Hawk (Pawnee) in her introduction to a polyphonic, reclamatory collection of essays and poems by Native voices. Four versatile actors-three clearly identifying as Native-narrate "shining examples of our resilience and achievements"; a who-read-whom would have been appreciated. Parenteau (M�tis) opens as Hawk's cipher; she also empowers I�upiaq author/illustrator Nasu raq Rainey Hopson to "pretty much do anything." Taylor-Corbett (Blackfeet) assumes Onondaga writer/artist Eric Gansworth's (em)bracing encounter at 14 with a "flint-tongued, black-coffee-drinking, unfiltered-smoking Auntie." Minter turns Afro-Indigenous writer/creator Kara Roselle Smith's verses lyrical-and unmistakably steely. Hoyos (Afro-Indigenous Latine) enlivens Laguna Pueblo artist Som�h Toya Haaland's code-switching experiences of "Growing Up Pueblo (and White) in America." While each contribution deserves attentive witnessing, particular standouts include Tlingit and Dena'ina playwright/TV writer Vera Starbard's "Primitive," read by Parenteau; and Ihanktonwan Dakota Philip J. Deloria's "The Discovery of Irony," and "future Yurok elder" Dash Turner's "Timeless Wisdom: Genius Tips for Enhanced Native Living," both narrated by Taylor-Corbett. VERDICT A must-have in all formats for all collections.
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