Ella Cara Deloria: Dakota Language Protector

by Diane Wilson, Tashia Hart (illustrator)

Ella Cara Deloria loved to listen to her family tell stories in the Dakota language. She recorded many American Indian peoples' stories and languages and shared them with everyone. She helped protect her people's language for future generations. She also wrote many stories of her own. Her story is a Minnesota Native American life.

The Minnesota Native American Lives Series includes biographies of Charles Albert Bender, Ella Cara Deloria, and Peggy Flanagan. Read all three to learn about Minnesota Native American lives!

Genres: Biography, Middle Grade, Nonfiction, History, Native American, Juvenile, Indigenous

56 pages, Paperback

Published June 14, 2021

About the author

Diane Wilson is a Dakota writer who uses personal experience to
illustrate broader social and historical context. Her new novel, The
Seed Keeper, will be published by Milkweed Editions in March, 2021.
Wilson’s memoir, Spirit Car: Journey to a Dakota Past, won a 2006
Minnesota Book Award and was selected for the 2012 One Min-
neapolis One Read program. Her nonfiction book, Beloved Child: A
Dakota Way of Life, was awarded the 2012 Barbara Sudler Award
from History Colorado. Her work has been featured in many pub-
lications, including the anthology A Good Time for the Truth. She has
served as a Mentor for the Loft Emerging Artist program as well as
Intermedia’s Beyond the Pale. Awards include the Minnesota State
Arts Board, a 2013 Bush Foundation Fellowship, a 2018 AARP/
Pollen 50 Over 50 Leadership Award, and the Jerome Foundation.
She is a descendent of the Mdewakanton Oyate and enrolled on
the Rosebud Reservation. Wilson currently serves as the Executive
Director for the Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance.

Source: https://www.dianewilsonwords.com/about

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend this entire series! Absolutely outstanding middle grade biographies! Perfect for elementary and middle school readers! More Information about the series here: https://mnhum.org/stories-and-culture...

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little weird to think that I've never heard of Ella Cara Deloria when she went to school with famous people that we HAVE heard of.

She did important work saving language and stories not only with the Dakota people, but in the Carolinas.

[Angelina Patino · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book in the social justice website located in the module. This book is a great example of traditional literature because it highlights the real-life work of Ella Cara Deloria, a Dakota woman who helped preserve the Dakota language and culture. Traditional literature often includes stories passed down through generations, and this biography shows how Ella worked to record and protect those very stories, songs, and beliefs of her people. I appreciated how the book shared Ella's dedication to her heritage and how hard she worked to make sure the language and traditions of the Dakota people weren’t forgotten. It's not a fairy tale or folktale, but it fits in the category of traditional literature because it connects to oral history and Native cultural storytelling. This would be a great book to include in a classroom when learning about Indigenous cultures, languages, or the importance of preserving traditions. A great book to use with middle school students.

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty interesting.

It gives not only a good introduction to Deloria's work, but also of her connections in family and anthropology, which are kind of amazing.

It also gives a sad reminder of how undervaluing women and the marginalized hurts them and the greater information available. Her work on the Lumbee would be invaluable, but was lost due to her not having enough for storage fees, which might not have mattered so much if she had not generally needed to live in her car.

I wish I could know that we were doing better now.

[LS Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm so grateful to have found this little treasure. This is a remarkable woman and I'm happy to have learned about her. The book provides the information in an easily accessible format.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a children's book so not really written for adults, but it gives you insight into who Ella was. What a great woman to make sure Dakota language and life wasn't forgotten.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Researchers living out of their cars is too real.

[Jennybeast · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really appreciate these short biographies of important Indigenous leaders. They pack a lot into a small package, and this one in particular is great at presenting Ella Cara Deloria through the lens of her Dakota background. The storytelling emphasizes the cultural importance of relationships and that theme is echoed throughout. It also plainly illustrates the additional strain that poverty puts on any kind of preservation work -- the moment when Deloria's research, and thus an entire language, was lost due to a late storage fee is just heartbreaking. And it vividly illustrates the critical importance of having representatives from a culture advocate for it against the mainstream -- while I'm sure the Dakota way of life means many things to the individuals who are part of it, an outsider will never have the insight to represent it the way someone who grew up within it can.

[Paper Clippers]

2022 American Indian Youth Literature Awards honor book.These awards were established to identify and honor the very best writing and illustrations by and about American Indians and Alaska Natives. Selected titles present American Indians in the

fullness of their humanity in the present and past contexts

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this story about Ella Cara Deloria and I learned SO MUCH!! My collection of books by and about Native Americans is growing. Can't wait to share with students.