Native American (American Indian) GoodReads Members discussion

Anyone who is Native American or interested in Natives is welcome in this room.

We can network, say Hi, discuss books about and by Native Americans, whatever you like.

Welcome!!

Hi I am new member

Hi, I'm new to this group.
I am part native american (1/16th Wampanoag).

My dad was born in Plymouth, Mass. and the family traveled from there and ended up in Hartford CT in 1930s because it had many job opportunities in manufacturing and publishing.

My grandmother would occasionally share a story about her past (which were not always good stories because she was a reformed alcoholic). After our visit and just before we left, she would grab my arm and whisper in my ear "be proud of yourself because Indian blood runs through your veins."

Hii Carol I am not native american I am not even american I m a literature student I study native american literature

Hi everybody,

I'm a friend of Carol's. I have compassion for underdogs if they are intelligent and non-violent.

Osiyo, I am Cherokee (Tsalagi), of the northern Wolf clan. There doesn't seem to be much recent activity on this group, but I do hope it picks up soon, as I have only now discovered it and would like to get to know all of you.

Katrina wrote: "Osiyo, I am Cherokee (Tsalagi), of the northern Wolf clan. There doesn't seem to be much recent activity on this group, but I do hope it picks up soon, as I have only now discovered it and would l..."

Hi Katrina. I am Tsalagi also. Welcome to the group :)

PaNdORa (gökçe) wrote: "Hii Carol I am not native american I am not even american..."

Same here :)
The only thing that can be said in my defense is my years-long obsessional with Haudenosaunee people history.
The Pre-Columbian history of these regions is amazing, breathtaking, unprecedented, as much as I can judge.

Glad to join this group :)

Wado, Eden! I joined this group because of the great list of books on here. Authentically Native American literature is hard to find. I hope to read at least some of them!

Hello, I'm working up a mystery series where the female protagonist is half Native American and would love to have a couple people to run questions by as to their feelings about their culture and get a good insight into how this character would feel about different things.

If you're interested please email me at patyjag@gmail.com

I was a member of the United Methodist Church and in attendance at a district council meeting with another member of our church. The Superintendent began reading the offices and those assigned to each office. Delegate to Native Americans was being discussed and I asked my associate, who from our church filled that billet....he said "it's you." I found out only then that my mother's great-grandmother was pure Cherokee...mgc

Paty wrote: "Hello, I'm working up a mystery series where the female protagonist is half Native American and would love to have a couple people to run questions by as to their feelings about their culture and g..."

Umm... to say 'half Native-American" it is like to say 'half European' or 'half Asian'.
You would have to be more specific than that :-/
What specific culture/nation you were referring to?

Zoe wrote: "Paty wrote: "Hello, I'm working up a mystery series where the female protagonist is half Native American and would love to have a couple people to run questions by as to their feelings about their ..."

I want to have her half Nez Perce if I can find someone who will visit with me.

I was being general because I've learned through research for other books some tribes hold their traditions sacred and don't like to talk about them.

Thank you for asking.

Paty

Greetings all, I'm Red Haircrow, and I'm Chiricahua Apache and Cherokee, and I've got cousins all over that's for sure. Specifically on Indian Ed, etc. I am active in Native American affairs, and formerly held voted office before related to Indian Education (they recently changed it to Native American Education in the local school system), for several years. We were fortunate in our area to have Apache, Wampagnoag, Lakota, Ojibwe and Tohono O'odham, and others, so we could share cultures with them also, though having similarities already.

I'm an avid reader, but also a writer, and I blog about Native American topics, life, history and Indian life in general, among other things. I've done some consultations for writing projects, it just depends on what someone is researching.

Red wrote: "Greetings all, I'm Red Haircrow, and I'm Chiricahua Apache and Cherokee, and I've got cousins all over that's for sure. Specifically on Indian Ed, etc. I am active in Native American affairs, and f..."

Hi Red. Welcome to the group.

Thanks Eden..

Hi, my name is Reiden. I’m part Laguna Pueblo, and a little Comanche. Most of my mom’s side of the family lives on the Laguna reservation in NM. I very much enjoy reading, and especially love reading about Native related topics. I'm excited to have a place to connect with others online, as I know virtually no other Natives where I'm currently living.

Welcome to the group Reiden.

I also very much enjoy reading. What are some of your favorite books?

Eden wrote: "Welcome to the group Reiden.
I also very much enjoy reading. What are some of your favorite books?"

Thanks for the welcome... I'm a big Sherman Alexie fan. So far I haven't read anything by him that I didn't like. Recently I read (and really enjoyed) Empire of the Summer Moon. This year my goal is to start reading books by Leslie Marmon Silko - I've heard she's good.
I'm open to any suggestions!! :)

Reiden wrote: "Eden wrote: "Welcome to the group Reiden.
I also very much enjoy reading. What are some of your favorite books?"

Thanks for the welcome... I'm a big Sherman Alexie fan. So far I haven't read anyth..."

I saw Empire of the Summer Moon at a bookstore one time and was thinking about getting it, but didn't have the money at the time. I'll have to get it and read it at some point.

I've also heard from people that Leslie Marmon Silko is good. I have a good of hers that I bought from a library book sale that I'm going to try and read this year.

One of my favorite authors that is Native is Joseph Bruchac. I really love his books. Cynthia Leitich Smith is an author I read most recently and I enjoyed the book I read so I'll be reading some more of her books. So if you're looking for Native authors and you like YA/childrens books, I'd recommend Bruchac and Smith.

Hi A.K., welcome to the group :)

A.K. wrote: "Hello Molly and everyone!

I was shown the way to this interesting group by Redhaircrow. If you see this Red, thank you! I write about NAs and I am one of the many orphaned mutts that live in the S..."

Greetings, A.K., nice to read your background information. I appreciate your dropping by my author chat the other day.

Best wishes, Red

Yes, she's quite a nice lady. Thanks for the birthday wishes. Some people get depressed about turning 40, but I'm just glad to still be around :-)

hello!

Hi Robin and welcome :)

Hello Everyone,

I am an avid reader. I have read many by Sherman Alexi and Joesph Bruchac. I am going to get Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko. Does anyone know of others that are great reads? Thanks :)

hi my name is Paulette and I found this group searching for Native American authors. my great grandfather was Mimbres Apache. I have been tracing my ancestors trying to prove my NA roots for my father. we were doing it together but he passed this last January so I am continuing on in his honor.

Hi Paulette and welcome to the group. Sorry to hear of your father's passing. But I hope you can find proof of your Native ancestry, I know how tough it can be to do that.

Mimbres Apache? Did he pass down any native folklore to you?

Unfortunately he did not. there was very few stories passed down to him. Only that his grandfather was full blooded Apache and was quite a character. My aunt used to say that he (their grandfather) had been taken to Florida along with Geronimo but my father didn't think that was true.

Hi everyone.

My name is Robert and I am Native American, Tlingit, from the Northwest. I just wrote a book about the Tlingit Indians in Southeast Alaska. It is called Dry Bay, The House of the Frog. You can find the book at Amazon.com on Kindle. The following is the book description:

Dry Bay is Eden to the Tlingit Indians of the Northwest. It is the beginning of man’s existence because this is where Raven started his creation.

Clayton comes from a place where all life begins. He is proud of this place as well as his language, potlatches, and dances. He was able to handle the assimilation of the Western culture when it happened to him, but his grandson Jonathon struggles with it. Just about the time he started to struggle with his grandson, Raven appears to him periodically to help him with questions about how to deal with these struggles. He already has the answers deep inside, but like a lot of us, we need help pulling them to the surface.

In the late 1930’s Alaska Natives faced prejudices from white people. They were forced to give up their native tongue and were not allowed to perform potlatch ceremonies. Clayton knew this onslaught was going to happen, but he hoped Jonathon, through his teachings, would eventually overcome these attacks.

Will Jonathon survive these new teachings, or will he succumb to them and abandon his language and culture?

http://www.amazon.com/Dry-Bay-House-F...

Gunalchéesh,(Lingit-Thank you)

Hi. My name is Karen Levine. Years ago, when considering the perfect setting for the novel I seemed to need to write, I was drawn to pre-Columbian Native New England. I have no good explanation except for a powerful feeling. This led me on a tremendous and enlightening learning experience about Native American then and now. The thesis for my master's in creative writing was "Yours, Mine and Ours: Native American Perspectives in Children's Literature." Not so shocking was the treatment of Native Americans in past literature but what WAS shocking was that I found blatant bias and stereotypes in modern fiction published by big houses like Scholastic. It's truly amazing how colonial attitudes have survived centuries--not only as far as Native Americans are concerned, but certainly other groups as well. I blame the education system in large part. Any way, it was a path I'm happy I took. And I'm happy I found this group too.

Welcome, Karen. There hasn't been much happening in this group. I just barely joined myself.

Hello Karen and Robert. Welcome to the group :)

Hi Eden and Robert, Thanks for the welcome!

Hi, Molly, I have an idea for a discussion. How about best young adult books for NON-natives? I'm intersted to know what books members would recommend to help enlighten both Native and non-Native children, and maybe which books are best to avoid.

My own first recommendation would be The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich.

A book to avoid would be My Heart is on the Ground by Ann Rinaldi, part of Scholastic's Dear America Series (which is a fake journal about a Native girl who is kidnapped from her family and the happy ending is that she learns to assimilate!)

I think the best place to start a dialogue of tolerance and understanding is with young people.

Karen wrote: "Hi, Molly, I have an idea for a discussion. How about best young adult books for NON-natives? I'm intersted to know what books members would recommend to help enlighten both Native and non-Native c..."


Have you read any books by Joseph Bruchac? He writes great books for young adults and children.

Absoulutely. My favorite is Winter People. I also really admire Joseph Bruchac as a person. When I was writing my thesis on Native Americans in Children's literature he agreed to an email interview and had some amazing and wise things to say. I wish I could meet him.

Oops. I see there is already a discussion going about children's books. I'll chime in there!

That is so great you got to interview him, even if it was only through email. I admire him too and how he reclaimed his heritage. Like him, I am of a mixed heritage, Cherokee and Welsh and I am also trying to reclaim my Cherokee heritage. I wish I could meet him too.

Have you read his biography?

I've checked his website but he didn't haven't any public appearances in 2012 at all. I didn't know about his biography. I'm going to check it out right now.

I've found that coming from mixed cultures can be confusing and even awkward at times, especially growing up. But the great thing about it is that as you explore where you came from, you get to learn a lot about who you are. That was my experience, anyway.

Okay, taking a deep breath and letting you know about my novel, Sister Raven. It's a coming-of-age YA/Adult fantasy set in pre-Colombian Native New England. There's a giveaway until Dec 20th.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16...

His biography is really good. I'd recommend it.

And coming from a mixed heritage can be confusing. I know when I was a teenager I went through an identity crisis. I've always known I was Cherokee, but I look white and really struggled with that, especially since I've had some bad experiences because my skin is white.

But it's been great reconnecting to my heritage. You really do learn a lot about who you are.

Your novel sounds good. I'll enter the giveaway.

Hi Murielle and Welcome to the group.

My novel, Sister Raven, will be available for free on Kindle from Dec 29 to Dec 30. I'm also in the process of making it into an audio book. What an interesting experience!

Hi Murielle. Congratulations on your new book. Is it your first?

Wanted everyone to know (especially Eden, who did not win a copy in the giveaway!) that SISTER RAVEN will be FREE on Kindle starting tomorrow, Dec 29th, through the 31st.

Happy New Year!

Oops, sorry about the repeat message.

OK, last time I'll bug you with this. Just wanted to make the free kindle link available.

http://www.amazon.com/Sister-Raven-eb...

Best,
Karen

Murielle wrote: "Hi,
This seems like an interesting group. I'm metis from mixed Mi'Maq ancestry on both sides of the family. My mother remembered the songs and stories told by her her grandfather and passed them on..."

Hi Murielle,
I'm reading CULLOO and it's hard to put down! You're a really wonderful writer.
Karen

Hey there everyone :) My name is Deanna...I'm 1/2 Navajo, 1/4 Santo Domingo and 1/4 Acoma. I have only recently taken an interest in the Navajo culture because I was not immersed in it, but rather raised as a pueblo Indian. I am excited to learn and I'm sure it will change who I am for the better. :)