Perpetuation of Native American Stereotypes in Childrens Literature Es

prolongation of inbred American Stereotypes in Childrens LiteratureCaution should be use when selecting books including NativeAmericans, due to the lasting images that books and picturesprovide to children. This paper allow for insure the portrayal ofNative Americans in childrens literature. I ordain discuss peculiar(prenominal) stereotypes that atomic number 18 present and should be avoided, aswell as imperative examples. I will also highlight evaluativecriteria that will be useful in selecting appropriate materialsfor children and provide examples of good and bad books.Children will read numerous books as they grow up. They takefrom these books visual images and these images are theirperceptions, which can last a lifetime. There are too many booksfeaturing painted, whooping Indians wearing feathers andattacking forts, or maliciously scalping peaceful settlers.There are also too many books in which white benevolence is the still thing that saves the day for the incompe tent childlikeIndian. Teachers, librarians, parents, baby-sitters, relatives,and anyone else who buys a child a book must be aware of theperceptions each book will provide a child. In her book ThroughIndian eye The Native Experience for Children, Doris Sealestates, It is no longer acceptable for children both Native andnon-Native to be hurt racist ideologies which justify andperpetuate oppression.There are many books in childrens libraries today thatperpetuate the stereotypical Native American. By definition, astereotype is a fixed image, idea, trait, or convention, lackingoriginality or individuality, most often negative, which robsindividuals and their cultures of human qualities and promotes noreal understanding of well-disposed rea... ...ay as to be needlessly offensive, insensitive, or inappropriate?10. Does the material nurse much of value but require additionalinformation to instal it more relevant or useful?(Library Services Institute for manganese Indians, 1970, pp. iv-v)Works CitedBerkhoffer, Robert F. The White Mans Indian. Alfred A. KnopfPublishers, wise York 1978.Dowd, Frances Smardo. Evaluating Childrens Portraying NativeAmerican and Asian Cultures. Childhood Education (68Summer 92), pp. 219-224.Library Services Institutefor Minnesota Indians. Guidelines forEvaluating multicultural Literature 1970, pp. iv-v.Norton, Donna. Through the Eyes of a Child. Prentice HallInc., Englewood Cliffes, New island of Jersey 1995.Seale, Doris. Through Indian Eyes The Native Experience inBooks for Children. New Society Publisher, Philadelphia, PA1992.