Bianca raised her hand and waited patiently to pose a question. The young reader was among dozens at the Minnesota Humanities Center Monday evening who celebrated the launch of a series of biographies focused on the lives of Native Americans.
The Minnesota Humanities Center, together with Lerner Publishing Group, with support from the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community have published four books in a planned series of 12, designed for readers in grades four through eight.
With a book in one hand, the young reader accepted the offer of the microphone from Kevin Lindsey, CEO of the Minnesota Humanities Center.
“How did you make the series?” the grade schooler asked the panel.
Editors Gwen Nell Westerman and Heid E. Erdrich answered in turn. Westerman is the state’s poet laureate, and Erdrich recently ended her year as Minneapolis’s inaugural poet laureate.
Westerman explained that she and Erdrich began by making a long list of Ojibwe and Dakota people who had done amazing things in their lives “that would be a good example for readers like you.”
Westerman returned to one of the major themes of the evening. Westerman said she and Erdrich had chosen to tell the stories of individuals whose work made a difference in the lives of others.
“So that you could see that even today we have those kinds of people who help us learn to be better people,” Westerman said.
Tending to another theme in the series, Erdrich added an unexpected twist.
“When I was shaping the books, I wanted people who didn’t always behave perfectly,” Erdrich said.
“Almost everyone – well maybe not the Lieutenant Governor,” Erdrich teased. Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan was seated just two rows from the young reader.
Earlier in the evening, Flanagan addressed the gathering to underscore the need for books written by Native people. She said it is still common for Native people to be misrepresented or even stereotyped in children’s literature.
Erdrich’s humor was a nod to a larger issue—the need to tell stories of contemporary Native people who faced everyday challenges. Erdrich said it was up to authors to explain those challenges.
“Almost everyone had a moment where they had to decide how to behave. I think that was one of the really fun things about all of these stories,” Erdrich said.
The series also features historical figures. Earlier in the evening Erdrich read a passage from the late Kade Ferris’ biography of Hall of Fame baseball player Charles Albert Bender. Bender, who played professional baseball in the early 1900s, invented “the slider,” a pitch that’s since become synonymous with the game.
Author Diane Wilson wrote two books in the series. One tells the story of Ella Cara Deloria, a Yankton woman who herself wrote books on Dakota language and culture more than a century ago.
The Native American Lives Series is published by Lerner Publishing, an international publisher of children’s literature.
CEO Adam Lerner affirmed the company’s commitment to publishing works by Indigenous writers and writers from diverse communities.
“So, we feel the pressure that’s out there. We feel it every day with the defunding of libraries, the pressure on schools and teachers,” Lerner said. “Keep doing what you’re doing. It’s never been more important. We will continue to keep doing what we are doing.”
Lindsey, who had addressed the celebration at the start of the evening, said the series strengthens Native-led storytelling and publishing. He said the Minnesota Humanities Center intends to distribute the Native American Lives Series to public school classrooms statewide.
“Storytelling is so important for us all.”
The Minnesota Humanities Center will host another panel to celebrate the series. Erdrich will host a panel of artists who illustrated the series. Editor and artist Gwen Westerman, along with artists Tashia Hart, Cole Redhorse Taylor will speak at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum in September.
