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#Not Your Princess: Voices of Native American Women

 

(Picture from Goodreads.com)

1.       Bibliography

Charleyboy, Lisa & Leatherdale, Beth. #NOT YOUR PRINCESS: VOICES OF NATIVE AMERICAN
              WOMEN. Ontario, Canada: Annick Press Ltd. ISBN 978-1-55451-958-3

2.       Plot Summary

This book is a weaving together of poems, essays, interviews, and art work that are written by Native women. These pieces of writing and art express the experiences of being an Indigenous woman. Stories are from the past, present, and hope for the future. The real stories of abuse, stereotypes, hatred, frustrations, and passions are made available for teens to have a glimpse into the lives of these women. This beautiful collection is eye catching, emotional, and intriguing.

 

3.       Critical Analysis

 

This book is a collection of stories from indigenous women that are told in different formats like poetry, photos, short stories, songs, and interviews. Every page tells a tale from a first-hand perspective of being a Native woman in North America and Canada.

The title of the book has a #, which represents a digital presence by these Native American women. To make a platform and get recognition in today’s world, having a hashtag that can become a trending term helps spread the information.  

The book is broken into sections to break up different themes. “The ties that bind us” is the first section that has stories about how these women relate to their heritage and past. “Blankets of Shame” is a story from Maria Campbell (Metis) and she describes wearing this metaphorical blanket to hide who she is, and how over time she discovers she doesn’t need to this blanket, and needs to be proud of who she is. In #LittleSalmonWoman, Lianne Charlie (Tage Cho Hudan) puts together pictures/ images from her life in a beautiful display of color and some abstract art.  

The section “It could have been me” describe how each of these women could be a stereotype and give in to misconceptions of their people, or how they could be victims of sexual assault as is common for women and Indigenous women. “The Things We Taught Our Daughters” by Helen Knott (Dane Zaa/Cree), is a beautifully descriptive poem that describes hiding domestic and sexual abuse, making it okay for the pattern to continue and how these girls/women should speak up to end this cycle. “It Could Have Been Me” by Patty Stonefish (Lakota), is another poem with a colorful background that stand out in the book about being yourself and not letting others define you.

The “I am not your princess” section is in reference to the Pocahontas glorification. “We are Not a Costume” by Jessica Deer (Mohawk), discusses the Halloween costume that sexualizes Indigenous people and why it is offensive. This enlightens the reader on the problem with dressing up in these costumes. This section also has a lot of pictures of Native women, showing all the different ways they can look, that skin tone and hair color alone do not define a race of people.

The last section, “Pathfinders,” “Digital Smoke Signals” shows shots from social media posts that has women informing and motivating their followers to take action and reach others. “Living their Dreams” shows women who have become famous sports stars.

The whole book is enlightening and insightful into the lives of each woman who contributed. This book would be a good read for anyone interested in reading about Native women, or for someone who is Native and wants to see more that represents their background.;



4.       Awards/Reviews


Recipient of 15+ awards and nominations, including a Kirkus Prize nomination and a Youth Literature Award, American Indian Library Association

"[H]onest portrayals of strong, hopeful, and courageous indigenous youth living non-stereotypical lives. Not to be missed." --School Library Journal, *starred review

"Original and accessible, both an exuberant work of art and a uniquely valuable resource." --Kirkus Reviews, *starred review

5.       Connections

This is a great book for young Native girls. Girls can read this and feel connected to the women in these stories and hopefully see they are not alone.

For people interested in learning more about Native women and their experiences. I learned a lot from these pages.

Teachers can use poems for analysis in class to help share points of view from another culture/race.

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