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Sorell, Traci

We Are Still Here!: Native American Truths Everyone Should Know

40 pp. | Charlesbridge | April, 2021 | Trade ISBN 978-1-62354-192-7 $17.99 | Ebook ISBN 978-1-63289-973-6 $9.99
(1) K-3 Illustrated by Frané Lessac. In this informational picture book by the team behind We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga (rev. 11/18), a diverse group of students and families are headed to (the fictional) Native Nations Community School for Indigenous People's Day presentations. Each spread depicts a different student's report on a subject significant to Native people's experience since the late 1800s. Topics include assimilation, allotment, termination, language revival, and more; although these are dense and complex areas, Sorell makes them comprehensible for readers through the book's unique format. Each classmate's "presentation" includes a brief summary or definition ("Assimilation: Most U.S. leaders did not respect our ways and thought it would be better for us to adopt their beliefs and practices") with a handful of supporting details. Every presentation concludes with the line: "We are still here!" Warm gouache illustrations help support the historical context while personalizing the contemporary setting. This book provides information that is omitted from most curricula ("Most people do not know what happened to Native Nations and our citizens after treaty making stopped in 1871") in an easy-to-understand manner. Above all, the message is reinforced for all readers: Native people are still here. Appended with a glossary, a timeline, sources, and an author's note.
Reviewer: Nicholl Denice Montgomery | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2021

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