Program
ALA Unit/Subunit: ALA
Meeting Type: Program
Cost: Included with full conference registration.
Open/Closed: Open
In real life and on the page, Native teen heroes rise from sovereign Indigenous Nations. With heart, courage, and humor, they navigate the universal challenges of adolescence, embrace their tribal identities, and intrinsically refute those who might dismiss them as “extinct,” “hopeless,” “otherworldly” or at least “Other.” Indigenous representation in YA is shockingly slight, damaging Native youth and depriving those teens who should be their allies, friends. We cannot and must not settle for one narrative. After more than five centuries, it’s well past time to celebrate and share compelling, skillfully crafted and culturally grounded Native novels. Indigenous writer-educators will candidly discuss their books, their creative journeys, and the need for all teen readers and their literary champions to include Native novels in their reading lives. This panel will help raise awareness, guide librarians as ambassadors of these stories, and offer insights as to how the books fit into the larger conversation of YA literature.
Sponsored by We Need Diverse Books, Dial Books for Young Readers, Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic and Candlewick Press.
Alia Jones
Sr. Library Services Assistant
The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County
Cynthia Smith
children's-YA author
Candlewick Press
