Before we were married Steve and I took a trip to Phoenix, Arizona. We stayed at a wonderful resort, Wild Horse Pass, that at the time was run by a Native American tribe. We went in February, and they had fire pits with storytelling around the fire some nights. As you can imagine I loved it! We also visited the Heard Museum and I believe we went to the Phoenix Indian School. It was Steve's first time hearing about the Indian Boarding Schools and the horrible piece of history that white men did to our Tribal Nation residents. I was surprised he hadn't heard of it, but I guess my love of Native American cultures is the reason I knew. Beginning in the 1800s and into the 1900s the United States and Canadian governments were horrible to Native Americans. The children were forced into boarding or residential schools where they tried to get the tribal culture out of them. Or the children were adopted by white families and basically kidnapped from their homes for this to happen. Again, the reason was to colonialize the children and get the native out of them. Today I get to share a wonderful new picture book that shares Na'kusset's story of childhood and dealing with the loss of culture and family. The book is I Am My Name by Na'kusset and Judith Henderson and illustrated by Onedove. It is recommended for ages 6 to 9.
About the Book:
I have come from somewhere else, where
I am Cree and I have a big sister
and another name.
One night, a very young girl was removed from her home during Canada’s Sixties Scoop, which tore children from their Indigenous communities. She woke in a new home, with a new family and a new name—her former life fading to a ghost of a memory. The only place she ever felt like she fit in was with her grandmother—her Bubbe—who listened to her and made her chicken soup and wrapped her in her loving arms. Until one day…the girl discovered the truth. And her beloved Bubbe helped her on her journey to claim her identity, her voice—and her name.
Together, Na'kuset and Judith Henderson tell the powerful story of the Indigenous experience for a child during the Sixities Scoop. Cree illustrator Onedove shared how inspired they are by Na'kuset's story and activism, and that is made evident in the tender and vivid illustrations that bring Na'kuset's story to life.
From Me:
She was just three years old and asleep with her six-year-old sister. They were home alone that night and the flashlight people came. They knocked on the door and when her sister answered they forced themselves in and took the girls. She woke up in a strange room--pink and white in a strange house. She called out for her sister and looked for her, but she was not there. A white couple told her they were her parents, and their children were her siblings. They gave her a new name. The one person there that day that felt welcoming was her new grandmother who said she was her Bubbie. But Bubbie didn't live in this new house and was not always close. This young girl did not feel like she belonged. She didn't feel like she fit in. She considered running away. She did like the synagogue and hanging out with her best friend and loved being with her Bubbie. If she ran away she couldn't do those things. One day her best friend's mom called her a little Cree girl. She knew somewhere deep down that this was true. When she told her parents that she was a Cree girl they told her she was not. Eventually she left the house and lived near Bubbie. She told Bubbie she had an older sister and Bubbie helped her find her. The sisters were reunited, and the young girl asked an elder to honor her with a spirit name and he named her Na'kuset which means the sun.
Na'kuset does not share her other names with the reader. She shares the feeling of not belonging in the white family's home. The only ones who made her feel like she belonged was her Bubbie and her best friend. Can you imagine being three and torn away from everything you have ever known? And this was happening not because of some horrible tragedy but because the white parents picked her photograph out of a book and wanted to adopt her. Can you imagine coming home to find your daughters missing and having no way to find them? The heartache this practice must have caused for all involved. Yet the white people thought they were helping them and giving these kids a better life.
The story is powerful. It is autobiographical, so it is truly a piece of history. It is a piece of history many do not know, because it is not taught. It is history that was harmful, and I hope we never repeat. The story shares how important certain relationships were to Na'kuset. Her Bubbie made her feel welcome and put her at ease. They explored and laughed and had fun together. As I read the story, I realized how important it was for her to have her Bubbie. Someone who accepted her and did not try to change her. When the time came it was Bubbie who helped her find her sister and send her home. The book itself tells a piece of history in a personal way that kids will relate to. It is also beautifully illustrated. It gives a sense of the culture as well as what was truly happening within the story. It is a piece of history that is important for all to learn about so we can learn not to repeat it. This is a powerful book! This book is perfect to be read as a family as well as in a classroom. It would be a wonderful addition to a unit on Native American history and tribes. It is a piece of history that is so often overlooked.
