indians Archives - Awful Library Books

Games the Indians Played

The Games the Indians Played
Lavine
1974

Submitter: This book uses outdated and culturally insensitive terms like “redskin.” It contains a decent amount of research from when the author was a teacher on a reservation. He interviewed many of the indigenous people there and I’m sure meant this to be a teaching tool about the culture, but it is a really old book that is now falling apart. Plus, it just gives off vibes of “oh, let’s look at the white man’s view of the savages’ primitive games.”

Holly: I’ve been learning a lot about collection diversity audits recently. While libraries may solely be looking for the percentage of materials about and by BIPOC, they need to use the opportunity to weed inappropriate materials like these. Please, please, don’t just count it as “diverse” and leave it in the collection! Look at the materials closely and audit the content while you’re at it.

Indian Summer

July 22, 2021 Holly Friday Fiction 16 comments

Indian Summer
Monjo
1968

Submitter: This 50 year old beginning reader book is a woefully one-sided history lesson about Kentucky settlers vs. The Indians. While Pa is off to “lick the British” with the likes of George Washington, Ma is left behind with her rifle to defend her children and their cabin from Indian attack. The story features stereotypical Indian illustrations, and atrocious language such as “redskins” and the children fearing they’ll be “scalped.” This was one of the original items owned in our children’s collection, and it last circulated in 2017, I’m sad to say. When I noticed the faded cover and yellowed pages, then discovered the terribly racist historical fiction within this book, I weeded it quickly. For fun, note the old fashioned “wash your hands” sticker we used to put in the front cover of children’s books at our library. It’s the best and most relevant part of this book!

Holly: Public libraries are not the place for this kind of thing anymore! Pass it on to a museum or archive…or wherever you’re putting your Little House on the Prairie books.