|
February 2022
Thank you for joining us once again in a collective effort to read, learn, discuss and foster the change we need to see in our community.
This spring we are proud to present An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People adapted by Jean Mendoza and Debbie Reese from Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz’s original text.
YouTube - Spring 2022 - Mary Ann Key Book Club
As a kid, it was not uncommon in my community to hear Black people talk about their Native American ties. There were often conversations about a distant relative who had been “part Native American.” Grandma or an uncle or a great-aunt you’d never met. There was this sense that we were all connected.
But I also know now that those mentions were not acknowledgements. We did not know anything about Indigenous history. We understood who we were as Black people, but we discussed our alleged connections to the Native American community without an effort to understand its journey and its history.
You learn and you grow. I now know the significance of this error. It was not fair to mention a connection to an Indigenous community I had not really intended to understand. I did not know if my relatives were really members of the Native American community. I did not know what I was saying.
Our Indigenous community is often treated as an insignificant component in the history of this nation, even though it was this country’s first and founding community. It is not a monolith. It is diverse. It is strong. And it is still here, our panel moderator Ramona Kitto Stately, an educator and a member of the Santee Sioux Dakota Nation, proclaims in our conversations.
With our next book, we will talk about a people that has always been here and is still here today. An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States For Young People by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz and adapted by Jean Mendoza and Debbie Reese is “a history of the United States.”
Our panel on May 12 and author event with Reese on April 19 will both aim to highlight a community that is often overlooked. I hope the events and conversations in the coming weeks will also showcase that community’s resilience and strength.
We do not have a history without Indigenous history.
|
In this adaptation of Roxanne Dunbar-Oritz’s An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States (2014), co-writers Debbie Reese and Jean Mendoza reframe U.S. history from an Indigenous perspective in a way that is accessible, packed with facts and will have readers thinking critically from start to finish.
“In spite of all that was done to them, Indigenous people are still here. It is breathtaking, but no miracle, that they have survived as peoples. This is a history of the United States.” - from An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People.
|
|
 |
Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz is a New York Times best-selling author and has been active in the international Indigenous movement for more than four decades.
Jean Mendoza is a curriculum specialist focusing on the representation of Indigenous peoples in children’s and young adult literature.
Debbie Reese is an educator and founder of American Indians in Children’s Literature (AICL). She is tribally enrolled at Nambé Owingeh, a federally recognized tribe, and grew up on Nambé’s reservation.
The Mary Ann Key Book Club is intended to allow you to engage in ways that best fit your time and interests. You can participate in several different ways:
Share your feedback and questions
Tell us your thoughts as you read An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People. Share your feedback, reflections or questions. Your responses and questions may be shared with Myron Medcalf and library staff, and quotes may also be shared with readers through our newsletter.
Mary Ann Key Book Club: A Conversation with Debbie Reese
Tuesday, April 19, 7-8:30 p.m.
Join the Mary Ann Key Book Club for an online event featuring Debbie Reese, co-author of our spring 2022 book club selection An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People. Debbie Reese will be joined in conversation by Star Tribune columnist and book club partner Myron Medcalf, followed by live Q&A. Collaborator: Star Tribune. Sponsor: Friends of the Hennepin County Library.
Register for this April 19 virtual author conversation
Mary Ann Key Book Club: A Community Discussion of An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People
Thursday, May 12, 7-8:30pm
Join columnist Myron Medcalf and moderator Ramona Kitto Stately in an online conversation with Native American community leaders Sharon Day, Marlena Myles, Dr. Katie Phillips and Pearl Walker-Swaney. Panelists will discuss An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People. Collaborator: Star Tribune. Sponsor: Friends of the Hennepin County Library.
Register for this May 12 virtual community panel discussion
Small Group Discussions
Join our discussion of An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People, adapted by Debbie Reese and Jean Mendoza.
Please register for only one small group discussion program. Collaborator: Star Tribune. Sponsor: Friends of the Hennepin County Library.
Thursday, April 28, 10-11:30 a.m.
Registration required for April 28 discussion
Tuesday, May 10, 7-8:30 p.m.
Registration required for May 10 discussion
Selected by Makoce, a team of Native American library staff and allies:
|
