Changing a cartoon depicting an Indigenous ceremony

In 2005, the first of my two books called Vocabulary Cartoon of the Day came out, featuring 180 single panel cartoons for grades 4-6. To get the joke, kids must learn the bolded word in each caption.

In 2020, my publisher, Scholastic, told me that a reader in Canada had contacted them to report a cartoon that he/she/they felt was a “stereotypical representation of Indigenous people.” My editor asked me to replace it with a new cartoon for future printings.

 

* Please do not repost without a link to this post, for context. *

I have no doubt I referred to photos and images of rain dances to create this cartoon, for two reasons. One, I go to significant lengths to ensure my work is accurate, including art (even when I am not the one illustrating, as with all of my picture books). Two, then and now, I couldn’t even begin to pull from my brain what such a scene should look like. 

But in this case, I neglected to save my sources—which is both regrettable and uncharacteristic, since I keep meticulous notes on sources for my writing. 

Admitting that glaring lapse, I sought perspective from tribal chairpeople and organizational directors of multiple Indigenous nations whose customs have included rain dances. 

The feedback I got included differing opinions, some with historical frameworks—all tremendously helpful and equally appreciated. I suspect you’ll also find them illuminating. Quoted verbatim:

1)

The cartoon is not acceptable and is disrespectful. Do not incorporate it into your work.

—Osage Nation Wahzhazhe Cultural Center

2)

Perhaps the complaining person thought the immediate rain might was disrespectful. The rain dance is done as a spiritual ceremony. I suppose some Indians would say that the head dress does not depict their traditions. It is so with the Potawatomi Nations containing 10 Indian Tribes. All tribes that I know of were long pants, not short pants.  Even so, I can’t imagine anyone complaining about a picture cartoon. Also, all Tribes that I know wear long pants, not short pants. 

I don’t think it is in good taste to complain about a picture cartoon in a children’s book. I would not do so, but there are “different strokes for different folks” all around the world. 

—Citizen Potawatomi Nation

3)

Since Rain Dances are really prayer dances, some may have taken exception to a humorous portrayal of a religious ceremony. Personally, I do not find the cartoon offensive, given your intent to demonstrate or illustrate a vocabulary word for educational purposes. People need to lighten up a bit on ethnic outrage. Your cartoon was not intended to offend, and did not.

—Citizen Potawatomi Nation [different person than previous]

4)

Insulting.

—Osage Nation Historic Preservation Office

5)

I would state that “rainmaking” is an old trope that marginalizes the realities of complex Native science and religion. This perpetuates harmful stereotypes that infantilizes Native ceremony by removing all context of Native ceremonial life and imposes Western concepts of dance as entertainment.

Also, your cartoon depiction of Native dress is not accurate. “Rain Dance” ceremonies were not practiced by the Osage. From your cartoon it seems you are using an amalgam of Plains tribe stereotypes, but the majority of ceremonies of that nature were practiced by indigenous people of the southwest.

Overall, given the criminal lack of basic cultural sensitivity and knowledge of Native history, using any tribal ceremony as a vehicle for children to learn English vocabulary is offensive. The majority of children are not even taught whose land they live on. At most, they would see your work and continue to think of Native peoples as cartoons and their ceremonial life as silly.

—Osage Nation Historic Preservation Office [different person than previous]

6)

With greater public awareness of cultural appropriation, and its effects on Indigenous people, we do not endorse the depiction of Cherokee ceremony by non-tribal citizens. Furthermore, upon reviewing your piece, it does not appear to depict Cherokee people, but rather a pan-Indian notion of all “Indians” with feathers and headdress. We cannot verify if you correctly depicted any sort of North American Indigenous “Rain Dance.” 

It may have been considered palatable by the general public in the past. However, Indigenous people have been advocating heavily for accurate cultural representation, and ending harmful stereotypes for many years. Today, many long held stereotypes are being dismantled and it appears that is the case with this piece. Going forward, we encourage non-Indigenous people to fully research a culture before attempting to characterize it, and consider the notion that the people of that culture prefer to represent themselves, rather than have a person from a different culture do it for them.

—Cherokee Heritage Center

I don’t imagine I’ll be making any more cartoon books, but regardless of the project, now I do my due diligence better than I did with this cartoon. I continue to learn...

The replacement:

caption: 

Her juggling skills are inimitable. Obviously I’m just a beginner.

I’ve always (and sometimes explicitly) welcomed readers notifying me about any mistakes or insensitivities in my work. Keep it up, citizen editors!

The Indigenous people of Montgomery County, Maryland

My home has been near Washington DC in Montgomery County, Maryland for a decade and I was long overdue in learning who lived here before me. I don't mean 11 years ago. I mean before Europeans arrived.

It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be, so I emailed the Maryland Division of Historical & Cultural Programs:

I've been poking around trying to determine what Indigenous people lived in what is now Bethesda. I've scanned numerous articles about the people of Maryland before Europeans and they mention many MD counties, but oddly, so far, none have mentioned Montgomery County. Best I can tell from my cursory search, I believe it may have been the Piscataway, the Nacotchtank, or both?

I heard back from Matthew D. McKnight, Ph.D., Chief Archaeologist - Maryland Historical Trust, at the Maryland Department of Planning, who kindly allowed me to share his helpful reply:

You ask a very interesting question, and I think you hit upon the answer. Based on what early English records exist, the best guess as to which Native American group(s) would have inhabited the Bethesda area at time of Contact is the Nacotchtank or Anacostans. 

We know from the records in Virginia that the Patawomeck controlled the Virginia side of the Potomac and that they allied themselves with the English, and we know that they often fought with the Nacotchtank who controlled the opposing Maryland side. The Piscataway were the principal tribe on much of Maryland western shore and many native groups were allied with them in a kind of confederacy. The Nacotchtank were one such group.

Unfortunately, disease and warfare decimated the population to the extent that by the time European settlement moved farther inland (to Bethesda and greater Montgomery County), we don't have first-hand written accounts of Indigenous people because much of the area had been abandoned. 

By the 1680s there is some archival evidence that suggests the area had become a route south for the Seneca, Susquehannock, and other northern tribes who were at war with the Piscataway. There are some accounts of northern Indians building forts in Montgomery County, which suggests abandonment. We do have archaeology documenting plenty of pre-Contact occupation, but tying particular archaeological "finds" to the named tribes of the historic period has always been difficult.

Fall 2020 addendum: graffiti in a tunnel on the Capital Crescent Trail, where I run:

Contribute to the Center for Native American Youth.

Speaking on a Native American reservation

In February 2015, I spoke at the Charlotte S. Huck Children’s Literature Festival in Redlands, CA, at which I met Cathy Knowles. She kindly invited me back to the area, an invitation which marked a first for me.

Cathy works for the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, also known as the Yuhaviatam—the “people of the pines.” Most employees of the tribe are not members of the tribe. The tribe has a lovely reservation on a hillside, complete with handsome houses, a casino, a fire station, and a playground. (Shamefully, this land was “given” to the tribe because of its steepness—it was considered it the least useful land in the area. San Manuel proved that wrong.)

But the reservation does not have a school. So on 9/10/15, I spoke at schools in the area whose population includes some members of the San Manuel tribe. I also spoke to two groups on the reservation itself, young children and high schoolers. I was honored to learn a bit about the tribe’s culture, including its endangered language (only one native speaker is still alive; the tribe is working tirelessly and inventively to preserve it).

Thank you to Cathy and the tribe for being such gracious hosts. Looking forward to coming back!

In certain areas of the reservation, photographs are off-limits. But here are sanctioned glimpses of my day with the Yuhaviatam:

 the community center on the reservation,

where I spoke to a group of teens

 community center close-up

 the setup for my dinner talk to high schoolers

 tables set up in the room where I spoke

 material the tribe produced in conjunction with my appearance,

including mini-comics in both Serrano (the tribe language) and 

English; a poster featuring DC Comics Native American characters

Man-of-Bats and his sidekick Little Raven (Sioux); and 

custom-made wooden medallions with the logos of 

Man-of-Bats and Little Raven

 

 

 side 1: Man-of-Bats

  side 2: Little Raven

 one medallion was hand-painted, but it proved too difficult

to do for all of them

 

 top one reads “This looks like a job for Superman”

in Serrano

 the books I signed for the tribe the night before; as you see,

I should have started earlier