American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL): A Response to John Smelcer's Statements about Debbie Reese

11.6.16

American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL): A Response to John Smelcer's Statements about Debbie Reese: Recently, John Smelcer wrote about me at his website,
saying several things that are not true. The document at his site is 23
pages in length. The first 21 pages are his account, going back to
1994, when his identity was first questioned at the University of
Alaska. As you'll see, Smelcer offers a great many letters and documents
that suggest he is Native by birth. Some of this is new. In the past he
has said he is adopted, as Diane Chen of School Library Journal found in 2009. In her review of The Great Death, she wrote:

When I read the author’s website, I learned he listened to the stories of this time and place as told by his adopted grandmother and her sister.

When I first encountered John
Smelcer's work in 2008, the man who adopted him (Charlie Smelcer) told
me that Smelcer is not Native by birth. All in all, it is very
confusing. Here's the link to the page where he writes about his
identity: John Smelcer's Ethnicity & the University of Alaska Anchorage. (Note: I have saved a pdf of the page I saw on June 9th, 2016.)

Here are screen shots of the last
two pages of the 23 page document, followed by direct quotes from the
screen shots, and my response to them.

Read the full article …

Dispatch: Aboriginal Press Media Group | Permalink | [11.6.16] | 0 comments

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