We Are Still Here: Native American Truths Everyone Should Know - Traci Soreli

We Are Still Here: Native American Truths Everyone Should Know - Traci Soreli

Bibliography: 

Sorell, T., & Lessac, F. (2022). We are still here!: Native american truths everyone should know. Charlesbridge. 

Plot Summary: 

A group of Native American kids from different tribes presents twelve historical and contemporary time periods, struggles, and victories to their classmates, each ending with a powerful refrain: we are still here.

Critical Analysis:

I absolutely adored this book. It's the kind of book that I wish I could put into the hands of every child (and every adult!) in the US so that they could begin to understand the issues that the Native Nations have faced in the last 150 years and continue to face in the present. American history, especially as it's taught to children, erases the presence of Indigenous people in the 20th and 21st century because it doesn't fit the tidy narrative of Manifest Destiny and civilizing the West and becoming the most powerful, most free nation on earth. But Indigenous people didn't disappear. They are still here, they've been here, fighting for their rights and their sovereignty and simply surviving as distinct Nations with their own governments and heritage.

The book is framed as a series of presentations on various topics relevant to Indigenous people since the United States government stopped making treaties with Native Nations in 1871. Topics include boarding schools, termination, tribal activism, and religious freedom, among others. Each topic has a two-page spread with a short paragraph explaining the topic as well as a series of bullet points that illustrate how this topic affects Indigenous people. The background picture for each presentation features a significant place or event related to the topic; the picture for boarding schools, for example, shows a classroom in the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, while the picture for tribal activism shows the occupation of Alcatraz Island in the 1960s. The illustrations were obviously thoughtfully planned out to showcase a variety of Nations, events, and individuals. And they're absolutely beautiful, full of vibrancy and life. There's a dynamism to each illustration that leaves you wanting to linger over each one, trying to absorb every detail.

The book ends with eight pages of additional information. There are definitions of each of the topics discussed as well as an explanation of who or what is shown in the topic's illustration. Then there is a timeline covering major events and legislation affecting Indigenous people since 1871. Finally, there's also a glossary of terms used in the book, a short list of sources with a caveat that accurate information about Native Nations online isn't always easy to find, and an author's note explaining a bit about what Sorell wanted to share in writing this book. All of the supplementary material adds extra depth to the book, especially for any adults reading it, but I believe the actual picture book part that could be read to a child is understandable and complete on its own.

Review Excerpt: 

School Library Journal (starred review)

The vivid artwork features a simple, bold style. The narrative starts with a general introduction of Native Nations in the United States. Each presentation contains illustrations with the student’s name, an overview of the subject, a brief list of the impact that the concept or historical moment had on Native American people.

Kirkus Review (starred review)

An emphatic, triumphant declaration: “WE ARE STILL HERE!”

Booklist (starred review)

Appended with further information, a time line, a glossary, and sources, this makes a perfect introduction for those too young for Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, Debbie Reese, and Jean Mendoza’s An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People (2019).

The Horn Book (starred review)

Warm gouache illustrations help support the historical context while personalizing the contemporary setting. This book provides information that is omitted from most curricula ("most people do not know what happened to Native Nations and our citizens after treaty making stopped in 1871") in an easy-to-understand manner. Above all, the message is reinforced for all readers: Native people are still here.

Connections:

Native American - Cultural Studies

Prejudice & Racism

Interview with Traci Soreli