Introduction

Cultural representation has been given a lot more attention in recent years as more people have spoken up and pushed back against the biased narratives that have skewed our nation’s history and culture for centuries. Not only are more accurate portrayals of world history being demanded in educational systems, but there has been a major shift in who is being promoted and encouraged to share the differing angles and experiences in history. Society wants to hear from those who fit within whatever subculture is being taught about. For example, it would not be appropriate for a middle class, white woman to write a book detailing what it was like to grow up as a black, wealthy woman. The white woman can do research and interviews to try to understand, but she would never be able to fully grasp the reality because she did not grow up as that race or in that situation. Therefore, were we to learn what it was like to grow up as a black, wealthy woman, that black wealthy woman should be the one telling the story. Essentially, other races, genders, etc. can write books on whatever they want to, but if we are looking for true representation, it’s important that we check to see who is writing the materials as well. This step helps ensure authenticity, accurate representation through lived experience, offers support and fosters respect. This is true across the board of varying lived experiences throughout human history. But why does this matter? For starters, by having those who are personally acquainted with what they are writing about be the authors of the stories, there is less room for racial bias and misrepresentation. One author pointed out that race is a social and cultural construct that has been learned (Krahn, 2015), and it is all too often skewed in favor of White people--leaving differing races with stereotypes that are perpetuated further by White authors as they tell stories about things they know nothing about. The good news is that, if this is learned, that means it can be unlearned.


As part of a requirement for obtaining a Master’s degree in Library and Information Science, the challenge was given to focus on a topic that pushed back against White privilege in a library setting—specifically within the children’s department. It appears that White representation has been significantly overproduced and sold for so long that it can be difficult to identify that there is a giant gap regarding diversity. Even if books look diverse, often times, the authors are White. This becomes problematic because White authors are benefiting financially from representing a culture or people that is not their own. In essence, they are profiting off something that doesn’t belong to them (identity, culture, lived experience), from people that have been historically disadvantaged for centuries. Essentially, the problem with historical biases still exists, albeit less obvious when the materials give the appearance of diversity while the authors are anything but.


This blog is meant to introduce its readers to properly represented and produced children’s materials within a culturally and truly diverse context. It will primarily focus on Indigenous people in hopes of bringing greater awareness to Indigenous people along with their contributions to children’s literature. There will be a heavy focus on authors, their personal stories, and the materials they have produced. Even with all the modern day advancements that have been made in regards to inclusivity, we still have a long way to go. In 2024, the Cooperative Children's Book Center in the University of Wisconsin reported that only 2.8% of children's books that were published were by Indigenous authors while 2.9% were about Indigenous people. Shelley Stagg Peterson (2010), stated that "Indigenous children's literature supports Indigenous communities' rights to revitalization, and to the transmission to future generations, of Indigenous histories, languages, and world views." This is so important because for too long, stories of Indigenous people have been told as though they are in the past and no longer in existence (SmithsonianNMAI, 2021). The truth is that, when told by Indigenous people themselves, their stories do not stay in the past, but tell a powerful, present-day story of strength and perseverance (Media Studies, 2020). Indigenous populations were silenced for so long and have the right and the need to share their stories in broader spaces in order to push back against these false narratives and help spread the truth.

Watch this video on why Indigenous literature matters

Watch this video on Native voices in children's literature