Insider or Outsider?

After reading Native Americans in Children’s Literature by Debbie Reese, I learned a lot about the insider and outsider debate. Reese argues that a Native person who has grown up and lived within a tribal society will not falsely portray Native Americans as mythical individuals or very heroic like non-Native authors who believe Native Americans are more honest and brave than anyone else. It is also important because “outsiders” cannot draw upon their past expierences, emotions and feelings to accurately portray the Native American culture. Additionally, Reese asserts that “outsiders” draw upon Hollywood’s portrayal of Native Americans for their past experiences.

I have mixed opinions on the insider/outsider debate. I definitely agree with Reese’s arguments about why the “insider” is the ideal author of a Native American book. I also believe that “outsiders” could be effective writers for Native American books because they have not had as intense of experiences as “insiders” have, so they are able to write simple, basic books for children that are accurate of a specific tribe. I think that if an “outsider” were to put in the effort to get to know the rituals and traditions of a tribe, they could write an authentic book. Reese mentioned that 98.5 percent of books are written by “outsiders” and I am sure that there are some great books that accurately represent the culture. Overall, I think that is should not matter whether an author is an “insider” or an “outsider”, but rather if they accurately and authentically portray a given population group.

Next week in class, I do not specifically have any questions. Rather, I would like to explore different books with the author unknown, and then decide whether they are authentic books to use in the classroom. Then I would like to look back and see if all of the authentic books were written by “insiders” or “outsiders.”