SHI PUBLISHES NEW BABY RAVEN BOOKS FOR CHILDREN, OFFERS BOOK SIGNING
Books part of award-winning early literacy program
Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) has published four new culturally-based children’s books that reflect the Native worldview.
The new series includes the ancient story Shanyáak’utlaax: Salmon Boy; and the original texts Let’s Go: A Harvest Story; Picking Berries; and Native Values: Living in Harmony. The books were illustrated by Tlingit artist Michaela Goade and Tsimshian artist David Lang. Authors include Hannah Lindoff (with Marigold Lindoff) and Rosita Worl. The text of Shanyáak’utlaax: Salmon Boy was edited by Johnny Marks, Hans Chester, David Katzeek, Nora Dauenhauer, and Richard Dauenhauer.
The books are part of the institute’s award-winning Baby Raven Reads, a program for Alaska Native families with children up to age 5 that promotes language development and school readiness. Baby Raven Reads this month was one of 15 programs in the world chosen for a 2017 Library of Congress Literacy Awards Program Best Practice Honoree.
The release of the books is groundbreaking because so few culturally-relevant children’s books from Southeast Alaska exist that are not tailored for the commercial market. And, research has shown that Native students do better academically when their cultures are incorporated into learning materials and classes, said SHI President Rosita Worl.
“We know that schools sometimes allow our children to fail and that they’ve stumbled in the past by supplying books with distorted depictions about Native cultures,” Worl said. “With this series we are aiming to meet the demand for books that reflect the Native worldview and to give our children some of the tools they need to succeed.”
The project is based on ample research that has shown the effectiveness of using culturally-based teaching resources and methods to improve academic achievement in Indigenous students. Scholars note the disparity between the experience of Native children and materials currently used in the classroom.
Research also indicates that children who are fluent readers by the end of third grade are likely to do well in school and go on to higher education. Students’ scores in reading are consistently associated with academic grades and economic success later in life.
Raven Reading: A Culturally Responsive Kindergarten Readiness Program is funded by an Alaska Native Education Program grant from the U.S. Department of Education: CFDA # 84.356A, PR# S356A140060.