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Honoring Alaska's Indigenous Literature
Vivian Martindale
"Raven: A Trickster Tale From The Pacific Northwest."
4/23/04
According to the book "Raven: A Trickster Tale From the Pacific
Northwest" and a website sponsored by the author Gerald McDermott and
the publisher Voyager/Harcourt Books (ISBN 0-15-265661-8), "Raven, of
Native American tradition, is a powerful trickster on a cosmic
scale. In this mysterious story, he searches for the light
hidden in the house of Sky Chief. But how will he get inside
the house? And once inside, how will he escape to bring light
to the world?" This is a popular and frequently told story about how
Raven steals the sun from a chief thus bringing light into the world.
This retelling of the same story in a picture book format is a jumble
from several versions found throughout the Pacific Northwest
including Alaska.
Mind you, McDermott is an excellent artist however, small children
(recommended reading level is 2nd grade) might not like
the looks of Raven as a boy because his body is depicted as a child's
yet complete with a Raven's beak. The Sky Chief and the rest of the
community resemble Aleut people in dress as well as in physical
features. And in one section of the book, when the people are
gathered in the house containing the sun, they are similarly dressed
in elaborate costumes, which to me have a heavy Russian influence. In
fact they do look like Russians from the far northern areas of
Russia. The artist/author, McDermott, illustrates the people as
generic and they all have the same features. No one, with the
exception of the chief, his daughter and of course the beak-nosed
Raven are depicted as individuals.
In this book, there are no acknowledgements and no introductions
offered by any tribal agencies or personal acknowledgements from any
Native peoples, which probably suggests the author did not have
anyone from the Native community review the book for authenticity.
Published in 1993, the book won the Caldecott Honor award in 1994 as
well as many other awards: the American Library Association Notable
Children's book, the Boston Glove-Horn Book Honor, the New York
Public Library's '100 Titles for Reading and Sharing.' The Caldecott
Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator
Randolph Caldecott. The Caldecott Medal "shall be awarded to the
artist of the most distinguished American Picture Book for Children
published in the United States during the preceding year."
The Association for Library Service to Children, a division
of the American Library Association makes this award annually.
McDermott is the author of over 25 books and films. (Further
information on this author can be found at his website located at
http://www.geraldmcdermott.com/)
Currently, he is the Primary Education Program Director for the
Joseph Campbell Foundation on mythology in education. McDermott
retells and illustrate folktales and myths from around the world
including Papagayo, the Mischief Maker. As well, the author has
published stories about coyote and other stories from Africa and
Mexico. At the age of 4, McDermott began studying art when he was
admitted to the Detroit Institute of Arts. His biography, obtained
from his website, claims he has a "deep understanding of the
transformative power of myth. His work is an evocation of the human
quest for unity and completeness." McDermott worked closely with
Joseph Campbell, his mentor for many years. According to McDermott's
publisher's biographical profile, the relationship to Campbell
influences his artwork and writing. "Campbell was instrumental in
making this gifted artist aware of the psychological depths of
mythology and the possibilities of integrating cultural and
archetypal symbols into his art." The author also claims he does
extensive research into the symbolism and background of the culture
he is writing about. I suppose that if this fact were true, he would
be aware of the danger to generalize such a story about how 'Raven'
brought light to the world. As well, his illustrations/paintings
would probably have depicted Pacific Northwest and Alaska Native
peoples as looking less like Russians, and Native peoples of Alaska's
Northern regions. And finally, the heavy influence on this author by
Campbell adds to the question of whether or not this author believes
that the term 'myth' or 'tale' lends itself to the interpretation of
being 'false.'
I am leery because this book is not recommended by any Native
organizations. I wouldn't even attempt to call it authentic, however
any validity I might give it comes from the artist's talent as both a
writer and illustrator. The dialogue is acceptable, however, if
teachers and parents want something more authentic both aesthetically
and literary I would hope that there are more books out there about
Raven. I wouldn't recommend this book unless a teacher is introducing
it in a comparative manner. In particular I would hope that one could
find this same creation story written by an author who is more
knowledgeable about Alaska Natives and Native people's in the
Northwest and better yet perhaps a book written by Native peoples
themselves.
In conclusion, I give this book 4 salmon. 0 to 8
salmon
Something smells fishy! This book is a rotten salmon and bad for
the digestion of little minds. However, I feel I must add that if one
is insistent on using Caldecott award books in the classroom, I would
advise you to search for an alternative book about this story or
perhaps invite an Elder from your region to tell the story in the
oral format.
Note: For more assistance with incorporating Raven into your
lessons plans, I found this website which focuses on McDermott's
book. http://eduscapes.com/caldecott/94e.htm
This site has a section titled "Teacher connections" and "Children's
connections" all with links on helping teachers to introduce children
to Raven stories plus how to write Raven stories, lesson plans, and a
section on history.
The book reviews are a result of students enrolling in special topics course
Ed 493 Examining Alaska Children's Literature taught by Esther A. Ilutsik
in the Spring of 2004.
The book reviews are written by the students and are a reflection of their
own analysis of the books and have not been altered in any way. The reviewers
have given permission to share the book reviews on the HAIL website.
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