We are playing fast and close to that line of writing about Native American cultures when you have very little to do with said culture. Two other winners that pop to mind are Island of the Blue Dolphins and Julie of the Wolves. I personally enjoyed those stories and researching them I can see that there are many issues - but they also get away with several things by virtue of being survival stories and not the stories of day to day living within the culture. Waterless Mountain doesn't have this factor going for it. My research indicated that, although the text says Navaho (the spelling used by Armer), several descriptions are actually Pueblo. I can in no way figure out what is what though and the online resources for a 1930s children's book that was out of print for decades are just not very thorough.
What I really would like to say is that Laura Adams Armer seemed like she wanted to be respectful to Navajo people, and for the 1930s appeared to have done a good job. She comes off a little patronizing on a handful of occasions but she avoids both condescending stereotypes and the noble savage stereotype. Personally I'm stuck as to how to judge her on this area.
What I really would like to say is that Laura Adams Armer seemed like she wanted to be respectful to Navajo people, and for the 1930s appeared to have done a good job. She comes off a little patronizing on a handful of occasions but she avoids both condescending stereotypes and the noble savage stereotype. Personally I'm stuck as to how to judge her on this area.
The area I'm not afraid to pass judgements is the story. It is pretty episodic, like many of these early Newbery Winners. But most of these episodes do nothing for me. I found the story to be pretty dry. It seems like the 30s just aren't my cup of tea. In a few weeks I plan to do a complete ranking of all the decades since the Newbery began - I'm guessing the 30s will either place dead last or second to last.
No comments:
Post a Comment