Stealing Indians

by John Smelcer

Overview

"A poignant story of colonization and assimilation, something I know a little bit about. A masterpiece."—Chinua Achebe

"One of our most brilliant writers tells a harsh truth about American history."—Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States

Praise for Edge of Nowhere:

"Smelcer's prose is lyrical, straightforward, and brilliant . . . authentic Native Alaskan storytelling at its best."—School Library Journal (starred review)

"A spare tale of courage, love and terrible obstacles."—The Wall Street Journal

"More psychological depth than Robinson Crusoe."—Frank McCourt

Praise for Lone Wolves:

"A beautiful and moving story of courage and love."—Ray Bradbury

"Smelcer [is] a rockstar of Alaskan literature."—Mushing magazine

"Powerful, eloquent, and fascinating."—Kirkus Reviews

"Smelcer's work has a touch of the classical, combining good old-fashioned adventure and survival themes with heart-tugging moments of clarity and poignancy that recall Jean Craighead George's Julie of the Wolves."—Booklist

Praise for The Trap:

"A gripping and poignant story, made even more so because of its basis in historical fact."—Horn Book (starred review)

Four Indian teenagers are kidnapped from different regions, their lives immutably changed by an institution designed to eradicate their identity. And no matter what their home, their stories are representative of every story, every stolen life. So far from home, without family to protect them, only their friendship helps them endure. This is a work of fiction. Every word is true.

John Smelcer is the author of over forty books, including essays, story collections, poetry, and novels, and five YA novels.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781935248835
Publisher:	Leapfrog Press
Publication date:	07/18/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	200
File size:	1 MB
Age Range:	12 Years

About the Author

John Smelcer is the poetry editor of Rosebud magazine and the author of more than forty books, including the recent young adult novels Lone Wolves, Edge of Nowhere, and Savage Mountain (Leapfrog Press, 2013, 2014, 2015). He is an Alaskan Native of the Ahtna tribe, and is now the last tribal member who reads and writes in Ahtna. John holds degrees in anthropology and archaeology, linguistics, literature, and education. He also holds a PhD in English and Creative Writing from Binghamton University, and formerly chaired the Alaska Native Studies program at the University of Alaska Anchorage.

His first novel, The Trap, was an American Library Association BBYA Top Ten Pick, a VOYA Top Shelf Selection, and a New York Public Library Notable Book. The Great Death was short-listed for the 2011 William Allen White Award, and nominated for the National Book Award, the BookTrust Prize (England), and the American Library Association’s Award for American Indian YA Literature. His Alaska Native mythology books include The Raven and the Totem (introduced by Joseph Campbell). His short stories, poems, essays, and interviews have appeared in hundreds of magazines, and he is winner of the 2004 Milt Kessler Poetry Book Award and of the 2004 Western Writers of America Award for Poetry for his collection Without Reservation, which was nominated for a Pulitzer. John divides his time between a cabin in Talkeetna, the climbing capitol of Alaska, where he wrote much of Lone Wolves, and Kirksville Mo., where he is a visiting scholar in the Department of Communications Studies at Truman State University.

Awards
John Smelcer is the winner of the 2004 Milt Kessler Poetry Book Award and of the 2004 Western Writers of America Award for Poetry for his collection Without Reservation, which was nominated for a Pulitzer.

Lone Wolves was chosen for ALA's Amelia Bloomer book list.
Edge of Nowhere is on the Alaska Library Association's 2014 Battle of the Books list.

The Great Death
• Nominated for The National Book Award, the BookTrust Prize (England), and the American Library Association's Award for American Indian YA Literature
• Listed along with The Incredible Journey as one of the greatest adventure stories in The Book Lover's Guide to Children's and Young Adult Literature (foreword by Gregory Maguire, author of Wicked)
• Short-listed for the 2011 William Allen White Book Award for Children's Literature.

Editorial Reviews

"Smelcer gives voice to four teens … taken from their families and forced into Indian residential boarding schools in the mid-1950s. Thrown together by chance on their way to Wellington, a fictional institution likely based on the infamous Carlisle School, friendships are forged that later become lifesaving. … The cost of surviving, and thereby losing their Native identity, changes all four students permanently and continues to affect current generations today. Smelcer tackles the reality of boarding school abuse and treatment, without graphic details of horrific happenings. There are also questions for discussion at the end." School Library Journal


"Smelcer’s anger about these stolen children is apparent but controlled, and he
provides a well-judged balance of horror and hope, with the friendship among his
protagonists giving the book heart and an opening to empathy." —Horn Book magazine, review by Roger Sutton


"A smooth, cadenced telling, and its mid-twentieth century setting offers a chilling reminder that such forced assimilation existed into recent times. The four protagonists are accessibly teen, which gives their plight an immediacy, and their small triumphs makes them easy to root for—which is why the ending is heartbreaking even as it is painfully honest." — Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books


"[A] riveting work.... More than just a story of survival, Stealing Indians is focused on the changing, shifting, and even disappearing identities of the four young teens .... A commentary on colonialism and oppression, Stealing Indians moves beyond a survival tale by plumbing the depths of the teens’ psychology as they struggle forward in this new world. Ideal for anyone looking for a rich adventure story with depth and heart, Stealing Indians is a work that engages and challenges until the very end." —ForeWord Reviews



"Smelcer gives voice to four teens … taken from their families and forced into Indian residential boarding schools in the mid-1950s. Thrown together by chance on their way to Wellington, a fictional institution likely based on the infamous Carlisle School, friendships are forged that later become lifesaving. … The cost of surviving, and thereby losing their Native identity, changes all four students permanently and continues to affect current generations today. Smelcer tackles the reality of boarding school abuse and treatment, without graphic details of horrific happenings. There are also questions for discussion at the end." School Library Journal


"Smelcer’s anger about these stolen children is apparent but controlled, and he
provides a well-judged balance of horror and hope, with the friendship among his
protagonists giving the book heart and an opening to empathy." —Horn Book magazine, review by Roger Sutton


"A smooth, cadenced telling, and its mid-twentieth century setting offers a chilling reminder that such forced assimilation existed into recent times. The four protagonists are accessibly teen, which gives their plight an immediacy, and their small triumphs makes them easy to root for—which is why the ending is heartbreaking even as it is painfully honest." — Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books


"[A] riveting work.... More than just a story of survival, Stealing Indians is focused on the changing, shifting, and even disappearing identities of the four young teens .... A commentary on colonialism and oppression, Stealing Indians moves beyond a survival tale by plumbing the depths of the teens’ psychology as they struggle forward in this new world. Ideal for anyone looking for a rich adventure story with depth and heart, Stealing Indians is a work that engages and challenges until the very end." —ForeWord Reviews

From the Publisher

08/01/2016
Gr 6–10—Smelcer gives voice to four teens, Lucy, Noah, Simon, and Elijah, who are taken from their families and forced into Indian residential boarding schools in the mid-1950s. Thrown together by chance on their way to Wellington, a fictional institution likely based on the infamous Carlisle School, friendships are forged that later become lifesaving. The boarding school functions under the unfortunately real-life motto repeated at the time, "Kill the Indian To Save the Man." Educators severely punish the kids who speak their Native languages, have darker skin, or defy mainstream teaching. The cemetery in the yard serves as a reminder that failure to submit could cost them their lives. The cost of surviving, and thereby losing their Native identity, changes all four students permanently and continues to affect current generations today. Smelcer tackles the reality of boarding school abuse and treatment, without graphic details of horrific happenings. There are also questions for discussion at the end. Unfortunately, the author fails to depict any tribal specificity, relying heavily on the generic term Indian instead. The flattening of Native identity in the narrative is especially troublesome given the lasting effects of real schools like Carlisle and the lack of knowledge about Native nations among the majority of American readers. VERDICT Libraries looking for YA literature about the realities and effects of Indian residential schools may want to seek out My Name Is Not Easy by Debby Dahl Edwardson or Fatty Legs by Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton.—Amy Zembroski, Indian Community School, Franklin, WI

School Library Journal

2016-06-01
Smelcer's (Indian Giver, 2016, etc.) new novel focuses on the residential Indian boarding schools, where, according to the headmaster of the infamous Carlisle Indian School, the main purpose was to "kill the Indian to save the man."The novel shares the experiences of four Native American children stolen from their families and then taken to Wellington, a fictional residential school referred to by its students as "Wekonvertum,"—that is, we-convert-them to the mainstream culture. The four protagonists, Simon, Noah, Elijah, and Lucy, live in traditional Native homes in different geographic regions of the country. When government men arrive with legal documents, the families are forced to send them to Wellington. There, the children bond quickly and help one another survive inadequate food and clothing, cruel punishments, and the "English Only" signs. Unfortunately, readers are given only occasional, glancing hints to the 1950s time setting beyond the general absence of references to modern technology and communications. Without firm context, references to King Kong may well have teen readers mistakenly imagining the 2005 version. Furthermore, the protagonists' tribal affiliations are not explicitly provided, beyond one boy's punishment for speaking Navajo; Smelcer mostly uses the term "Indian." Though the book attempts to decry this blight on our history, without sufficient context and specifics, it may inadvertently encourage Native American stereotypes, particularly with teen readers. (discussion questions) (Historical fiction. 13-17)

Kirkus Reviews