Children of the Dragonfly: Native American Voices on Child Custody and Education, edited by Robert Bensen, is a great anthology of stories – autobiographical, fictional, traditional, – poems and other texts about growing up Native American. In a time when the so-called neo-colonial behavior by the US in the middle and far east draws heavy criticism, this book is a strong reminder of how the US (and Canada) acted in a more ‘traditionally’ colonial way against Native Americans. Colonizing was and is not limited to the take over of land, but also tries to diminish or even erase and destroy the colonized’s culture. In very recent North-American history, this was achieved by taking children away from their respective cultures, by entering them into the boarding-school system and or forcing them into adoptive (white) families. I especially liked that all texts are written by – and not just about – Native Americans. The book includes texts by a broad range of authors with different backgrounds and upbringings, portraying a variety of issues and histories of Native American childhood. At times the stories are post-colonial in a “writing back” sense: Using the colonizers language (which in this case English is) to write of distinctly Native American (colonized) experience and identity. But apart from giving a glimpse into the horrific stories attached to boarding schools or forced adoptions, the combinations of stories traditional and new, the anthology shows how, despite the US government’s ‘best’ efforts, distinct Native American cultures and nations still exist.
Bensen, Robert. (ed.) Children of the Dragonfly: Native American Voices on Child Custody and Education. Tucson:Arizona University Press, 2001.
Thoughts?