This is an article from our colleagues at Minitex! If you are not already using Ebooks MN in your library, especially in a school library, please look into it! You can contact us to get you connected to them, or reach out to the very nice people at Minitex to help you get everything sorted.

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Ebooks Minnesota has recently added Indigenous Representations titles aligned to Minnesota education standards and English Language Arts benchmarks.  These books, written by Native authors, are aimed at students in Kindergarten through Grade 12, though everyone in Minnesota can benefit from them.  

These titles, including We are water protectors, “All the real Indians died off”: and 20 other myths about Native Americans, Fry bread: a Native American story, How I became a ghost: a Choctaw Trail of Tears story, and An indigenous peoples’ history of the United States for young people,  offer diverse representation.  “Studies have proven that children’s books and popular culture, particularly those with diverse representation, have a direct impact on how children perceive real-world diversity. By allowing Native Americans to go un-represented, or worse, misrepresented in children’s media, both Natives and non-Native children are denied the opportunity to develop necessary empathetic skills and cultural understanding.” (Indian Country Today)

If you’re using these titles with a class, having students select “Open Now” will allow an unlimited number of readers at the same time. Using the “Check Out” option may impose some limits.  Please be sure to share this news with parents, teachers, students, school administrators, and anyone else who may profit from the barrier-free access that Ebooks Minnesota offers.”