Thoughts after reading The Heart of a Chief

For this weeks class, I read the assigned articles prior to reading the novel The Heart of a Chief by Joseph Bruchac. I'm glad I did my readings this way because I was able to connect so much of the book to the topics covered in the articles. The first thing I noticed was the way the author chose to discuss the issue of stereotyping through the thoughts of his protagonist. The quote that appears on the very first page, and again on page 24, addresses stereotypes that many people may have about Native Americans without bluntly stating that purpose.

"... We know what kind of Indian we are. The kind of Indian you don't see in Hollywood movies. No noble savages. No horses or headdresses. No tipis and no buffalo. No Tonto (which means "idiot" in Spanish) to the Lone Ranger ..."

This quote reminds me of the autobiographical poem we read in class from Stories I Ain't Told Nobody Yet by Jo Carson. The narrator of the novel addresses the misconceptions that people have of Native Americans. The stereotypes that are identified in this quote are also similar to those that Debbie Reese discusses in her article Native Americans in Children's Literature. Through her writing, the reader can see the potential dangers of leaving these stereotypes unaddressed. A novel like The Heart of a Chief is a great resource to begin a discussion that can broaden the perspectives of young readers.

I feel that the author addresses the touchy issues related to the Native American culture very well as he describes the issues with gambling and alcoholism. I believe he was very smart when he chose to set the story in a fictional land rather than focus on a specific place, which could have led to controversy with his novel.

After reading the book I feel as though I gained insight about the lifestyle of this particular Native American tribe through an interesting and engaging story.