Monday (October 12) is Indigenous Peoples Day. It's an alternative
to the federal Columbus Day holiday that many people feel essentially
erases Indigenous history.
Seattle, Edmonds and Bainbridge Island are among the communities
around the region that have recently opted to celebrate Indigenous
Peoples Day instead. A Seattle-based nonprofit is launching a new
children's book to mark the occasion.
|
An image from "Journey
of the Freckled Indian" by Alyssa London, with illustrations
by Monica Rickert-Bolter and formline drawings by Preston
Singletary.
|
The book is called "Journey of the Freckled Indian." It tells the
story of a young girl called Freckles who gets bullied by her classmates
after sharing that she's Native American. Author Alyssa London says
it's loosely based on her experience growing up in Bothell and sharing
her Tlingit heritage in a show and tell.
"They don't believe her because she does not look like the type
of Native person that we typically see in the media with dark skin
and long black hair, as she is mixed," London said.
Freckles' parents send her on a journey to Alaska where she spends
time with her grandfather. She learns to become proud of her heritage
and later inspires her classmates to do the same.
London herself went on to become Miss Alaska USA and also an entrepreneur,
in both cases with a mission of showcasing the vitality of Alaska
Native and American Indian Culture today.
"Most times Native culture is shown in natural history, museums
shown as something that is no longer living and breathing and is
a thing of the past," she said. "You know, Native people today are
doctors or lawyers or teachers or the kids in your classrooms
you just might not know it at first glance."
She recruited two mixed-heritage Native American artists to illustrate
the book. One of them is Seattle-based glass and formline artist
Preston Singletary.
|
An image from "Journey
of the Freckled Indian" by Alyssa London, with illustrations
by Monica Rickert-Bolter and formline
|
Having grown up in an urban environment outside the traditional
Tlingit region his family comes from, Singletary says he identified
with the message of the book.
"You know, (it's) not completely the same story. But it was also
a discovery for me to go in and get deeper into my own cultural
heritage. And now that I've done that, it's become the most fulfilling
thing that I could have done," he said.
Singletary's traditional formline drawings are integrated into
colorful contemporary illustrations by Chicago-based Monica Rickert-Bolter,
who is of Potawatomi, African American, and German descent. Singletary
says the concept was to let the Native designs gradually become
prominent within that contemporary context as the story progresses.
"As if it was sort of taking over, you know enhancing the
story as Freckles gets more in tune with her culture," Singletary
said.
Rickert-Bolter jumped at the chance to add to the limited literature
she's seen about mixed Native identities. She's also delighted with
how the project came out.
"It's completely something new," Rickert-Bolter said, adding that
they worked to make the formline figures, which are normally quite
flat, integrate well into the Alaskan scenery while still making
"everything pop."
|
COURTESY OF ALYSSA LONDON
|
Rickert-Bolter also is delighted to be part of an event marking
Indigenous Peoples Day. She says Chicago is coming closer to recognizing
it, but efforts there have stalled, because some Italian Americans
don't want to let go of the celebration of Christopher Columbus.
"What we're trying to say is, just, this is not the one to celebrate.
And to really just honor the legacy and the trauma that so many
indigenous peoples of the Americas had to face and experience because
of his mistake in coming to 'the new world,' as they call it."
Author London says helping the region celebrate Indigenous Peoples
Day in Seattle with a panel discussion about her book makes sense.
"I mean, that's a big message of my book," London said. "We are
still here. We just may look different. And please accept us and
please be open to learning more about our history, but also our
present-day experience."
The panel discussion about the book will takes place Monday from
3-4 p.m. on Facebook Live. It is presented by the Seattle-based
Potlatch Fund, which supports tribal communities in Washington,
Oregon, Idaho and Montana.
|
The cover of "Journey
of the Freckled Indian" by Alyssa London, with illustrations
by Monica Rickert-Bolter and formline drawings by Preston
Singletary.
|
|