Introduction
Doris Seale (born Doris Marion Seale, July 10, 1936 - February 17, 2017) was a Santee Dakota, Abenaki and Cree poet, writer, and educator who worked as a librarian for 45 years.She has written about Native Americans sending positive messages to children.Her work has helped to educate teachers about the truth about Native American people and cultures. She was a co-founder of Oyate an advocacy and education organization which reviews children's literature to ensure it treats Native Americans with "historical accuracy, cultural appropriateness and without anti-Indian bias and stereotypes".
Her writing focuses on these themes. Her last published work A Broken Flute: The Native Experience in Books for Children, deals with issues of cultural appropriation. It includes a chapter on deconstructing the myths perpetuated about the first Thanksgiving, helping educators create more culturally appropriate activities for the holiday. Her activism extended into other areas of her work. When she received the ALA Equity Award in 2001 the ceremony was being held at the Marriott Hotel in San Francisco, a hotel that was in a labor dispute with its workers. Doris Seale joined that picket line rather than go inside to accept her award.
Awards
- 2001 American Library Association Equality Award
- 2006 American Book Award
Works
Poetry
- Blood Salt. American Native Press Archives. 1989.
- Ghost dance: new and selected poems. Oyate. 2000. ISBN 978-0-9625175-8-7.
Non-fiction
- Caucasian Americans: Basic Skills Workbook. Berkeley, CA: Oyate. 1994.
- How to Tell the Difference: A Checklist for Evaluating Children's Books for Anti-Indian Bias. New Society Publishers. 1992. ISBN 1-55092-163-0.
- Little Whitepeople. Berkeley, CA: Oyate. 1995.
- The Multicolored Mirror: Cultural Substance in Literature for Children and Young Adults. CCBC/Highsmith Press. 1991.
- Thanksgiving : a native perspective. Berkeley, CA: Oyate. 1998.
- Through Indian eyes : the native experience in books for children. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: New Society Publishers. 1992.
Editor
- Doris Seale, Beverly Slapin, eds. (2005). A broken flute: the Native experience in books for children. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-7591-0778-6.CS1 maint: uses editors parameter (link)