Today I welcome Debbie Reese to talk about her scholarship focused on Native representation in children’s literature, her AICL resource, and advice for teachers about selecting texts to use in the classroom. Later, I’m joined by my colleagues Lainie Powell, Angie Forero, and Molly Wood to discuss practical takeaways.

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To learn more about this podcast, see the first season's guests, read full transcripts and blog responses from listeners, and read more about Jennifer Serravallo and her work, visit www.jenniferserravallo.com

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About this episode’s guest:

Deb Reese is tribally enrolled at Nambé Owingeh, a sovereign Native Nation. Born at the Indian Hospital in Santa Fe, she grew up on Nambé's reservation, went to Nambé's Day School and later, to public school. She got a teaching degree from the University of New Mexico and taught elementary school in Albuquerque before moving to Oklahoma to work on a Master's degree in school administration. She taught at Riverside Indian School in OK, Santa Fe Indian School in Santa Fe, and Pojoaque Elementary School in Pojoaque.

In the early 1990s she moved to Illinois to work on a doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction. At the time, the University of Illinois had a stereotypical Indian mascot. She worked alongside Native students and allies, and helped establish the Native American House at the University, and soon after that, launched an American Indian Studies program. A few years later, the university's mascot was discontinued.

During graduate school at Illinois, she reviewed for Horn Book. She has written for library publications such as Horn Book Magazine and School Library Journal, and educational publications like Language Arts, published by NCTE. She served on the Multicultural Advisory Board for Reading is Fundamental, and the board for Reach Out and Read American Indian/Alaska Native. In 2018, she was selected to deliver the American Library Association's 2019 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture. 

Special thanks to Scotty Sanders for audio editing this episode. https://www.scottysandersmedia.com/

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