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Here’s a great look at the portrayal of Native Americans in classic Hollywood movies:

They do a great job highlighting the portrayal of American Indians as violent, uncivilized, and animalistic, and the effect that has on Native American moviegoers. I did notice, though, that all the movies they showed were fairly old, and that such blatant racist rhetoric would have a harder time now. But does that mean the problem has actually gone away, or has Hollywood just stopped portraying Indians at all, negatively or positively? Or have more subtle, insidious stereotypes slipped in to take the place of what we see here?

We get a lot of bookish news and links from librarian Betsy Bird’s blog, A Fuse #8 Production, and its Fusenews collections of literary links. This week, she brought us a couple stories of covers that we’re happy to pass along. First, we have the cover to PW’s Trends in African-American Publishing issue causing a bit of controversy. Frolab looks at the arguments and asks us to Pick Fros Not Fights!. Second, she leads us to Stacked, where they’re taking a look at a different sort of diversity—or lack thereof— on covers: Where have all the fat girls gone? “Think about all of the covers you see: they’re ALL thin. Every. Last. One. Of. Them. Even if the book doesn’t talk about the weight or shape of a character, the cover makes him/her thin.” Well, not every cover, but she’s got a point.

Moving on from covering books to covering songs, some people are asking, Is ‘Glee’ a Little Bit Racist? They point out that though the cast of characters is diverse, the storylines are consistently about the white folk.

On a more serious note, The New York Times brings us a story of rising gang violence among the Sioux of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, and the efforts of many to fight the rise in gang culture by encouraging native traditions.

Race hasn’t come up much in the health care debate, despite a notable difference in the care received by whites as by people of color. Ta-Nahesi Coates highlights this gap and takes a pragmatic if counterintuitive look at why it’s not being talked about.

Enjoy your weekend, everybody!

Two days ’till Thanksgiving! There’s lots to love about this holiday, and some of it doesn’t even have to do with food (although…pies! stuffing! MORE PIES!).

Thanksgiving is also a great opportunity for teaching and discussion. I know sometimes people have an adverse reaction to that–something like “Stop trying to make my holiday traditions politically correct!”–but so much of the Thanksgiving story is still relevant today. I like thinking about Thanksgiving as a celebration of a history that is still being written, a history that we can take an active part in.

On that note, Love Isn’t Enough points to a new teaching resource for Thanksgiving developed by a teacher and historian whose ancestors happen to be Quebeque French, Metis, Ojibwa, and Iroquois. He suggests that it’s time to move past some of the myths surrounding Thanksgiving towards historical accuracy, and insists that this will make the holiday more, not less, meaningful. I especially like some of the discussion questions, like this one:

Imagine for a moment that people from different cultures have come to your neighborhood. How will you make them feel welcome? How might you share your possessions with them? What kinds of things could you do to build feelings of friendship and harmony with them?

I think kids in a lot of neighborhoods won’t have to stretch their imaginations very far, and it’s nice to frame the Thanksgiving story in this context.

Thanksgiving is also, of course, about food. And so I end with this recipe, straight from our book Sweet Potato Pie:

Mama’s Sweet Potato Pie

• 1 Extra-flaky Pie Crust (see below)
• 1  1/2 pounds sweet potatoes (approx. 3 large)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• 2 large eggs
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter or margarine at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F.
2. Peel sweet potatoes and cut into chunks. Boil until tender, about 30 minutes.
2. Drain off water and put hot potatoes into large bowl. Mash potatoes.
4. Add all remaining ingredients except cinnamon and beat sweet potato mixture until smooth.
5. Pour warm filling into pie crust and sprinkle top with cinnamon.
6. Bake for about 1 hour, until filling is firm and crust is golden brown. Let cool on rack.

Extra-Flaky Pie Crust

• 1 cup all-purpose flower
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons solid vegetable shortening
• 1/4 cup cold milk

1. Combine flour and salt in bowl.
2.Add shortening and use pastry blender or fork to cut shortening into flour mixture until crumbly.
3. Add milk and knead dough until soft ball forms.
4. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to form large circle.
5. Place circle of dough into 9-inch pie pan and press dough into corners.
6. Trim off excess dough with knife. Use fork to press down around rim of pan to create decorative edge.

I haven’t tried