Indio no más

By Charlene Willing McManis, Traci Sorell, Luisana Duarte Armendáriz
Paperback: $15.95

Cuando la tribu Umpqua de Regina es terminada legalmente y su familia debe mudarse de Oregón a Los Ángeles, ella se embarca en una búsqueda para comprender su identidad como india a pesar de estar tan lejos de casa.

When Regina’s Umpqua tribe is legally terminated and her family must relocate from Oregon to Los Angeles, she goes on a quest to understand her identity as an Indian despite being so far from home.

Front cover for Indian No More by Charlene Willing McManis; Traci Sorell
This book is also available in English
Indian No More
By Charlene Willing McManis, Traci Sorell

Description

La familia de Regina Petit siempre ha sido Umpqua, y vivir en la reserva de la tribu Grand Ronde es todo lo que Regina, de diez años, ha conocido. Su mayor preocupación es que Sasquatch pueda existir en el bosque. Pero cuando el gobierno federal promulga una ley que dice que la tribu de Regina ya no existe, Regina se convierte en “india no más” de la noche a la mañana, a pesar de que vive con su tribu y practica las costumbres tribales, y aunque sus antepasados fueron indígenas durante incontables generaciones.

Ahora que se han visto obligados a abandonar su tierra natal, el padre de Regina inscribe a la familia en el Programa federal de reubicación de indígenas y los traslada a Los Ángeles. Regina encuentra un mundo completamente nuevo en su vecindario en 58th Place. Nunca ha conocido a niños de otras razas, y ellos nunca han conocido a un indio de verdad. Por primera vez en su vida, Regina se enfrenta cara a cara con la crueldad del racismo, personalmente y hacia sus nuevos amigos.

Mientras tanto, su padre cree que si trabaja duro, su familia será tratada como estadounidenses blancos. Pero no es tan fácil. Es 1957, durante la era de los Derechos Civiles, y la familia lucha sin su comunidad tribal ni su tierra. Al menos Regina tiene a su abuela, Chich, y sus historias. Al menos están todos juntos.

En esta conmovedora novela de grado medio basada en la propia historia tribal de la autora de Umpqua, Charlene Willing McManis, Regina debe averiguar: ¿Quién es Regina Petit? ¿Es india, americana o ambas? ¿Y ella y su familia alguna vez estarán bien?

Regina Petit’s family has always been Umpqua, and living on the Grand Ronde Tribe’s reservation is all ten-year old Regina has ever known. Her biggest worry is that Sasquatch may actually exist out in the forest. But when the federal government enacts a law that says Regina’s tribe no longer exists, Regina becomes “Indian no more” overnight–even though she lives with her tribe and practices tribal customs, and even though her ancestors were Indian for countless generations.

Now that they’ve been forced from their homeland, Regina’s father signs the family up for the federal Indian Relocation Program and moves them to Los Angeles. Regina finds a whole new world in her neighborhood on 58th Place. She’s never met kids of other races, and they’ve never met a real Indian. For the first time in her life, Regina comes face-to-face with the viciousness of racism, personally and toward her new friends.

Meanwhile, her father believes that if he works hard, their family will be treated just like white Americans. But it’s not that easy. It’s 1957, during the Civil Rights era, and the family struggles without their tribal community and land. At least Regina has her grandmother, Chich, and her stories. At least they are all together.

In this moving middle-grade novel drawing upon Umpqua author Charlene Willing McManis’s own tribal history, Regina must find out: Who is Regina Petit? Is she Indian, American, or both? And will she and her family ever be okay?

About the Creators

Charlene Willing McManis

The late Charlene Willing McManis (1953-2018) was born in Portland, Oregon and grew up in Los Angeles. She was of Umpqua tribal heritage and enrolled in the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. Charlene served in the U.S. Navy and later received her bachelor's degree in Native American Education. She lived with her family in Vermont and served on that state's Commission on Native American Affairs. In 2016, Charlene received a mentorship with award-winning poet and author Margarita Engle through We Need Diverse Books. That manuscript became this novel, which is based on her family's experiences after their tribe was terminated in 1954. She passed away in 2018, knowing that her friend Traci Sorell would complete the revisions Charlene was unable to finish.

Traci Sorell

Traci Sorell writes fiction and nonfiction books as well as poems for children. Her lyrical story in verse, At the Mountain's Base, illustrated by Weshoyot Alvitre (Kokila, 2019), celebrates the bonds of family and the history of history-making women pilots, including Millie Rexroat (Oglala Lakota). Her middle grade novel, Indian No More, with Charlene Willing McManis (Tu Books, 2019), explores the impact of federal termination and relocation policies on an Umpqua family in the 1950s. Traci's debut nonfiction picture book, We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga, illustrated by Frané Lessac (Charlesbridge, 2018), won a Sibert Honor, a Boston Globe-Horn Book Picture Book Honor and an Orbis Pictus Honor. It also received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, The Horn Book and Shelf Awareness. A former federal Indian law attorney and policy advocate, she is an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation and lives in northeastern Oklahoma where her tribe is located. For more about Traci and her other works, visit www.tracisorell.com.

Luisana Duarte Armendáriz

Luisana Duarte Armendáriz grew up on the Juárez, Mexico/El Paso, Texas border. A writer and translator, Luisana earned her BA from the University of Texas at El Paso and her MA/MFA in Children's Literature and Writing for Children from Simmons University in Boston. She won the 2018 Lee & Low Books/Tu Books New Visions Award for her debut novel, Julieta and the Diamond Enigma. Find out more at luisanaduarte.com.

Awards

  • American Indian Youth Literature Award Winner

    American Indian Library Association

  • ALSC Notable Children's Books

    American Library Association (ALA)

  • Editors' Choice Books for Youth

    Booklist

  • Global Read Aloud Choice

    Global Read Aloud

  • Notable Books for a Global Society

    International Literacy Association (ILA)

  • Best of the Best Books

    Chicago Public Library

  • Best Books of the Year

    American Indians in Children's Literature

  • Amelia Bloomer Book List

    American Library Association (ALA)

  • Young Reader's Choice Award Nominee

    Pacific Northwest Library Association

  • MISelf in Books Recommended

    Michigan Association of School Librarians

  • Maud Hart Lovelace Award Nominee

    Minnesota Youth Reading Award

  • Oregon Reader's Choice Award Nominee

    Oregon State Literacy Association

Reviews

  • * "In this book based on McManis's own childhood experiences, the family is fictionalized to show how older children might react to being uprooted and plopped down in a foreign world. . . Readers will be moved as they become invested in Regina's predicament. Is she still Indian, American, or both—and what does that mean for her and her family?"

    - School Library Journal
  • * "What begins as a story of displacement quickly turns into a story of childhood fun and antics colored by Umpqua culture and the racial tensions of the civil rights movement set in the lively and culturally diverse city of L.A."

    - Booklist
  • "I love Indian No More. It is a beautiful and important book, honest and moving. Regina's story faces a shocking injustice directly, creating a powerful historical novel that should be included in every school's curriculum."Margarita Engle, Newbery Honor-winning author

  • "In this honest depiction of an Indian family's struggle to survive the termination of their tribe, we see how 'Indian stories speak truth' through the eyes of a gifted young narrator. Courageous and wise, Regina Petit navigates life away from home with a triumphant dignity that celebrates her heritage and everything she has to offer the world"

    - Guadalupe Garcia McCall, award-winning author of Summer of the Mariposas
  • "Indian No More by Charlene Willing McManis and Traci Sorell is a poignant look at the termination era and its devastating effects. Regina is a determined young girl who faces huge life changes with incredible strength. It's an important story, and a compelling debut."

    - Supriya Kelkar, author of Ahimsa
  • "It stands apart from anything I've read before because it is about the US government's termination of the Grand Ronde Tribe, and others, too. . . As far as I know, Indian No More is the first book for children that is about the life of a child and her family when their tribe was terminated and then, relocated. The story in Indian No More is one reason why it is unique. Another is the team that brought it forth."

    - Dr. Debbie Reese, American Indians in Children's Literature

Paperback

  • ISBN 9781643796529
  • Price $15.95
  • Publication Date Aug 15, 2023
  • Trim Size 7.5 × 5 in
  • Weight 0.5125 lbs
  • Page Count 240
  • Word Count 26286
  • Interests

  • Imprint Tu Books
  • Audience Middle Grade
  • BISAC Category 1 JUV / People & Places / United States / Native American
  • BISAC Category 2 JUV / Historical / United States / 20th Century
  • BISAC Category 3 JUV / Social Themes / Emotions & Feelings
  • Themes Bullying, Courage, Discrimination, Families, Fiction, History & Civics, Home, Identity / Self Esteem / Confidence, Indigenous / First Nations / Native American, Middle Grade, Spanish, United States History
  • Reading Levels

  • Age Range Ages 9 - 13
  • Grade Range Grades 4 - 8
  • Guided Reading W
  • DRA 60
  • Interest Level Grades 3 - 8
  • Lexile Level 710
  • Reading Level 6
  • Bebop Reading Fluent
  • ADA Site Compliance-Accessibility Policy