Jingle Dancer: Insight into Ojibway Culture

Book cover retrieved from Amazon.com

Cynthia Leitich Smith's debut children's picture book Jingle Dancer was the result of her following the traditional writer's advice: Write what you know. Smith briefly shares this in the following Youtube video in which she introduces other books she has authored. She explains that in the late 1990's, she felt she best knew "contemporary mixed-blood families in the mid- to southwest." Beautifully illustrated in watercolor, the artistic pictures by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu bring the words to life with vivid colors and cultural details, such as the jingle dancers' regalia and jewelry with intricate beadwork.

Our protagonist Jenna daydreams of her grandmother's jingle dancing and admits to Grandma Wolfe that night that she would like to jingle dance. As most grandmother's do, Grandma Wolfe encourages Jenna to dance at the next powwow, but admits that they do not have time to order her own jingle tins. This encourages Jenna to visit her nearby family members in search of jingles while also indulging in cultural activities. While reading, the cultural background of Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma reads with a genuine authenticity that gives the story a natural rhythm, much like we expect from dance music. The narrator describes the time of day "As Sun fetched morning," and Jenna enjoys fry bread, listens to a traditional story, and displays a focus on spending time with extended family, such as a great-aunt and cousin.

I was drawn to this particular story because of the title. My limited background knowledge reminded me that jingle dancing is part of Ojibway culture, and I have had previous students who dance at powwows in this style. Even though the inside jacket recommends this picture book for "Ages 4 to 10," this text could be paired with additional texts in upper grade levels, and I would especially recommend this for educators who teach in states with Ojibway/Chippewa/Anishinabe history. For example, this year 7th grade students had the option to read Louise Erdrich's The Birchbark House which is set in 1847; Jingle Dancer could provide a contemporary example of that historical culture. Senior high students in our district read excerpts from Anton Treuer's Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians but Were Afraid to Ask; these students could be asked to critically reflect on how cultural information is presented for very different audiences based on these two texts. These experiences provide additional windows and mirrors along with variety of story types and author purposes to critically explore.

Book review by Katie Laugen