Doris Seale Explained

Doris Seale
Birth Name:	Doris Marion Cota
Birth Date:	10 July 1936^[1]
Birth Place:	Brattleboro, Vermont, United States of America
Death Place:	Burlington, Vermont, United States of America
Occupation:	Librarian, poet

Doris Seale (born Doris Marion Cota; July 10, 1936 – February 17, 2017) was an American librarian, poet, writer, and educator. She worked as a librarian for 45 years.^{[2] [3]} 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".^[4]

She wrote poetry and non-fiction that focused on these themes. Her last published work, A Broken Flute: The Native Experience in Books for Children, dealt with issues of cultural appropriation. It included a chapter on deconstructing the myths perpetuated about the first Thanksgiving, helping educators create more culturally appropriate activities for the holiday.^[5] 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. Seale joined that picket line rather than go inside to accept her award.^[6]

Awards

• 2001 American Library Association Equality Award^[7]
• 2006 American Book Award

Works

Poetry

• Book: Blood Salt. American Native Press Archives. 1989 .
• Book: Ghost dance: new and selected poems. Oyate. 2000. 978-0-9625175-8-7 .

Non-fiction

• Book: Caucasian Americans: Basic Skills Workbook . Berkeley, CA . Oyate. 1994 .
• Book: How to Tell the Difference: A Checklist for Evaluating Children's Books for Anti-Indian Bias . New Society Publishers. 1992. 1-55092-163-0 .
• Book: Little Whitepeople . Berkeley, CA . Oyate. 1995 .
• Book: The Multicolored Mirror: Cultural Substance in Literature for Children and Young Adults . CCBC/Highsmith Press. 1991 .
• Book: Thanksgiving : a native perspective . Berkeley, CA . Oyate. 1998 .
• Book: Through Indian eyes : the native experience in books for children . registration . Philadelphia, Pennsylvania . New Society Publishers. 1992 .

Editor

• Book: A broken flute: the Native experience in books for children. Doris Seale . Beverly Slapin. Rowman & Littlefield. 2005. 978-0-7591-0778-6 .

External links

• "Doris Seale", Native American Authors Project
• "Resources for Teaching About Native Americans", Encyclopedia Smithsonian

Notes and References

1. News: Obitiary - Doris Marion Seale . The Burlington Free Press . www.newspapers.com . 25 February 2017 . 23 June 2024.
2. Web site: Oyate - Staf & Board. Oyate. 5 June 2017.
3. Web site: Doris Marion Seale. Legacy.com. Boston Globe. 5 June 2017.
4. Web site: Oyate - About Us. Oyate. 5 June 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180826051557/http://oyate.org/index.php/about-us/25-about-us/mission . 26 August 2018.
5. Web site: Morris. Amanda. Teaching Thanksgiving in a Socially Responsible Way. Teaching Tolerance. November 10, 2015 . Southern Poverty Law Center. 5 June 2017.
6. Web site: Reese. Debbie. Doris Seale, 1936-2017. American Indians in Children's Literature. June 5, 2017 . 5 June 2017.
7. Web site: Malden. Cheryl. Seale receives the 2001 Equality Award. American Library Association. 5 June 2017.