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Parents' Guide to

Indian No More

By Joly Herman, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 9+

Moving story of Umpqua family relocated to L.A. in '50s.

Book Charlene Willing McManis , Traci Sorell Historical Fiction 2019
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What's the Story?

INDIAN NO MORE is a historical novel that the story tells of the U.S. government's mass efforts to relocate Native American tribes in the 1950s. Told through fifth grader Regina Petit's point of view, it's about a girl whose Native American identity is challenged when she and her family move to urban Los Angeles. Regina and her family, who are Umpqua, were living on the Grand Ronde Tribe reservation near Salem, Oregon, which incudes several tribal bands, including the Umpqua. When the U.S. government enacts a decree terminating their tribal rights, Regina's dad decides to take the Bureau of Indian Affairs' offer to relocate to a big city to learn a new trade and start a new life. Regina copes with major culture shock, never having eaten in a restaurant before and never having seen a television. The tribal school she had gone to was two rooms full of people who all knew one another, or were otherwise family. In Los Angeles, however, Regina and her little sister, Peewee, find that they have to figure out a lot about their identity very quickly in order to hold on to the things that are important to them, or else assimilate in ways that are expected of them.

INDIAN NO MORE is a historical novel by Charlene Willing McManis, a member of the Umpqua tribe (with posthumous help from author Traci Sorell, a Cherokee Nation citizen). The story tells of the mass relocation efforts by the U.S. government of Native American tribes in the 1950s and is presented through fifth grader Regina Petit's point of view. When the U.S. government enacts a decree terminating their Umpqua tribal rights, Regina's dad decides to take the Bureau of Indian Affairs' offer to relocate their family to a big city to learn a new trade and start a new life. Regina copes with major culture shock, never having eaten in a restaurant before and never having seen a television. The tribal school she had gone to was two rooms full of people who all knew one another or were otherwise family. In Los Angeles, however, Regina and her little sister, Peewee, find that they have to figure out a lot about their identity very quickly in order to hold on to the things that are important to them.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
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Kids say (3 ):

A dramatic and touching tale of forced cultural assimilation, this story fills an important gap in what most textbooks cover about the U.S. government's role in the persecution of Native Americans. Indian No More shows how uprooting people from their land affects generations of people. The struggle that Regina undergoes to learn about herself in the context of White society is extremely moving. When her family is told that their people are no longer recognized as a tribe, Regina personally attempts to understand what this means. And what it means is that she's seen as foreign, even though her people and other Native tribes have inhabited the continent for far longer than the European American settlers oppressing them. It means that she's called names. It means that although the American dream is achievable to some degree, the loss of identity might be the very steep price.

What makes this story good, and why kids will like it, is that the struggle is told with the clarity and honesty that only a kid can call forth. It's not cut and pasted from an experience and put into another time and place. It feels real because it was real. It's an important addition to the middle-grade historical fiction canon.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how the issue of American identity is explored in Indian No More. How do you identify? How is your identity reflected in books, TV shows, and movies?

  • What do you know about people who come from backgrounds different from yours? How many of your ideas have been shaped by what you watch or read? How are stereotypes fostered by the media?

  • This story takes place in the 1950s. What major differences do you notice in this story as compared with how life is today? How does watching television for the first time affect Regina?

Book Details

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