My Heart Is on the Ground

ALAN Review

Sarah Nita, a Navajo, narrates to her granddaughter her story of the 1864 "Long Walk," where Navajos were forced by white soldiers to relocate and undertake a grueling march to Fort Sumner, MN. Sarah was twelve years old when she and her sister escaped the soldiers' decimation of her clan. Presumably orphaned, they traveled to Tseyi, where they had family. On arrival, they were adopted by other Navajos, many also escapees. Soon, soldiers returned and demanded Navajo surrender. Thus began the terrible four day trek through freezing weather to Ft. Sumner; those unable to walk were either left or killed. At the fort, survivors faced grueling labor and, although they were given food, it was unfamiliar and thus unpalatable. The girls were reunited with their parents and lived there for four years, until government release. This book could be paired with Holocaust or Japanese internment literature. Historically, the capture and containment of the Navajos resulted from whites' fears of their nomadic and raiding lifestyle. This fear is mentioned in the end "Historical Notes," but not in the story, where Navajos were portrayed as stable and peaceful. Photographs and information regarding the Navajo 1864 "Long Walk" are also included. This book's special feature is its delicate and detailed description of Navajo life. Genre: Historical Fiction. 1999, Scholastic, Ages 9 to 12, $10.95. Reviewer: Lisa A. Spiegel

VOYA

This entry in the Dear America series tackles the worthy topic of the "long walk" of 1864, when Navajo were forcibly removed from their lands in Arizona and marched under inhumane conditions to Fort Sumner. This "diary" is dictated by Sarah Nita, who had no access to pen and paper as a Navajo girl, but now recalls the long painful journey for her granddaughter to take down. Sarah Nita remembers the hardships along the wayseparation from family, lack of good food, and the deaths of the elderly and the ill. The brutal realities of the journey are briefly mentioned, but they are whitewashed, leaving readers with the impression that rape, murder, and cruelties were rare occurrences. There are some odd jumps in the description of the journey, describing the beginning in detail while the last part is glossed over using the excuse, "it would take too long." This book ends not with the return of Sarah to her homelands but with their first "victories" in the fort, salvaging corn from animals and using fake ration tickets to get more food. The short, fictional epilogue completes the story, when Sarah's family is reunited and romance is on the horizon for her. Although the writing is unremarkable, suffering from the restrictive format and the need to reach the target audience, the easytoread style will attract fans of the series. Historical details lend an air of authenticity, and Sarah is a likeable character with whom young readers will empathize. However this historical era deserves better treatment. Louise Erdrich's The Birchbark House (Hyperion, 1999), a superior purchase for multicultural collections, shares the same attractive features and is more authentic and cleanly written. Oyate,aNative American organization working to ensure the accurate and honest protrayal of Indian life and history, provides a critique of the authenticity of this novel on their Web site at http://www.oyate.org/avoid/thechased.html. VOYA CODES: 2Q 4P M (Better editing or work by the author might have warranted a 3Q; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8). 1999, Scholastic, Ages 12 to 14, 208p. PLB $10.95. Reviewer: Hillary Theyer

Children's Literature - Gisela Jernigan

This addition to the "Dear America" series differs slightly in format from others in the series since most Navajos in 1864 used an oral rather than written tradition for story telling. Thus, it is Sarah Nita's young granddaughter who transcribes the words of her grandmother's moving story of how she and her family endured the cruel Long Walk from their home in northern Arizona to Fort Sumner in eastern New Mexico. Hiding while U.S. soldiers destroy their home, twelve-year-old Sarah Nita and her younger sister, Kaibah, are separated from the rest of their family. After a hard trek to Canyon de Chelly, they are "adopted" by another Navajo family and with them, are captured and forced to take part in the arduous Long Walk. Along the way, Sarah Nita often uses her skill as a storyteller to comfort and encourage her family and friends, trying to become "The Girl Who Chased Away Sorrow." This riveting, well-researched historical novel would be an excellent choice for a multicultural, historical collection. A section at the end includes historical background information, old black-and-white photos, maps and an author's note.