Native American Literature Expert to Give Lois Lenski Lecture March 3

Debbie Reese, one of the leading authorities on the representation of Native Americans in children’s and young adult literature, textbooks and other media materials used in classrooms, will present “Indigenizing the Creation and Consumption of Children’s Literature” at 7 p.m. on March 3 in room 147 of the Center for the Visual Arts building as the 2008 Lois Lenski Children’s Lecture.  The lecture is free and open to the public.

The Lois Lenski Children's Literature Lecture Series started in 1994 to honor children's author Lois Lenski, who gave so generously of her time and her papers to the students of Illinois State University. Co-sponsored by Milner Library and the Department of English, the lecture is addressed annually to members of the local and university communities. 

Reese, an assistant professor in the American Indian Studies Program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is tribally enrolled at Nambe Pueblo in northern New Mexico.  She has taught elementary school in public schools and in two schools for American Indians.  Reese is working on a book, “Indians as Artifacts: How Images of Indians Are Used to Nationalize America’s Youth” and a searchable database of children’s books by and about Native Americans. 

For more information about the Lenski Lecture, contact Karen Coats at
(309) 438-3740 or kscoat2@ilstu.edu