Indian Shoes

Indian Shoes
Smith, Cynthia Leitich. 2002. Indian Shoes. Ill. .Jim Madsen. New York: Harper Collins. ISBN: 0060295317.

PLOT SUMMARY
Indian Shoes, by Cynthia Leitich Smith is a collection of short, related stories about a young Cherokee-Seminole boy, Ray, and his Grampa Halfmoon. Ray schemes to buy Grampa an expensive pair of Seminole moccasins. A pet raccoon ruins his art contest entry. His ring-bearer pants are missing. Grampa botches his haircut. Ray navigates these setbacks and more with humor and Grampa Halfmoon's unwavering support. A chapter book for younger readers.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
These six short stories follow Ray and Grampa through a series of common events in a young boy's life. The pair live a modest life in Chicago, having moved there from Oklahoma when Ray's parents were killed in a tornado. Indian Shoes is noteworthy for its focus on the warm, intergenerational bond between Ray and his grandfather, as well as on their Native culture. In the title story, Ray trades his hightop sneakers for a pair of Seminole moccasins when he realizes that Grampa is homesick for Oklahoma. When Ray's pants are missing and he must be the ring bearer for a wedding, Grampa willingly gives up his own trousers and quietly saves the day, peeking out from behind a velvet curtain "a lace-trimmed tablecloth...tied around his waist." The stories will appeal to young chapter book readers and boys in particular, because they evoke affection and kindness through humor and understatement, rather than sentimentality.

Although the protagonists live in contemporary Chicago, they are never far from their Native Cherokee and Seminole roots. References to Ray's and Grampa's Cherokee-Seminole heritage is both obvious and understated. The Seminole moccasins feature prominently in two of the stories; evoking in Grampa Halfmoon a wistfulness and longing for earlier days in Oklahoma. They attend a wedding of a Polish-Menominee man and a Choctaw woman. Ray sleeps with a Cherokee Seven Clans blanket.

Less obvious are the hallmarks of many Native cultures, a respect for elders, a concern and respect for animals, and a manner of conveying information that is less direct in nature than many other cultures. Throughout the book, Ray listens quietly and with interest when Grampa Halfmoon shares stories about Oklahoma or Ray's parents. It is only through stories and observation that Ray realizes his grandfather's homesickness. Similarly, when Grampa wishes to share a memory of Ray's father with Ray, he does not speak it. Instead, he patiently invites Ray to fish with him every morning before sunrise, declaring that he going to the lake to seek "something bigger." Ray ignores the alarm clock each morning and Grampa only remarks that he's caught no fish, he's looking for "something bigger." When Ray's curiosity finally gets the best of him, he finds that "something bigger" is a shared experience - a quiet morning, a starlight sky, and a memory of times spent fishing with his father.

A reverence for animals is exhibited in two stories. When Ray and Grampa visit an antique store, Ray notices an elephant leg table and a mounted moose head. He wonders, "What happened to the rest of the elephant? Who took the body of the moose glaring down?" In "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" Ray and Grampa spend Christmas with all of their vacationing neighbors' pets during a storm and power outage.

Leitich Smith seams contemporary Native life with a sense of tradition. "Ray followed Grampa to the porch where Uncle Leonard rocked on the creaky swing and read the Cherokee Advocate on his laptop computer." The illustrations by Jim Madsen also knit old and new together. Grampa Halfmoon wears his long, dark hair in a ponytail, while Ray's hair is a more modern style. Their features and skin tone look appropriately Native American. The illustrations are black and white sketches that accurately follow the storyline. The cover art is a tableau featuring a smiling Ray and a proud and watchful Grampa Halfmoon in the foreground accompanied by a scene of the two fishing, and a modern Chicago skyline.

Indian Shoes is a welcome addition to a sparse collection of contemporary Native American books for children. If children have any ideas that Native Americans are extinct, this book should dispel them!

REVIEW EXCERPTS
"With its unadorned portrayal of urban Indian life, Shoes is a good book for any elementary-aged reluctant reader, and a necessity for indigenous children everywhere."

Jones, Trevelyn E., Toth, Luann, Charnizon, Marlene, Grabarek, Daryl, Larkins, Jeanne, and Sean George. 2002. "Indian Shoes (Book)." School Library Journal 48, no. 5: 128. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed July 4, 2007).

"With a nod toward contemporary Native Americans, Grampa tells Cherokee and Seminole family stories, and when Ray gets to be in a wedding party, the groom is Polish-Menominee and his bride is Choctaw. An excellent choice for younger readers from the author of the bittersweet Rain Is Not My Indian Name (2001). "

2002. "INDIAN SHOES (Book)." Kirkus Reviews 70, no. 7: 499. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed July 4, 2007).


CONNECTIONS
Visit the official websites of the Cherokee and Seminole people to learn how they live today.
www.cherokee.org
www.seminoletribe.com

Cynthia Leitich Smith's website contains a Reader's Theater script based on this book. The script was written by TWU's own Sylvia Vardell.
http://www.cynthialeitichsmith.com/CLS/cyn_books/shoes/readerstheater_pants.html

Leitich Smith's website also contains an Indian Shoes Teachers' Guide including pre-reading, comprehension, multiple intelligence, and mathematical/logical activities.