Kiowa ChildrenÂ’s Books Boxed for Christmas Delivery (fwd)

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Kiowa Children’s Books Boxed for Christmas Delivery

CHICKASHA OK
12/17/2006
http://www.nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=8462

Native author Alecia Gonzales of Anadarko is publishing a new box set of
five Kiowa children’s books. Beginning Dec. 20, the box set will be
available in the USAO Bookstore. The set includes Gonzales’ newest
books, “Grandma Spider’s Song” and “The Prairie Dog Song.” Bookstore
staff will handle shipping, too. Gonzales was named to the USAO Alumni
Hall of Fame in 2005.

– Five colorful Native storybooks are scheduled for special delivery in
the form of a new box set – just in time for the holidays. On Dec. 20,
“Winter Night Stories and Songs” will go on sale in the University of
Science and Arts Bookstore.

Five years after the release of her first Kiowa language textbook,
author Alecia “Sahmah” Gonzales is compiling her five Kiowa storybooks
into one complete box set targeted for audiences of all ages and
backgrounds. Grounded in her own Native roots, the stories are both
educational and entertaining.

“The stories and songs were told and sung to the children by the
grandparents nightly,” Gonzales said. “The babies were held by the
grandparents while the other children sat or laid around the
grandparents. These are models, values, moral conduct and traditions
learned and enjoyed for the future.”

Gonzales, of Anadarko, said the preservation of language, culture and
morals are the key components being taught through her storybooks.
However, the underlying message of the books is clear.

“These storybooks are designed to build the bonds of love and trust
between mother and child as they interact together,” Gonzales said.

Each storybook contains colorful, original drawings by Native artist
Shaun Dae Chaddlesone.

The box set includes the children’s books “Little Red Buffalo Song,” “A
Mother Bird’s Song” and “Song for Grandma.” Gonzales’ newest books,
“Grandma Spider’s Song” and “The Prairie Dog Song,” both released in
2006, also accompany the set.

“All Kiowa mothers and grandmothers used to sing ‘Grandma’s Spider Song’
to newborns,” Gonzales said. “The rhythm of the song is like a
heartbeat, so it calms them down; they usually go to sleep. It’s a song
we sing to comfort the baby and let it know it’s in safety.”

Gonzales teaches Kiowa language classes at USAO, where she approaches
the Kiowa language from a “bicultural” viewpoint using two distinctly
different languages: Kiowa and English. She also teaches at Anadarko
High School.

A woman of Kiowa and Apache descent, Gonzales was born in Fort Cobb. At
birth, she was given her Kiowa name “Sahmah,” which means, “the lady
from the North.”

Readers see the bilingual stories in both Kiowa and English, shown
parallel to one another on the page. For non-Native speakers, a special
CD-ROM is included that features the author reading the story in both
languages.

Printed by USAO Printing Services, the box set will be available
starting Dec. 20 for $125 at the USAO Bookstore on the corner of 17th
Street and Alabama in Chickasha. The Bookstore will handle shipping,
too.

The five storybooks have been redesigned with special UV-transparent
paper introduction pages and a Native parfleche painting on the gift
box. Each limited edition box set is individually autographed by the
author and numbered 1-250.

Since her successful release of her first book, “Thaum Khoiye Tdoen Gyah
– Beginning Kiowa Language,” in 2001, Gonzales has been honored
nationally for her extensive knowledge of her Kiowa heritage. Her first
book was praised as America’s first textbook for preserving and sharing
the Kiowa language.

Known for her lifelong devotion to teaching and preserving the Kiowa
language, Gonzales was named to the USAO Alumni Hall of Fame in 2005.

After the death of her parents and other elders, Gonzales said she
realized the language would die without a systematic, written method of
teaching it.

“I was nurtured by my grandparents into education,” Gonazales said.
“They believed deeply in the value of education, especially the tribal
form of education. This was the seed from which we’ve grown today’s
high-tech preservation of language. Today we publish a CD that helps
people learn to hear and speak the language.”

More information about purchasing the box set is available from the USAO
Bookstore at (405) 574-1304.