Debbie Reese

'Movies, television, textbooks, and children's books are saturated with images of Indians as bloodthirsty or noble savages who lived 'many moons ago.' My work as an educator is dedicated to helping teachers locate materials that demonstrate the vast diversity (past and present) that exists across the 500+ Native nations in today's U.S. My lesson plan at ReadWriteThink can help teachers get on the right track."

Debbie Reese is an enrolled member of the Nambé Pueblo Tribe. She is an assistant professor in American Indian Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Debbie has previously taught at Riverside Indian School in Anadarko, Oklahoma, and Santa Fe Indian School, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her research interests include the representations of Native Americans in children's and young adult literature, textbooks, curricular materials, and other forms of media used in the classroom. Her book chapters, articles, essays, and reviews have appeared in print and online academic journals as well as publications that are used by teachers and librarians who work with children. Her current research projects include a book titled 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.