SATA
ENTRY TYPE:
WORK TITLE:
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: https://www.tracisorell.com/
CITY: Wagoner
STATE:
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
LAST VOLUME: SATA 391
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born in OK; enrolled Cherokee Nation citizen; married; children: one son.
EDUCATION:University of California, Berkeley, bachelor’s degree (Native American studies); University of Arizona, master’s degree (American Indian studies); University of Wisconsin, law degree.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Educator, attorney, and writer. Taught English to children and adults in Madrid, Spain; former instructor at the University of North Dakota School of Law, Grand Forks, and the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque; has worked as an attorney assisting US tribal courts, advocated for national Native American health care, and directed a national nonprofit serving American Indian and Alaska Native elders; has worked writing legal codes, testimony for Congressional hearings, federal budget requests, grants, and reports.
MEMBER:International Literary Association, Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), Association of Writers & Writing Programs, Authors Guild.
AWARDS:Orbis Pictus Honor Award, National Council of Teachers of English, Sibert Honor, Boston Globe-Horn Book honor, all 2019, and American Indian Youth Literature Award-Picture Book Honor, 2020, all for We Are Grateful.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Traci Sorell is an author of fiction, nonfiction, and poems for young readers. Prior to a career in writing, Sorell obtained a law degree from the University of Wisconsin. She used her degree to become a federal Indian Law attorney and policy advocate. “As a Native American Studies major in college, I most enjoyed studying history, law and politics of post-1900 life as experienced by Native Nations in the United States,” Sorell told a Kelly Carey on the 24 Carrot Writing website. She is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma, where her family has resided since the Cherokee people were removed from their southeastern homelands in 1838. Sorell has continued the rich storytelling tradition of her people in works such as the award-winning We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga. In an interview with Carole Lindstrom on the Bull Horn website, Sorell explained: “I decided to start writing for children when my son was four. I had collected picture books since my undergraduate days, particularly those featuring Native Nations. Having cycled through my books and those at the local library, I could not find any trade-published contemporary picture books featuring Cherokee children to read to my young son.”
Sorell teamed up with illustrator Frané Lessac to produce her debut picture book, We Are Grateful, in 2018. In the book Sorell guides readers through a typical year in the life of a contemporary Cherokee family. A Kirkus Reviews contributor explained, “Colorful, folk art-style illustrations show Cherokee people during ceremonies, in family gatherings large and small, and outdoors enjoying each of the four seasons, always expressing gratitude.” The book is organized through the seasons, beginning with fall and the Cherokee Great New Moon Ceremony. She introduces readers to various rituals and cultural symbols, highlighting songs, handicrafts, and a variety of foods. Cherokee children engage in stickball and strawberry planting. In one scene, a family sees their son off to join the military. Throughout the text readers confront the refrain “we say otsaliheliga” as an expression of gratitude. Luann Toth, writing in School Library Journal, concluded of We Are Grateful, “This informative and authentic introduction to a thriving ancestral and ceremonial way of life is perfect for holiday and family sharing.” Discussing We Are Grateful in an interview with Cindy Long on the National Education Association website, Sorell stated: “For young readers we are cultivating newer humans, newer citizens of communities and of the world and it is important for them to recognize that gratitude is a universal value. It may manifest in different ways and be expressed differently, but gratitude is central to maintaining hope, kindness, and connectivity to each other.”
The female family members of a Cherokee woman fighter pilot hold vigil awaiting her safe return in Sorell’s At the Mountain’s Base. The women gather in a cabin at the base of a mountain. As they wait, they sing traditional Cherokee songs, weave beautiful, elaborate blankets, and pray for the safe arrival of their warrior fighter pilot. Readers also see the perspective of the female pilot and her hopes of returning safely, but more importantly seeing the world returned to peace. Throughout the text there are images and tales rooted in Cherokee traditions, like when the matriarch of the family reminds everyone of the protective grandmother spider who is charged with watching over the village and keeping everyone in the tribe safe. Speaking with Kim Rogers about the book on the Cynsations website, Sorell explained: “I hope it sparks discussions about the contributions that Native people have made that go unnoticed. I also want to uplift how Native Nations honor those active duty military personnel and veterans regardless of how they are treated in the broader United States culture or by its federal government. Similarly, there is no separation between our lives here and the spirit world, all are connected.” Nicholl Denice Montgomery, reviewing At the Mountain’s Base in Horn Book, noted, “The book captures the emotions of families separated by war while introducing the reader to a part of history that is often erased.” A Kirkus Reviews contributor concluded, “Children will find comfort in the story’s repetition as well as its message of prayer and peace.”
Sorell collaborated with Charlene Willing Mcmanis to create the 2020 work, Indian No More. Regina Petit is just ten years old when her Umpqua family, living on the Grande Ronde Tribe reservation in Oregon, is forced to relocate to Los Angeles as part of the 1957 Indian Relocation Program. Through the eyes of the youngster, we see father try to reassure everyone that the Indian Relocation Program will provide all that has been promised—good schools, favorable employment opportunities, and a strong community. Grandma is skeptical, and mama tries to keep the family happy and reassured. As Regina and her younger sister Peewee start school in their adoptive community rather than finding the warm welcome they were expecting, they confront rampant racism toward Indians. As the story unfolds, the family must grapple with their new surroundings and struggle to hold on to their cultural identity amid oppression and downright racism. “Readers will be moved as they become invested in Regina’s predicament. Is she still Indian, American, or both—and what does that mean for her and her family?,” wrote Michele Shaw in School Library Journal. Reviewing Indian No More in Horn Book, Sarah Ellis concluded, “This is a book we need—distinctive in voice, accessible in style, and told with an insider’s particular power.”
In We Are Still Here! Native American Truths Everyone Should Know, again illustrated by Lessac, Sorell chronicles the history of Native American nations since the Native treaties with the U.S. government ended in 1871. The story is grounded in a classroom where students are celebrating Indigenous People’s Day. In each book spread, a different student presents a different topic in which the U.S. government sanctioned discrimination—via education, land rights, and relocation, for example. Through it all, the students explain how Native societies have retained their cultures and traditions. A Kirkus Reviews critic praised the volume, calling it “an emphatic, triumphant declaration.”
Sorell offers another example of Native American history in Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer, illustrated by Natasha Donovan. Born to Cherokee Nation parents, Ross excelled at math as a child and grew up to become a math and science teacher. When World War II arrived, however, she joined Lockheed Aircraft, where she worked on fighter planes and later designed spacecraft for NASA. The author’s “succinct text emphasizes Ross’ reliance on Cherokee values (gaining skills, working cooperatively, remaining humble, and ensuring equal opportunity for all), which played a defining role in her successes,” noted Booklist critic Kay Weisman. A Kirkus Reviews contributor also lauded the book, calling it “a stellar addition to the genre that will launch careers and inspire for generations.”
Sorell collaborates with illustrator Madelyn Goodnight on Powwow Day. River, the young girl at the center of the story, has been sick and doesn’t feel well enough to dance at Powwow Day. She watches the festivities—the entrance of the elders, the banging of drums, the dancers twirling with ribbons and grass—but despairs, because she is unable to join in the ceremonial healing dance. Then, one of her friends decides to dance on River’s behalf, and the act stirs powerful feelings of healing in River’s body. “Together, the artwork and text sensitively portray and celebrate a powerful ritual that upholds the culture, healing traditions, and creative spirit of Native American communities,” remarked a Kirkus Reviews contributor. Similarly, a Publishers Weekly critic concluded that Sorell “creates a resonant, hopeful tale about the healing power of community and tradition, deftly capturing the powwow’s essence.”
In an interview with A.J. Eversole in Cynsations, Sorell commented on her advice for younger people of Native American heritage who might be trying to forge writing careers: “Our young people need more representation on the page in both fiction and nonfiction. While you may not feel you have all the skills needed to share your stories, craft can be learned. Storytellers from our communities have honed theirs over lifetimes, and that’s what you are doing in the written form. There’s a welcoming community already here for you, so it’s a great time to be in this industry.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, September 15, 2018, Amina Chaudhri, review of We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga, p. 61; January 1, 2021, Kay Weisman, review of Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer, p. 58; April 1, 2021, Kay Weisman, review of We Are Still Here! Native American Truths Everyone Should Know, p. 37.
Horn Book, November-December, 2018, Julie Hakim Azzam, review of We Are Grateful, p. 69; September-October, 2019, Nicholl Denice Montgomery, review of At the Mountain’s Base, p. 72; November-December, 2019, Sarah Ellis, review of Indian No More, p. 91.
Kirkus Reviews, July 15, 2018, review of We Are Grateful; July 1, 2019, review of At the Mountain’s Base; January 1, 2021, review of Classified; March 15, 2021, review of We Are Still Here!; December 15, 2021, review of Powwow Day.
Publishers Weekly, December 20, 2021, review of Powwow Day, p. 95.
School Library Journal, July, 2018, Luann Toth, review of We Are Grateful, p. 46; September, 2019, Michele Shaw, review of Indian No More, p. 116.
ONLINE
24 Carrot Writing, http://www.24carrotwriting.com/ (October 1, 2018), Kelly Carey, author interview.
American Indians in Children’s Literature, https://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/ (November 17, 2018), “Congratulations to Traci Sorell for Orbis Pictus Honor Award!”
Bull Horn, https://thebullhornblog.org/ (September 5, 2018), Carole Lindstrom, author interview.
Cherokee Phoenix, https://www.cherokeephoenix.org/ (February 4, 2020), Will Chavez, author profile.
Cynsations, http://cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.com/ (September 12, 2018), Cynthia Leitich Smith, “New Voice: Traci Sorell on We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga;” (October 1, 2019), Kim Rogers, author interview; (March 1, 2022), A.J. Eversole, author interview.
Ears on the Odyssey, https://earsontheodyssey.com/ (December 27, 2019), Eti Berland, author interview.
Horn Book, https://www.hbook.com/ (November 13, 2018), Julie Hakim Azzam, “Five Questions for Traci Sorell and Frané Lessac.”
Kidlit 411, http://www.kidlit411.com/ (August 1, 2018), author interview.
Melissa Stoller website, https://www.melissastoller.com/ (August 27, 2018), “3 Question Interview—Traci Sorell.”
M Is for Movement, https://misformovement.org/ (September 5, 2018), Carole Lindstrom, author interview.
National Education Association website, https://www.nea.org/ (November 13, 2019), Cindy Long, author interview.
South Dakota Humanities Council website, http://sdhumanities.org/ (November 5, 2020), author profile.
Texas Book Festival website, https://www.texasbookfestival.org/ (November 5, 2020), author profile.
Traci Sorell website, https://www.tracisorell.com (October 7, 2022).*
Traci Sorell
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Traci Sorell is an American author of fiction and nonfiction works for teens and an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation.
Personal lifestyle
Sorell has spent her life with her family living on the Cherokee Nation tribe's reservation in northeastern Oklahoma by Fort Gibson Lake.[1] Her mother's family has lived in the area since 1838 when Cherokee people were removed from their homelands.[2] She has a younger brother and sister.[2]
As a child, Sorell learned about her ancestors from her grandmother, fishing, and caring for animals and the land.[2] She also enjoyed reading, singing, and performing in theater productions.[2]
When Sorell was a teenager, she and her family moved to Southern California, and she became the first person in her family to graduate from college.[3] Her mother, sister, and brother later received degrees, as well.[2]
Sorell's second language is Spanish, though she is trying to learn the Cherokee language.[2]
Education
Sorell majored in Native American Studies and minored in Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley graduating with a Bachelor Arts in 1994.[1] During her time at Berkeley, Sorell lived in Madrid and taught English and Spanish to children and adults.[2]
In 1996, she received a Master of Arts from the University of Arizona, where she studied American Indian Studies with a concentration in Federal Indian Law & Policy.[1]
Later, Sorell returned to school and received a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 2001.[1]
Career
Sorell began her career by helping Native Nations and their citizens by writing "legal codes, testimony for Congressional hearings, federal budget requests, grants and reports."[2]
Since beginning her writing career, Sorell has continued to focus on incorporating culturally accurate books about Cherokee and other Indigenous people for children and young adults.[2]
Sorell is currently a Tulsa Artist Fellow.[1]
Awards and honors
Four of Sorell's books are Junior Library Guild selections: Powwow Day,[4] We Are Still Here!,[5] We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga,[6] and Classified.[7]
Awards and honors for Sorell's books
Year Title Award/Honor Result Ref.
2018 We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga Reading the West Book Award Winner [8]
2019 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award Honor [9][10]
Orbis Pictus Award Honor [11]
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award Honor [12]
ALA Notable Children's Books Selection [13]
2020 At the Mountain's Base ALA Notable Children's Books Selection [14][15]
American Indian Youth Literature Award Honor [16][17]
Rise: A Feminist Book List Top 10 [18][19]
Indian No More ALA Notable Children's Books Selection [20]
American Indian Youth Literature Award Winner [16]
We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga American Indian Youth Literature Award Honor [16][17]
Audie Award for Young Listeners' Title Finalist [21]
Odyssey Award Honor [22][23]
2022 At the Mountain's Base ALA Notable Children's Recordings Selection [24]
We Are Still Here! ALA Notable Children's Recordings Selection [24]
American Indian Youth Literature Award Honor [25][17]
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award Honor [25]
Classified American Indian Youth Literature Award Honor [25][17]
Orbis Pictus Award Honor [26]
Rise: A Feminist Book List Selection [27]
2024 Contenders American Indian Youth Literature Award Honor [28]
Mascot American Indian Youth Literature Award Honor
She Persisted: Wilma Mankiller American Indian Youth Literature Award Honor
Publications
Ages 4+
We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga, illustrated by Frané Lessac (2019)
At the Mountain's Base / ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎤᎾᎢ ᎡᎳᏗᏢ ᎣᏓᎸᎢ, ᎾᎢ, illustrated by Weshoyot Alvitre (2019)
Pow Wow Day, illustrated by Madelyn Goodnight (2022)
Being Home, illustrated by Michaela Goade (2023)
Clack, Clack! Smack! A Cherokee Stickball Story, illustrated by Joseph Erb (2024)
Ages 7+
Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer, illustrated by Natasha Donovan (2021)
One Land, Many Nations: Volume 1 with Lee Francis IV, illustrated by Jesse Hummingbird (2021)
We Are Still Here! Native American Truths Everyone Should Know, illustrated by Frané Lessac (2021)
Middle grade
Indian No More with Charlene Willing McManis (2019)
She Persisted: Wilma Mankiller with Chelsea Clinton, illustrated by Alexandra Boiger and Gillian Flint (2022)
Contenders: Two Native Baseball Players, One World Series, illustrated by Arigon Starr (2023)
Mascot with Charles Waters (2023)
Riding the Trail: Cherokees Remember the Removal with Will Chavez (2025)
Anthology contributions
Thanku: Poems of Gratitude, edited by Miranda Paul, illustrated by Marlena Myles (2019)
No Voice Too Small: Fourteen Young Americans Making History, edited by Lindsay H. Metcalf, Keila V. Dawson, and Jeanette Bradley, illustrated by Jeanette Bradley (2020)
The Reluctant Storyteller with Art Coulson, illustrated by Carlin Bear Don't Walk and Roy Boney Jr. (2020)
The Talk: Conversations About Race, Love & Truth, edited by Wade Hudson and Cheryl Willis Hudson (2020)
Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids, edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith (2021)
Wonderful Women of the World, edited by Laurie Halse Anderson (2021)
No World Too Big: Young People Fighting for Global Climate Change, edited by Lindsay H. Metcalf, Keila V. Dawson, and Jeanette Bradley, illustrated by Jeanette Bradley (2023)
MEET TRACI
a young girl reading the night before christmas
Traci lives with her family in the Cherokee Nation, out in the country like she did as a child. Back then, she had geese, chickens, horses, dogs, and cats. Her mother’s Cherokee family has been in the area since the removal of most Cherokee people from their southeastern homelands in 1838. Traci grew up hearing stories about her ancestors and looking at their photographs with her elisi (eh-lee-see), grandma. Now her son does that with his elisi, in addition to fishing in the nearby lake and learning their Cherokee culture.
As a child, Traci spent a lot of time reading as well as singing and acting in musical theater productions. She also loved playing with her younger sister and brother. They spent hours driving little toy cars all over the towns they drew on large pieces of cardboard or making up games outside. When they moved into town, typical summer days involved riding bikes to the community pool for a swim and checking out books at the library. Away from home, they spent lots of time visiting family across the Cherokee Nation, elsewhere in Oklahoma, and places farther west. Traci still loves to read, play, learn, swim and travel.
When Traci was a teenager, her family moved to Southern California. She did less acting and more writing, both in class and on the high school yearbook staff. She was the first in her family to graduate from college. Later, her mom, sister and brother got their degrees too.
Before she began writing for children, Traci’s work focused on helping Native Nations and their citizens. She wrote legal codes, testimony for Congressional hearings, federal budget requests, grants and reports. She continues that work by writing stories for young people and encouraging other Native writers and illustrators to share theirs. When Traci was a child, she never read culturally accurate books about the Cherokee or any other Indigenous peoples. The stories and poems she writes now reflect her mission to add to the canon of literature showing that Native Nations and their citizens still exist and thrive today.
Four fun things to know about traci
woman sitting in a rocking chair on a porch
Photo credit Highlights Foundation
When Traci was eight, she tried out for the part of “Annie” in the 1982 motion picture.
1.
Traci still has all the original books that she and her siblings enjoyed as kids—Golden Books, Judy Blume, Beverly Cleary, etc. And a few of her parents’ childhood favorites too!
2.
Traci cannot whistle no matter how hard she tries.
3.
Traci is learning the Cherokee language, but she is not fluent. In fact, her second language is Spanish. She studied it from eighth through twelfth grades and even got college credit. She lived in Madrid, Spain, for a year during college and taught English to Spanish children and adults to fund her travel adventures.
bios
Here are Traci's short and long biographies to use for introductions or interviews.
The Short Bio
The Long Bio
Best-selling author Traci Sorell writes inclusive, award-winning historical and contemporary fiction and nonfiction in a variety of formats for young people. She is a two-time Sibert Medal and Orbis Pictus honoree and award-winning audiobook narrator and producer. Eight of her books have received awards from the American Indian Library Association. Other accolades include: Jane Addams Children’s Book Honor Award, Charlotte Huck Honor Award, Septima Clark Women in Literature Honor Award, Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor, International Literacy Association's Social Justice Literature Award Winner, and many Best-of and Notables lists. In 2024, she shares two fiction picture books: Being Home, illustrated by Caldecott Medalist Michaela Goade, and Clack, Clack! Smack! A Cherokee Stickball Story, illustrated by Joseph Erb, along with two board books.
A former federal Indigenous law attorney and policy advocate, Traci is a Cherokee Nation citizen and first-generation college graduate. She lives within her tribe’s reservation in northeastern Oklahoma. Learn more at www.tracisorell.com.
Traci Sorell and Arigon Starr on their children's book about two Native baseball stars
APRIL 15, 20237:59 AM ET
HEARD ON WEEKEND EDITION SATURDAY
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NPR's Miles Parks talks with Traci Sorell and Arigon Starr about their children's book "Contenders: Two Native Baseball Players, One World Series."
Sponsor Message
MILES PARKS, HOST:
OK, picture this. It's 1911. You're at the World Series. The Philadelphia Athletics and the New York Giants are dueling it out for the title. It ends with the Philly A's winning a thrilling six-game series.
(CHEERING)
PARKS: Two of the star players are Charles Bender of the A's and John Meyers of the Giants. Before the 1911 series, they posed on the field together, prompting The New York Times to print this offensive line. Maybe they wish they had tomahawks in their hands instead of a bat and a baseball. It's just one example of the racism that these two star, Native athletes endured. But Bender and Meyers dominated the series, and that's the story of "Contenders," a picture book for young readers by Traci Sorell and Arigon Starr. They join me now.
Hi, guys.
TRACI SORELL: Hi.
ARIGON STARR: Hi.
PARKS: And happy baseball season.
SORELL: Yes.
STARR: Oh, yes (laughter).
PARKS: So I guess let's just start with these two characters who your book centers on. Traci, can you tell us about Charles Bender?
SORELL: Charles is an Ojibwe young man who is moved from his home reservation in what is now northwest Minnesota to boarding schools in the Pennsylvania area, first in Philly and then later to Carlisle. And that's where he learns the game of baseball and develops into an amazing pitcher. He's the inventor of the slider pitch, and he's in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
PARKS: I know. That blew my mind when I saw that he was the inventor of the slider, which is a pitch now that's thrown by, you know, a number of pitchers in the majors.
SORELL: Yeah. Every game - right? - someone is throwing a slider pitch. And I was like, why don't young people know this? You know, this is a key part of today's game.
PARKS: Yeah. Arigon, tell me a little bit about John Meyers.
STARR: Oh, he's a local boy done good. And I say that because I'm based here in Los Angeles. John was from the Cahuilla reservation out near Riverside, Calif., just one of many Indian kids that love to play baseball. As a scrappy youth, he went around to some colleges. They found out he hadn't even graduated high school. But there he was, playing for Dartmouth. But he gained attention. The scouts saw him. They found him. And, you know, he joined the game a little bit later than a lot of the kids do these days. But there he was.
PARKS: I have to say, I consider myself kind of a student of baseball history. I had - when I was a kid, my mom got me a book that was, like, the hundred greatest baseball games of all time. And I read it front to back, like, 15 times. And yet I'm embarrassed to say I had not heard of these guys who played a really prominent role in early baseball history. Can you guys talk to me about how you came to this story and then, also, how you researched it to be able to put this book together?
SORELL: Sure. My husband is also an ardent baseball fan. And so he was reading this book and he said, have you heard about the Indian-against-Indian World Series? - 1911. The press labeled at the Indian against Indian. And I said, who played? What was this? So I started reading about it. And then I immediately wanted to know, OK, where did these two men come from? What's their backstory? It was just fascinating to me.
So as much as I wanted to share the story of young readers and the accomplishments of these men, they also have very different paths that they get to the game by. At that time, there's not a lot of in-depth interviews with either one of them. So it was piecing it together with what interviews there were about their childhoods - so very different realities. And yet they both rise to the highest level in the sport and play against each other.
STARR: As far as, like, doing the research, it was a lot of fun to dive into history and especially, like, the history of New York baseball because there were so many teams and - sharing the polo grounds, and then the whole history of the polo grounds about, it burned to the ground. Yet months later it came back, which I thought was fantastic. And our Native people were there. That impresses me to no end because people always think, you know, it ended in 1890 or something, and, oh, they rode off into the sunset, and it's the end of the trail. However, we have always been there, and we have been on the forefront. We're inventing things. We're in it. We're in the mix 0 always in the mix.
PARKS: Well, and you all really honestly paint the racism and obstacles that these two men went through to get to the highest point in this sport. But this is a children's book, right? I mean, so how did you kind of weigh including some of those really heavy topics in a book that's aimed at young people?
SORELL: Well, I mean, the reality is young people see that and experience that all the time. And I think it's very much in their face today. So in that part, it's like, well, just understand, this is a continuation. Like, you can go to a Braves game today, and you see that. You can go to the Chiefs games today, and you see that these athletes today are still playing in those kind of environments where our culture is mocked.
PARKS: Does that come into conflict as you - you're sitting here talking to me wearing a San Diego Padres shirt. You're drinking from a Kansas City Royals cup. You clearly love the game still. How do those two things interact with each other?
SORELL: My hope is that by exposing this and helping young people to see that that we can grow more awareness of respecting all of us as humans and by helping young people to know that we have always had a presence in the game. You've still got Ryan Helsley, Adrian Houser, you know, Jon Gray, who are all right-handed pitchers, like Bender, in the game today - that they deserve to be able to play with the respect and be able to do their jobs just like any other athlete out on the field.
PARKS: The art in this book is is so gorgeous. And I think about - a key part of Native heritage is storytelling. And yet I have to imagine you guys did not grow up with a lot of children's books that were about this sort of stuff, that looked like this. How important was it to make something like this?
STARR: It was incredibly important to bring this story to our Native kids because they see the outside world, and they don't see themselves in it, in these kids books. And if they do see themselves in the books, it's highly stereotyped and certainly not, you know, what they see at home. And a lot of the misconceptions about our Native people, too - are, oh, they're all, you know, have horrible lives and live in poverty and da, da, da, da. And, you know, however, that's not always the case. Some of us actually had two parents and grew up and went to school and did amazing things.
And I was so thrilled to be able to bring these incredible lives to light because we are forgotten. Everybody thinks of the lovely Jackie Robinson, and that is a well-told tale. And we - I love Jackie 'cause I love the Dodgers, but these guys were there way before that.
PARKS: Well, while I have you guys here, I have to ask, what do you make of the new rules? Any thoughts?
STARR: I'm liking the new rules. There's something more exciting about seeing those ground balls go through the hole. You know, like, they used to be, ah, the shift; ah, they're going to hit there; ah. It was so, I don't know, mechanical or something. But now it's darn exciting.
PARKS: I feel the exact same way. I feel like that's a ground ball that should have gone through. And for a while...
STARR: Yes.
PARKS: ...We had a couple of years where it was like, oh, no, why is that?
SORELL: Yes.
PARKS: And now we're back.
STARR: Wah-oh.
PARKS: Now it's like, ah.
SORELL: Yeah.
PARKS: It feels like...
STARR: Oh.
PARKS: ...Baseball again, right?
SORELL: Yeah. Yeah.
STARR: It sure does.
SORELL: Yeah. No. I'm definitely over the shift. But I just don't feel like someone should be on second base if they haven't done the work to get to second base.
PARKS: Fair enough.
STARR: Yes, fair enough (laughter).
PARKS: Well...
STARR: What about those big bases? Ooh.
PARKS: Yeah, exactly. I like the shorter games. I like the shorter games, though.
SORELL: Yes.
PARKS: That's Traci Sorell and Arigon Starr. Their new book is "Contenders," and it's out now.
Thank you both so much for joining me.
SORELL: Thank you for having us.
STARR: (Non-English language spoken). My mother thanks you. My grandmother thanks you. And what a pleasure to be on your show, Miles.
In the Round guest Traci Sorell shares the stories of the Cherokee, then and now
TOPICS:In The Round At BGSUTraci SorellWood County District Public Library
Traci Sorell visited the Wood County District Public Library as a guest of BGSU's In the Round series.
POSTED BY: DAVID DUPONT MARCH 25, 2024
By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Traci Sorell has helped the Cherokee people in many ways.
Before she began writing for children, Traci’s work focused on helping Native Nations and their citizens. She wrote legal codes, testimony for Congressional hearings, federal budget requests, grants, and reports. Making sure elders could live out their lives in dignity.
Then her son was born. When she looked around, she found few books about indigenous people, and none about the Cherokee. And based on those few books, indigenous people disappeared after 1900.
Cherokee author Traci Sorell speaks at the Wood County District Public Library.
The situation had changed little since she was young. She didn’t want him to read and “not see himself in the pages.”
So, she set about on a new mission, writing books about the Cherokee for her son and other young people. Now her son is 14, and his mother has published 11 books, enough to fill a shelf with two more on the way. Fittingly “We Are Still Here” is one of the titles.
Sorell visited Bowling Green this weekend through the auspices of BGSU’s In the Round series. The series brings in indigenous writers, artist, filmmakers, and others involved creative activity to speak about their work and their culture.
On Friday evening she spoke on the BGSU campus. On Saturday morning she visited the Wood County District Public Library.
“It’s amazing that in the last five years so many books by native authors and illustrators” have been published, she said. “What we see is not only accurate historical things, but native people in contemporary life.”
With more than 570 federally recognized native tribes in the contiguous 48 states and Alaska, there’s more books to be written to fully represent indigenous people.”
“Books are a wonderful way for kids are able to not just see themselves but see each other,” she said.
Traci Sorell signs a copy of her book ‘Classified’ for Omar Elmoursy.
At Bowling Green, she read, with comments, two of her books, “Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer,” illustrated by Natasha Donovan, and “We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga,” illustrated by Frané Lessac.
Writing about an engineer was daunting, Sorell said. It was Ross herself who provided the focus. In 1999, shortly before her death at 99, she shared with a reporter her philosophy: “Do the best you can and search out available knowledge and build on it. I started with a firm foundation in mathematics and qualities that came down to me from my Indian heritage.”
Sorell shows how those qualities – humility, “working together in mind and heart,” and constantly seeking out knowledge, shaped Ross’ space age career: .
Sorell drew on the archive of Ross’ work, seeking the assistance from engineers to decipher the equations and drawings that are included in the text. Some of her work is still classified as top secret.
Ross was the great-great granddaughter of John Ross, the chief who helped to establish the Cherokee in what became the state of Oklahoma after their expulsion from the Southeast during The Trail of Tears. Sorell lives with her family on Cherokee land in Oklahoma.
Ross, who attended college at 16 and faced disdain from the boys in her math classes, started as a teacher, then joined Lockheed ‘s program to develop aircraft during World War II. Ross was accepted by her co-workers as a valuable member of the team. She became the first Indigenous woman to earn an engineering certificate. After the war, she was part of the top-secret team that worked on the nascent space program.
Traci Sorell signs books for, from left, Gabe, Lily, and Alex Butler.
The second book Sorell shared was “We Are Grateful.” The book takes the reader through the year and shows how contemporary Cherokee mark the seasons, illustrating how the ancient ways still inform the life of the Cherokee.
The book includes Cherokee words, which Sorell had the audience pronounce together. She herself is still learning the language.”
The surge of book challenges and banning “truly disturbs me,” she said. “If kids can live it, kids can read about it. That’s what I loved about my local library – I could check out anything I wanted.”
More about David Dupont
Posted by: David Dupont on March 25, 2024.
Traci Sorell: Using Our Gifts to Help, Inspire, and Contribute
By Lisa Bullard
January 22, 2024
Traci Sorell, an award-winning author and a Cherokee Nation citizen, has written a wide range of books for readers of different ages, including both fiction and nonfiction, contemporary and historical. Sorell’s work illuminates important issues in the lives of people who have often been ignored or misrepresented in the past, offering readers new ways to consider history and broaden their perspectives.
Here, Sorell talks with Lisa Bullard about the storytelling tradition she grew up with, activities that classrooms can use to dig deeper into Native history and culture, and the joy she finds in being part of bookmaking teams.
What was it like to grow up as part of the Cherokee storytelling tradition?
Cherokee people have always shared history, news, and other types of stories through the spoken word. That tradition continues today, whether the stories are told in Cherokee or in English. After the Cherokee people adopted the syllabary Sequoyah invented to write in the Cherokee language, then storytelling expanded into the written form.
Growing up in a Cherokee community, I knew about this history and heard stories from my Cherokee relatives. Those stories gave me a sense of belonging, communicated the values of our people, and helped me to experience story in a vibrant and fun way.
Left: Traci's kindergarten photo. Right: Traci in first grade.
How has that tradition helped you craft your books for young readers?
I hope through the words I craft that readers find a dynamic story that enlightens, informs, entertains, or just makes them feel like their time with the book was well spent. I want them to see that Native people have always been here and will always be here—making contributions, exercising their sovereignty, speaking their languages, and advocating for all to be cared for, including the land, water, air, plants, and animals.
Native people have always been here and will always be here—making contributions, exercising their sovereignty, speaking their languages, and advocating for all.”
Traci Sorell and Arigon Starr signing Contenders at the IndigiPopX Convention in Oklahoma City.
Your nonfiction picture book Contenders: Two Native Baseball Players, One World Series (Kokila, 2023) illuminates the lives of the first two pro baseball players from Native Nations to become opponents in the 1911 World Series. What drew you to their story?
I’m a lifelong baseball fan, but I hadn’t heard about pitcher Charles Bender (White Earth Ojibwe) or catcher John Meyers (Santa Rosa Cahuilla) playing against each other in the championship series until my husband was reading a book where that was mentioned. My curiosity was piqued to learn more about them, how they got to that history-making moment, and what their lasting contributions were to our national history.
What do you hope that young readers take away from the story of these two inspiring individuals?
My hope is that readers see that there is not a single path to get where you want to go. Also, we all have gifts and abilities we can use to help, inspire, and contribute. I hope after reading this book they understand challenges will always be present, but they are not alone and can work alongside others to make life better for everyone.
Teacher’s/Discussion/Activity Guides
Mascot
We Are Still Here!
Powwow Day
We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga
Your novel in verse (with co-author Charles Waters), Mascot (Charlesbridge, 2023), takes a nuanced look inside a contemporary community that is grappling with polarized opinions, and you skillfully incorporate seven different viewpoints. Can you talk about the challenge of presenting so many viewpoints while still making each of the characters feel relatable?
Charles Waters and I collected over seventy-five sources (newspaper articles, academic papers, dissertations, and more) about Native-themed mascots and their effect on students, both Native and non-Native, in K-12 education. We learned so much by doing that.
It also showed us that we had to have a variety of characters from various backgrounds to represent what we saw in the research. To match the book’s setting and to have it read authentically, we also matched the characters to the demographics of those living close to Washington, DC. Because some characters have identities that neither Charles nor I have, we enlisted the help of others who do have those identities to read and give us unfiltered, honest feedback about the representation on the page. All of that helped us craft how these seven characters would act on this issue.
Frané touring the Cherokee Nation reservation with Traci Sorell and Will Chavez, assistant editor and photographer for the Cherokee Phoenix newspaper.
Mascot also provides fantastic examples for students who are learning to prepare their own persuasive essays or oral presentations. Do you have additional advice to offer those students?
Regardless of how you may feel or what you think about any given subject, study it from a variety of angles. Think about who or what is directly affected, less directly affected, and who might not be affected at all. Now it’s time to go beyond your own thinking or what someone has told you. Look up the data and read the impact of the issue on those most affected.
Traci Sorell with Kokila Books editor Namratha Tripathi and art director Jasmin Rubero.
Regardless of how you may feel or what you think about any given subject, study it from a variety of angles.”
You and Charles Waters collaborated on Mascot, and you also allow “room” for the illustrators of your picture books to retell the story in their own way. Based on those collaborative experiences, do you have suggestions for students who are working as part of a team in the classroom?
Each of you has strengths, experiences, and viewpoints that are different from others. Making a book together requires the combining or collaboration of two or more people, so no one person gets to say how everything will be written, illustrated, or designed. Everyone provides their input.
When I write a picture book, I think about wooing or enticing the illustrator. They must tell more than half the story in the art because of a picture book’s limited word count. The majority of the work is on them as the storyteller. So, my writing must be lyrical and tight, prompting their mind to fill with images that they can’t wait to create to elevate the story far beyond the text on the page. I never tell them what to illustrate; I just craft words that I hope will inspire them.
Traci Sorell's office extension where she reads, brainstorms and writes first drafts longhand while watching the birds and deer who cross the back of her land.
Does your creative approach differ when you’re writing fiction versus nonfiction? Or when you’re writing picture books versus books for older readers?
I always start with “What do I know?” and “What do I not know yet?” whether I’m writing fiction or nonfiction. I then must figure out the best age range for the story I want to tell and what I think will be the most compelling format. Answering all these questions not only takes time, it can also delay a story being written, as I may need to work on my craft more (reading and studying the format, age range, etc.) before taking on drafting the story. But I like to challenge myself. It keeps me interested and motivated to do that.
I always start with ‘What do I know?’ and ‘What do I not know yet?’”
What is your research process like? Do you have suggestions for students who are learning how to do effective research themselves?
I must find trusted source materials on whomever or whatever I’m writing about. That can be tricky, as a lot of what has been written about Native Nations, their citizens, and their history is inaccurate. Nearly every Native Nation has its own website, so that is a great place to start for sources (people to interview, cultural resources, books, etc.). Just using Google or Wikipedia can yield a lot of problematic and inaccurate information on many subjects. Go get as close to the subject as possible. For Contenders, I read interviews with each major leaguer and books written about them, connected with their families, and visited museums. Then I started comparing the various sources to determine the reality of these two men’s lived experiences in baseball.
Brainstorming pages from We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga and Traci’s markups.
What’s your best advice for young people who want to be writers?
Read, read, and read some more. Reading hundreds of recent books in whatever format and for whatever age group you want to create for is key. I check out lots of books from my local library every month for inspiration, education, and to stay current on what is available for young people to read.
It’s critical to study how the story appears on the page, whether you want to write, draw, or do both. Your school and public libraries are places to check out the most recent books to see what authors, illustrators, and author-illustrators are doing. The more you read and study, the easier it becomes to see patterns; understand story structure; see where the text may start the story, but the art carries it far beyond what the text shares; and more.
Read, read, and read some more.”
Do you have suggestions for teachers and students who want to immerse themselves more deeply in your books? Perhaps some ways to compare and contrast your titles?
Read Indian No More (Tu Books, 2019), which is historical fiction, and She Persisted: Wilma Mankiller (Philomel, 2022), which is a nonfiction biography, to learn more about the impact of federal termination and relocation policies on Native children and their families.
Examine We Are Still Here: Native American Truths Everyone Should Know (Charlesbridge, 2021) and then We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga (Charlesbridge, 2018). The first book gives readers an overview ranging from the history to the contemporary realities of Native Nations in the USA since 1871 (generally when they disappear from mention in K-12 curriculum). Compare that with the history and contemporary realities shared in the second book, which focuses on one specific Native Nation—the Cherokee Nation.
Read the picture book Powwow Day (Charlesbridge, 2022) and then the short story “Secrets and Surprises” in Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids (Heartdrum, 2021). Write down what you learn from the picture book about River and her Ojibwe family and community through the art and the text. Contrast that with the short story form and what is learned from a story told from her older sister’s perspective.
What’s your favorite part of creating books for young people?
Being part of the bookmaking team gives me so much joy! I’m doing my part to create the story through words, but others help me with that process. I use photos, interviews, books, maps, and other sources people have created to help me craft the story, whether fiction or nonfiction. Numerous people read my words and give me their unfiltered feedback. I believe lots of people’s names should be on the cover alongside mine because I could not write the books without them.
What would you like to tell your fans about your forthcoming books?
Being Home (Kokila, May 2024), with Caldecott Medalist Michaela Goade, follows the celebratory journey of a Cherokee child moving from the city where they’ve always lived to the ancestral lands where the rest of their relatives live.
Clack, Clack! Smack! A Cherokee Stickball Story (Charlesbridge, August 2024), with Joseph Erb, shares the experience of Vann, who struggles to make plays when his team competes against others in a stickball game. There will be two versions of the book—one in English and one in the Cherokee syllabary.
And there’s more fiction and nonfiction on the way after those!
What are the best ways for educators and librarians to connect with you or to follow you on social media?
My website, tracisorell.com, is always the best place to find out the latest about my current and forthcoming books as well as to access free classroom guides and downloadable materials.
Find me on Instagram @tracisorellauthor or via Bluesky @tracisorellauthor.bsky.social.
Sorell, Traci CONTENDERS Kokila (Children's None) $18.99 4, 11 ISBN: 9780593406472
Profiles of the first two Native players to make history by facing off in a World Series: Charles Bender and John Meyers.
Properly rejecting the conventional sobriquets (both were often referred to as "Chief" in newspapers despite not being tribal leaders) as inaccurate and disrespectful and using her subjects' given names (or childhood nicknames) throughout, Sorell weaves into her brief but suspenseful recap of the 1911 Series accounts of both men's paths to the major leagues. Bender left the White Earth Reservation in Minnesota to pitch for the Philadelphia Athletics after escaping abusive experiences both at home, from his German American father, and in a boarding school; Meyers resisted "pressure to adopt white people's norms" as he left the Cahuilla reservation in California for spots on several semipro teams and then spoke out against injustices against Native people as a catcher for the New York Giants. Adding carefully authenticated Ojibwe and Cahuilla motifs on framing borders, Starr offers a set of clean-lined on-field tableaux, montages, and baseball card-style portraits of the chiseled players in period uniforms. Though the author does give her stars' later careers (and, in a closing timeline, lives) quick overviews, the story she tells is at least as much about racism as it is about baseball, with several references to "slights and slurs" along with documented prejudicial quotes and headlines from the time identified as "insults." Nor has the onslaught let up significantly: "From peewee to professional levels," she concludes, "no other athletes in the United States face the kind of sanctioned mocking and dishonor of their culture that Native players do." (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A lesser-known but significant encounter with all-too-current resonances. (author's note, quotes, sources) (Informational picture book. 7-10)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Sorell, Traci: CONTENDERS." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Mar. 2023, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A738705441/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=c2f3fd89. Accessed 6 May 2024.
Contenders: Two Native Baseball Players, One World Series
by Traci Sorell; illus. by Arigon Starr
Primary Kokila/Penguin 48 pp.
4/23 9780593496472 $18.99
e-book ed. 9780593406489 $11.99
Baseball's 1911 World Series was the first to feature a match-up between two Native players. Future Hall-of-Fame pitcher Charles Bender (Ojibwe) would pitch in three of the six games, including the decisive sixth, for the Philadelphia Athletics; while hard-hitting catcher John Meyers (Cahuilla) would be behind the plate for the New York Giants for all six games. Both players were nicknamed "Chief" by the racist press and endured insults and slurs throughout their entire professional careers. Sorell (Cherokee Nation) provides readers with biographical sketches of Bender and Meyers, tracing their childhoods and divergent paths to professional baseball before diving back into the game-by-game highlights of the thrilling 1911 championship series. Starr (Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma) employs a mix of hand-drawn and digital art throughout and incorporates Ojibwe and Cahuilla designs in the pages relating Bender's and Meyers's childhoods. The art expertly foregrounds the central figures: Bender and Meyers are drawn with detailed texture, setting them apart from the largely flat backgrounds featuring teammates, fans, and reporters. An author's note, a detailed timeline, and a list of sources round out this handsome package, sure to pique the interest of young baseball fans.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Sources, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.hbook.com/magazine/default.asp
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Carpenter, Eric. "Contenders: Two Native Baseball Players, One World Series." The Horn Book Magazine, vol. 99, no. 2, Mar.-Apr. 2023, pp. 101+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A743529894/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=4a1dc60f. Accessed 6 May 2024.
Mascot. By Charles Waters and Traci Sorell. Sept. 2023. 256p. Charlesbridge, $17.99 (9781623543808). Gr. 5-8.
Mrs. Williams tasks her eighth-grade honors English students with a persuasive writing and oral presentation assignment arguing the pros and cons of using Indigenous peoples as mascots. Throughout the course of a school year the story unfolds in a series of poems that detail the perspectives of six students: Callie (Cherokee African American), Franklin (African American), Priya (Indian American), Luis (Salvadoran American), Tessa (white and previously homeschooled), and Sean (white and living in generational poverty). Predictably, Callie, Priya, and Tessa (who sees herself as a committed antiracist) oppose Indigenous mascots, while the boys, who enjoy war paint and tomahawk chops at Rye Braves games, claim the mascot depicts pride in the team and their school. While the discord around the mascot is a long-standing one in the Virginia community, the assignment empowers the students to take the issue to the school board. After further research, one student switches sides, losing a friend in the process. While the plot requires a fair amount of exposition detailing history and arguments on both sides, the characters are well developed and believable, and the story flows smoothly. A valuable classroom pick that demonstrates the importance of debate.--Kay Weisman
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
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Weisman, Kay. "Mascot." Booklist, vol. 119, no. 21, 1 July 2023, p. 66. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A760091576/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=8879f879. Accessed 6 May 2024.
Sorell, Traci BEING HOME Kokila (Children's None) $18.99 5, 7 ISBN: 9781984816030
A contemporary Cherokee family finds their way home.
Life in the city is chaotic, a young child tells us. Etsi (Cherokee for mother) decides it's time for them to leave. They pack up their belongings in boxes, wave goodbye to their house, and drive off, "on a new path. / One that leads us to / our ancestors' land / and to our people." When they arrive, they're greeted by a loving community. Everyone helps unload the car and gathers for a feast. Then the narrator races off with other children through the woods to play and explore. Sorell's (Cherokee Nation) lyrical, alliterative verse positively sings. Instead of "busy streets" and "crowded spaces," there is "room to run." Here, children can "hear the creek, cool and constant." Goade's (Tlingit Nation) breathtaking mixed-media artwork layers in emotion, transitioning from urban scenes dominated by dark, looming structures and impersonal silhouettes to vibrantly illustrated spreads teeming with the smiling faces of friends and family. Shimmering colors and geometric shapes bring to life the protagonist's world. Doodlelike pages from the child's journal reveal the narrator's anticipation. The color pink is a motif throughout--it appears sporadically early on, then slowly infuses the pages; the final spreads are suffused with hues of rose as the sun sets and the children play by the light of the moon.
An evocative, heartwarming testament to the power of home and community. (Cherokee glossary) (Picture book. 6-10)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Sorell, Traci: BEING HOME." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Mar. 2024, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A784238376/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=6fba9b33. Accessed 6 May 2024.