Imagining a girl warrior

Slapin's review of Landman's APACHE GIRL WARRIORThis atrocious young adult historical novel is the product of Landman’s (stated) lifelong fascination with Indians combined with an outrageous sense of white entitlement, sloppy research habits, a Euro-feminist approach to history and a penchant for imaginative exercises. From her comments on the back cover: “The image of a girl carrying a spear formed behind my eyes, but I didn’t know if a Native American woman would have been allowed to become a warrior…. The more I read, the more I found that what I’d imagined was entirely plausible.”

In Landman’s imagination, the Ndee refer to themselves as “Apache” (an enemy name) in the late 1800s, all “Apache” men are warriors (whether or not they are engaged in battle), all “Apache” women (“maidens”) are ineffectual (except for the girl who becomes a warrior), all “Apaches” have those ubiquitous “black eyes” that distinguish them as Indians, and hatred and vengeance are the sole motivating factors in “Apache” life.(Excerpted from Debbie Reese's American Indians in Children's Literature, 6/16/08.)

Comment:  I haven't read many children's books, but this book sounds like every bad movie and comic book about Indians. You gotta love Landman's claim about imagining an Apache girl warrior into being.

For more on the subject, see The Best Indian Books.