GROWING UP INDIAN by Evelyn Wolfson, illustrated...

GROWING UP INDIAN by Evelyn Wolfson, illustrated by William Sauts Bock (Walker: $10.95; 96 pp.; age 10 up). American Indian children didn’t take naps, ate whenever they wanted, and they were educated without classrooms, proving once again the adage that there is more than one way to rear a child. In this wonderful, and sometimes frank, study, Evelyn Wolfson offers a rich accounting of growing up Indian, with examples drawn from several tribes.

With the Menominee, the more a girl could hunt, race and fish like a man, the more highly she was respected. Religion was a daily worship of nature, and children learned “that things on Earth were bound together and dependent upon one another.” Ecology, preservation and equality are just a few of today’s doctrines that actually originated with American Indian culture. From the games they played, we now have lacrosse, field hockey, bowling and football.

The author doesn’t mention every tribe, an understandable omission considering her simple format. If she writes another edition, it would be good to know more about children from Pacific coastal tribes--such as California’s Chumash and those on the Channel Islands--since the temperate weather and the ocean must have been a tremendous influence on life style. She is explicit, though, about the changes white settlers imposed, and she devotes one chapter to “Indian Children Today.” An index, bibliography and reading list round this out into a fine and honest text.

Much of its appeal comes from the artwork of Bock, an American Indian descended from the Lenape tribe of eastern Pennsylvania. The publishers were wise to have him illustrate this book as he evidently wasn’t tempted by stereotypes. More than 40 ink drawings are scattered throughout the pages in various sizes, all of them authentic and interesting.