Thunder Boy Jr
“My mother’s name is Agnes. My sister’s name is Lillian. Those are fancy names. But they are normal names.”
“Thunder Boy Jr” written by Sherman Alexie is about a little boy named after his father, Big Thunder. However, Thunder Boy Jr does not want to be named after his dad - he wants to be named for something that is special to him. He goes through various options for his name based on his interests, adventures, and his strengths. Eventually, his father chooses a name for him that fits just right.
Indigenous Peoples’ month (and every month!) is a time to celebrate the culture and heritage of remarkable Americans. It is a time to honor the significant contributions American Indians and Alaska Natives have made to our Nation. Unfortunately, there has been a real lack of children’s stories representing Native American life and culture in current, honest ways. “Thunder Boy Jr.” and books like it are changing that and we’re here for it.
Because of the myths entrenched in Thanksgiving celebrated this month (we’ll get into that in the coming books), we are amplifying Indigenous stories, especially those told by the people themselves. We hope to bring light to the perspective not represented. If the narrative of Indigenous people continues to be produced in large part by people outside of the culture, it loses its authenticity and is more likely to present only what the dominant culture wishes to perpetuate.
This book also presents the importance of names, identity, and pride - something to which many of us can relate. This is especially clear when Thunder Boy describes the name Sam to be a “good” and “normal” name.
Many children struggle to deal with the fact that their teachers, peers, and strangers fumble over their names. A name is an essential part of who we are from the moment it is given to us and when the world seems to dismiss it, questions it, or worse - exchange it for something more “normal” - it degrades that person’s whole life experiences. When this happens to children, we know that they will internalize the feeling of “otherness.”
We hope to lift up more indigenous voices this month and in the months to come and hope to change the poor representation that has existed thus far. We will also take this time to learn and unlearn what is known to us about Indigenous people in America today and in history. We are thankful you are learning alongside us.
Some Things to Think About…
Teachers:
When we ask, “What name would you give yourself?” Please be careful with this one if you choose to implement it into your lessons. Imagining new names for ourselves can be empowering and a wonderful experience in understanding who we are and how we would like to be perceived. However, it would absolutely trivialize an essential aspect of Indigenous culture if we were to invite them to come up with “Native Names.” Just don’t do that. If your students are interested in naming ceremonies, there are hundreds of variations based on individual tribes/nations. Check out some of these sites for guidance: Tolerance.org and ADL.org.
Discussion questions:
Ask your family how you were given your name. Were you named after family members? Your time of birth? A blessing or indication of your family’s hopes?
What do you like about your name? What don’t you like about your name? How do you want people to perceive you?
Activity Ideas:
Create a drawing of yourself and make sure it displays all the aspects of your personality that are important to you. Are you a fan of plants? Create yourself as a beautiful houseplant or tropical tree. Are you destined to fly? Add wings to your portrait. Rename yourself in your portrait based on what you want people to know about you.
illustrated by Yuyi Morales
