Culture 4 - Jingle Dancer

A. Bibliography


Smith, Cynthia Leitich. 2000. Jingle Dancer. Ill. by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu. New York, NY: Morrow Junior Book. ISBN 068816241x.

B. Plot Summary
Jenna dreams of dancing at the next powwow, but she does not have any jingles to add to her dress. She strives to dance like her grandmother, constantly hearing the beat of the drums in her mind and heart which carry through to her feet. "As sun fetched morning" Jenna sets off down the streets of her suburban neighborhood to visit four important women in her life to see if she can borrow enough jingles to dance in the next powwow. The four women she visits are her Great-aunt Sis, Mrs. Scott, Cousin Elizabeth, and Grandma Wolfe. As she speaks to each one of these women and tells them her wish; she only asks to borrow just enough jingles to add to her dress. Each of the women in return ask Jenna to dance for them at the powwow. Finally, after Jenna has collected "just enough" jingles, Jenna and Grandma Wolfe sew the jingles on Jenna's dress and Jenna practices her dance. When Jenna arrives at the dance, she begins to hear the drum, then she begins to dance in honor of each of the four women who made her dream of dancing at the next powwow possible.

C. Critical Analysis
Jingle Dancer offers many cultural markers that connect this story to Native American culture. Smith quickly identifies that the main character, Jenna, is from the Muscogee Creek Nation. This is done when Jenna's Great-aunt Sis tells Jenna a "Muscogee Creek story about Bat." Smith, herself, is also a member of the same Nation, which contributes to the cultural authenticity of the story. The author notes and fine print share the history and background of Smith, which let the reader know that she is knowledgeable of this specific Native culture.



Smith also uses the number four which mirrors the four elements of nature. As Jenna ventured to the four different houses to visit the women. Smith uses north, south, east and west to show her travel. She also uses the sun and moon to give the reader a sense of time. For example when Jenna starts off down the sidewalk towards her great-aunts house the text states, "As Sun fetched morning, Jenna danced east to Great-aunt Sis's porch. Jenna's bounce steps crunched autumn leaves, but her steps didn't jingle." The number four is also present in the number of rows of jingle bells Jenna must have for dress in order to dance at the powwow, and Jenna borrows her jingles from four women that are important in her life.



The four women Jenna borrows the jingles from are an important cultural marker as well. Each one of these women, Great-aunt Sis, Mrs. Scott, Cousin Elizabeth, and Grandma Wolfe, represent elders in Jenna's life. Jenna respects these four strong women throughout the story by asking them to borrow just enough jingles and in return honoring them by dancing for them at the powwow. Jenna respects each of these women to borrow only the jingles she needs. For example when she is at Mrs. Scott's house asking to borrow the jingles Jenna states,"May I borrow enough jingles to make a row?" Jenna asked not wanting to take so many that Mrs. Scott's dress would lose its voice." This respect and honoring of elders is of great importance to Native American Culture.

Smith also incorporates and author's note and a glossary of terms to help the reader learn about the unfamiliar words used in the story. This glossary included words such as: "fry bread and powwow." These terms are defined in an easy to read and understand manner that informs the reader about Native American words and customs. The author's notes also presents valuable information regarding Native American traditions and customs, specifically of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and also of the Ojibway (Chippewa/Anishinabe) Nation. It also discuses the jingle dress in great detail. These notes offer readers a great foundation to build their Native American knowledge.

Smith also chose the setting of this story to be a contemporary suburban neighborhood, which describes and presents current images of Native people. Smith describes the characters in current everyday situations and jobs. The text describes Jenna when she goes to visit her Cousin Elizabeth, "As Sun caught a glimpse of Moon, Jenna strolled west to Cousin Elizabeth's apartment. At Jenna's side her jingles clanked. Elizabeth had arrived home late from the law firm. Once again, Jenna helped Elizabeth carry in her files." The illustrators also support this contemporary setting throughout the entire story with their illustrations, current clothes, and details.

The illustrations are watercolors. As stated earlier the illustrators, Van Wright and Ha use culturally accurate illustrations. For example, when Jenna practices her dance Jenna watches her grandmother dance on a video in her jingle dress. The dress is beautifully depicted in a pastel pink rose color, detailed with five rows of jingles on her skirt and an additional row on her blouse. Her grandmother's boots are also white with turquoise and peach accents. There is is a white feather in her hair and while she is dancing she carries a black feather. This use of detail in the settings, customs, and dress show the illustrators commitment to present culturally authentic illustrations that honor this specific Native American culture. The illustrators also represent skin tone facial features, clothing, homes, hairstyles and texture in an accurate portrayal of contemporary culturally authentic Native American life, with hints of traditional customs demonstrated thorough the story. These illustrations through design, detail, and color work with the text to tell a good story. This book beautifully blends contemporary and traditional Native American customs that introduce readers to current Native American culture.


D. Review Excerpts
Publishers Weekly: "Smith, a mixed-blood member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, convincingly juxtaposes cherished Native American tradition and contemporary lifestyle in this smooth debut. Watching a videotape of Grandma Wolfe performing a jingle dance, Jenna is determined to dance at an upcoming powwow. But she lacks the cone-shaped, tin jingles that are sewn on to dancers' dresses as part of the regalia. The girl walks down a suburban sidewalk lined with modern houses as she sets out to visit her great-aunt, a neighbor, a cousin, and Grandma Wolfe, all of whom lend her jingles for her dress."



School Library Journal: "Seeing Jenna as both a modern girl in the suburban homes of her intertribal community and as one of the many traditional costumed participants at the powwow will give some readers a new view of contemporary Native American way of life. An author's note and glossary tell more about the Muscogee (Creek) nation, the Ojibway origins of jingle dancing, and the significance of the number four in Native American tradition. This picture book will not only satisfy a need for materials on native American customs, but will also be a welcome addition to stories passed down by the women of a culture."


E. Connections
For further reading by Cynthia Leitch Smith and about powwows, please read the following books:

Smith, Cynthia Leitich. Indian Shoes. ISBN 0060295317.

Smith, Cynthia Leitich. Rain Is Not My Indian Name. ISBN 0688173977.

Ancona, George. Powwow. ISBN 0152632694.