Publisher Description

The Adventures of Kehteau
(Native Explorer Series) A curriculum using Indigenous storytelling to promote social development skills in early education throughout the series, for all Tribal Nations and children around the world. The main character is a young Nipmuc boy. Nipmuc means "The People of the Fresh Water" in the Algonquian language. The Nipmuc Tribal homelands are in central Massachusetts, northern Connecticut, northern Rhode Island, and southern New Hampshire. Kehteau will explore different Tribal Lands across Indian Country. His journey will foster life skills such as sharing, communication, empathy, cooperation, and conflict resolution. Additionally, we will learn about the various Tribal traditions, lands, and languages, and celebrate the strengths found in Indigenous pedagogy. Through storytelling we learn of Indigenous Peoples' history, survival, and culture.A Massachusetts Tribal homeland map is included at the end of the book.

Author Biography

Larry Spotted Crow Mann is an award-winning writer, poet, cultural educator, Traditional Storyteller, tribal drummer/dancer, and motivational speaker involving youth sobriety and cultural and environmental awareness. He has served his Tribal community for over thirty years and is a founder and Co-director of the Ohketeau Cultural Center. He is an enrolled citizen of the Hassanamisco Nipmuc Tribe of Massachusetts.His writings include Coming Home: Preventing Alcohol and Drug Use Among Native American Teens, A Circle Tied to Mother Earth: Native Life Skills for Middle School Children, and Stories and Poems for Northeastern Native Tribal Families. (All booklets are available through the Massachusetts Health Promotion Clearinghouse.)His books include Tales from the Whispering Basket, The Mourning Road to Thanksgiving, and Drumming & Dreaming. He has served as a board member of the Nipmuk Cultural Preservation, an organization set up to promote the cultural, social, and spiritual needs of Nipmuc people as well as an educational resource of Native American studies. Mann also serves as a Review Committee Member, at the Native American Poets Project at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology.Mann is also the first Native American to sing the opening honor song and land acknowledgment at the 2021 Boston Marathon Start Line, and the recipient of the 2021 Indigenous Peoples Award of the Berkshire County Branch of the NAACP.

Review

The Adventures of Kehteau is a wonderful story that illustrates the joy of exploring. It shows the importance of helping and making new friends while also teaching vocabulary and culture to young readers. The main character Kehteau teaches about empathy, caring, and sharing throughout the story and also highlights the value of family time as he explores with his grandfather. The lessons in this story not only support the understanding of emotions and problem solving, but also depicts bravery, positive social engagement, and the overall joy of learning new things. - Brett Random, MSWExecutive Director, Berkshire County Head Start

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