We generally prefer being tribally specific whenever we can. But often, we are referring to several Nations at once. “Indigenous” can work for that, though it refers to people from around the globe, not only those on our continent. For many of us, myself included, the language we choose tends to fluctuate depending on the topic and audience.
To non-Native readers, I don’t recommend using “Indian,” though it’s common to hear it, especially from Native Elders. Instead, I suggest either following the lead of any Native person/people in the conversation and/or respectfully asking their preference.
This novel was first published in 2001. It was an honor to revisit this story for the new edition. Mvto (thank you) to Natasha Donovan for the lovely, evocative new cover. It’s a joy to have your art introduce my writing. In addition to copy editing tweaks, language was updated to reflect technology and popular culture. I also revised a few Native identity references to better emphasize tribal Nationhood, as well as a few brushstrokes related to race and gender. Likewise, I replaced a few ableist terms with more precise ones. Most re-readers won’t notice these line-level edits, but they’re improvements.
When this novel was originally in progress, my beloved grandfather, Clifford Pokagon Smith, died from cancer. I still think about him every day. For those of you facing a loss in your own lives, please know that you’re not alone. I hope that this story offered comfort and nurtured a sense of peace.
About the Author and Illustrator
Photo edited by Christopher T. Assaf
CYNTHIA LEITICH SMITH is the bestselling, acclaimed author of books for all ages, including Indian Shoes, Jingle Dancer, and Hearts Unbroken, which won the American Indian Library Association’s Youth Literature Award; she is also the anthologist of Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids. Cynthia is the author-curator of Heartdrum, a Native-focused imprint at HarperCollins Children’s Books, and is on the faculty of the MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is a citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and lives in Austin, Texas. You can visit Cynthia online at www.cynthialeitichsmith.com.
About the cover illustrator:
NATASHA DONOVAN is a Métis illustrator from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, who focuses on comics and children’s illustration. Her short comic work has appeared in The Other Side: An Anthology of Queer Paranormal Romance, edited by Melanie Gillman and Kori Michelle Handwerker, and the anthology This Place: 150 Years Retold. She illustrated the award-winning children’s book The Sockeye Mother written by Brett D. Huson and the graphic novel Surviving the City written by Tasha Spillett. She has a degree in anthropology from the University of British Columbia and has worked in academic and magazine publishing. She currently lives in Bellingham, Washington.
In 2014, We Need Diverse Books (WNDB) began as a simple hashtag on Twitter. The social media campaign soon grew into a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a team that spans the globe. WNDB is supported by a network of writers, illustrators, agents, editors, teachers, librarians, and book lovers, all united under the same goal—to create a world where every child can see themselves in the pages of a book. You can learn more about WNDB programs at www.diversebooks.org.
Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.
Books by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Indian Shoes
Rain is Not My Indian Name
Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids
Hearts Unbroken
Sisters of the Neversea
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Copyright
Heartdrum is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
RAIN IS NOT MY INDIAN NAME. Copyright © 2001 by Cynthia Leitich Smith. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
www.epicreads.com
Cover art © 2021 by Natasha Donovan
Cover design by David DeWitt
* * *
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Smith, Cynthia Leitich.
Rain is not my Indian name / Cynthia Leitich Smith.
p. cm.
Summary: Tired of staying in seclusion since the death of her best friend, a fourteen-year-old Native American girl takes on a photographic assignment with her local newspaper to cover events at the Native American summer youth camp.
ISBN 978-0-688-17397-5 (hardback) — ISBN 978-0-380-73300-2 (pbk.)
[1. Death—Fiction. 2. Grief—Fiction. 3. Photography—Fiction. 4. Indians of North America—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.S64465 Rai 2001 00-059705
[Fic]—dc21 CIP
AC
* * *
Digital Edition FEBRUARY 2021 ISBN: 978-0-06-304982-6
Print ISBN: 978-0-38-073300-2
21 22 23 24 25 PC/LSCH 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
First paperback edition, 2021
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