Rain Is Not My Indian Name

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Smith, Cynthia Leitich. 2001. Rain is not my Indian name. Harper Collins: New York. ISBN 006029504X

PLOT SUMMARY:
Cassidy Rain Berghoff is a typical teen who deals with the recent loss of her best friend and being in one of only two Native American Indians in town. She takes a position as a photographer for the local paper only to learn that her life is changing all around her, which brings her closer to her family and to her native heritage. Her assignment is to cover her Aunt Georgia’s Native American Youth Summer Camp. Her unwillingness to participate lends itself to her helping to cover the story and learn about her heritage while recovering from her loss.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
Without illustrations, the cultural markers are present in the text. Physical attributes and identification of a specific culture are imbedded in the text. When describing herself, the main character recalls that “Only my mom had admired my so-called Kansas coloring. She used to say that my hair looked like waving wheat and my eyes changed color with the weather.” And “… Because my coloring is lighter, I usually get the standard questions: “How much Indian are you? (About forty-five pounds worth.) And “Are you legally [or a card carrying] Indian?” (Yes, but only on my mother’s side.)” When discussing a potential field trip to a wild-rice harvest… the main character provides insight into the cultural insensitivity of the community… “I could guess the harvest was part of the Ojibway traditional life – past, present and future. That being the case, it most likely had some spiritual importance. Aunt Georgia was hinting to Flash that it might be best for an outsider to leave details alone. I wasn’t sure if he understood or not.”

REVIEW EXCERPT(S):

Review from SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “Gr 6-10-Cassidy Rain Berghoff has sustained some powerful losses in her young life. The tragic accidents that claimed the lives of her mother and, more recently, her best friend, Galen, have made this middle schooler introspective, but she's still got her sense of humor. While her Kansas community discusses the funding for her aunt's Indian Camp, and her older brother faces marriage and parenthood, Rain is trying to sort out who she is in this novel by Cynthia Leitich Smith (HarperCollins, 2001). The author brings many of her own life experiences to this multifaceted, coming-of-age novel. Jenna Lamia's nuanced narration balances the story's comic and serious elements. The sound quality is good, and there is helpful information on the cassettes and case. Though this story may be a bit top heavy on problems, there are enough light-hearted moments to keep readers from getting bogged down. It will fit well in libraries serving multicultural, middle school audiences.”

Review from VOICE OF YOUTH ADVOCATES: “When her brother, Fynn, and his pregnant girlfriend, Natalie, encourage Rain to join the Indian craft camp run by their Aunt Georgia, Rain is unenthusiastic. A lifelong shutterbug, she agrees to photograph the meetings for the local paper. There Rain meets three other part-Indian teens and starts to recover a lost friendship with Black Queenie, once Galen's girlfriend. Various family and community conflicts impact Rain, but they do not deter her from her journey toward recovery. On Galen's birthday, she visits her mother's grave at the cemetery, not quite ready to visit Galen's, but she is definitely ready for life. A quick and easy read that will appeal to preteen and young teen girls, this novel is especially suited to ethnically mixed, Native American, or reluctant readers. Except for Rain, who deals with racial and emotional issues, character development and plot are superficial. The story's focus on death and grief recovery is a popular subject with young teens, and the open-ended conclusion is well suited for a sequel. Readers might see more of Rain.”

Review from KIRKUS REVIEWS: “Tender, funny, and full of sharp wordplay, Smith's first novel deals with a whole host of interconnecting issues, but the center is Rain herself. At just 14, Rain and her best friend Galen promise always to celebrate their birthdays; hers on New Year's Day, his on the Fourth of July. They had just begun to see themselves not just as best friends but as girl and boy that New Year's Eve night, when Galen is killed in a freak accident. Rain has already lost her mother and her Dad's stationed in Guam. She's close to her Grandpa, her older brother, and his girlfriend, who realize her loss and sorrow but have complicated lives of their own. Her response to Galen's death is tied to her tentative explorations of her own mixed Native American and German/Irish heritage, her need and desire to learn photography and to wield it well, and the general stirrings of self and sex common to her age. Rain has to maneuver all of this through local politics involving Galen's mother and the local American Indian Youth Camp (with its handful of local Indian teens, and Rain's erstwhile "second-best friend" who is black). What's amazing here is Rain's insight into her own pain, and how cleanly she uses language to contain it.”

CONNECTIONS
Activities
* Use for discussing death and family relationships.

*Create Reader’s Theatre script for interactive reading aloud.

* Plan a read aloud lesson and incorporate Native American research using online databases.

* Have students plan and write a sequel to this story incorporating accurate Ojibway traditional information for the continuation of the American Indian Youth Summer Camp.