Wow. This book blew me away. It's hands down the best children's book I have ever read. Written by a Native American author, she tells the story of Native Nations in America from 1776 to now. How they have been forced to assimilate, had lands stolen from them, been killed, told they couldn't speak their own language (!!!), and so much more. And she does this in such a clear and concise manner, I can't recommend this book enough. It was such an impactful book despite how short it is. I highly recommend this book to every reader, regardless of their age! It has definitely sparked my interest and I know I need to do more to educate myself on the topic so I can be an ally.

"We Are Still Here" by Traci Sorell is a book about Native American truths everyone should know. The author summarizes twelve major topics that are specific to the Native American experience. It's a great introduction to middle school Native American studies.

This is an important read for children (and adults) everywhere. Too often the history of the Native Peoples in America is ignored or presented only from the European colonists’ point of view. This book clearly outlines what it was like then and is now to be part of a Native Nation. It points out lots of injustices of the past, and it is important our children learn about them and learn from them. But the power of the story is that it doesn’t victimize the past treatment and leave it at that. It tells the story in such a way as to also show the resilience of the Native Peoples and the contribution they made to our country during wartime. And most importantly it reminds children that Native Nations are still among us. While the story is presented in picture book format, don’t be fooled. This is not a book for young children. Rather it is appropriate for the upper elementary classroom where students and teacher can begin a meaningful discussion of this important part of our history and the Native Peoples who still live among us.

This book is packed full of information. As I read it, I felt the pictures on some of the pages didn't correlate with what information was on the page. But, in the back of the book, the notes and description of the pictures helped to explain them. I think it would be helped to have footnotes or captions with each illustration with that provided information on the actual page rather than in the back of the book.

I would use this as a book for my older kids. I think its written more for upper elementary age readers. There are a lot of vocabulary words that may be new or unknown and, again, the author provides information in the back and the book with definitions and more information.

Overall, I appreciate the context and information provided and believe it is done well. This is a book I'd want for my students to reference, incorporate into a unit study or provide additional information. I can see reading some historical fiction and then referencing this book concurrently.

One of the consistent problems with how the United States education system teaches about Native American is that it often leaves students with the impression that Native Americans ONLY exist in history, which is why the proclamation (and title of this book) “We are still here!” is so important.
This non-fiction children’s book is smartly formatted as if it were a series of short student presentations for Indigenous People’s Day. Each topic is accompanied by beautiful illustrations that underscore the book’s message that Indigenous people are indeed still here today, fighting to keep their traditions, languages, and cultures alive, despite government policies and societal attitudes that actively work against Native American sovereignty and wellbeing.
This book is not formatted as a cohesive story, and therefore may not work very well as a read-aloud for younger children, but would make excellent supporting material for a home or classroom. “We are Still Here” introduces important concepts such as assimilation, tribal activism, self-determination, language revival, and sovereign resurgence. This is a worldview-expanding book that provides children (and adults!) a framework through which they can better understand and think critically about future education and messages they receive about Indigenous peoples both past and present.

What a necessary book! The explanations are clear and it's great teaching tool. Another winner from Traci Sorrell!

A dozen Native American students give presentations on 2-4 pages each describing how the United States (and Great Britain before) has treated (and continues to treat) indigenous people. There is a glossary, extensive historical information, and author's note that goes into much more detail. This is definitely not a picture book, but a nonfiction title that elementary kids can use to get a beginner's grasp on what it's like to have been indigenous in the United States for centuries.

My main concern is that it's not leisure-reading friendly. It has good information for a report, but how many kids will just pick this up and read?

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this advance copy. I have read Traci Sorell's other book and knew I had to read this one as well. I think the format she used of school presentations was an amazing way to provide a brief introduction to some of the different issues Indigenous people have had to face in America. I appreciate that it was clear about the negative things the government has done to tribes and also the positive things, though many of those were either not taken far enough or not upheld unfortunately.

Sorell and Lessac present children with another fabulous book - We Are Still Here!: Native American Truths Everyone Should Know. While We Are Grateful focuses on remembering to be grateful for what we have and to express that gratitude, We Are Still Here is aimed at a slightly older audience and takes on 12 important Native American terms and issues and breaks them down in a way that children can understand. From assimilation through relocation and tribal activism to language revival, the truths of Native Americans are explained. Whenever Americans have tried to push Native Americans out of their rightful homes and traditions, they have persevered and, as the book says, "In spite of all this, Native Nations say 'We Are Still Here!'" An aim of the book is to also show that Native Nations are still alive and well. They are not a past chapter in American history, they are a thriving world within American borders. Not surprisingly, there is excellent back matter that gives additional details and a timeline. Excellently done! (April 20, 2021; Ages 7-10)

Thank you NetGalley and CharlesBridge for the gifted egalley in exchange for an honest review.
I have yet to find anything Traci Sorell has written that I don’t like. Sorell is an amazing author who is able to take complex narratives and deliver them beautifully for children of all ages. We Are Still Here! is the perfect example of this. We Are Still Here! delivers history of Native Nations in a bite size, easy for younger readers to understand ways. I love that this book is told in the form of student presentations and has the predictable pattern while reading. I love the content and how it’s digestible for even my first graders. The illustrations were fun and offered more to unpack for older learners. The back of the book includes a timeline and further resources which are amazing! I’m so excited for everyone to experience this book. Do yourself a favor and buy this for your classroom and for any children in your life.

This book should be in every school library. Native history is often truncated in school history textbook, but this picture book (meant to older kids) is a great introduction to the Native history they're missing out on.

A new non-fiction picture book collaboration between Traci Sorell and Frané Lessac. This one is less story time readable, but would be an excellent lap read for a pre-school through first or second grade child. I like the framing of the content like the classroom's presentations and I especially like that the illustrations are based on historical events/photos. There's tons of great back matter and I think it would be at home in many classrooms and libraries! I will certainly incorporate it into my library displays (once that's a thing again).

A beautiful non-fiction book for older elementary/middle grade readers about Native Nations' history in the United States, written by a dual citizen of the Cherokee Nation and the United States. I love Traci Sorell's first book ("We Are Grateful") and while this book is aimed at older readers, it is a wonderful addition and I look forward to sharing it with my students.

We Are Still here is a fantastic nonfiction picture book from Traci Sorell and Frané Lessac (the creators of We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga). This book covers a surprising amount of history between Native Nations and the US government, offering up a great deal of kid-friendly insight into the painful complexities of the treatment Native Nations and citizens faced as a result of USAmerican policies. It packs a hundred and fifty years of history into a classroom on the page where Indigenous students present the histories on Indigenous Peoples' Day. The art is great, the text is great, and the extra notes and timeline at the end are very helpful. Highly recommended!

I love Traci' s books and was so excited to see a new one. This book does an incredible job of explaining what all Native Nations have had to go through here just to survive and aren't to hold on to their heritage. This is a book that needs to be shared student in schools and often throughout a child's education.

We Are Still Here is the mantra repeated throughout this book and serves as a testament to Native people’s strength and resilience. This is an informative book on the history of laws and legislation that Native Americans have fought for to ensure their rights and protect their lands. There is a glossary, timeline and notes for the reader. Young readers will be encouraged to dig even deeper after reading this book.

This was a very educational book for us. The history and political backgrounds are great to teach kids and adults. It is just amazing how well the kids’ drawings really brings a book that hits home—that really made this book that much relatable and personable. Not only did We learn a lot but the book made me feel the authors cry of “We are still here!”.

I love how they call the reader to look at where we live and examine what lands or native Americans are indigenous to where we live. To pull the reader to see how it directly affects the tribes and relates to us personally. There are timelines in the back of the book and a summary of the different presentations the kids did—ultimately this book was done well to bring forth historical truths. It takes a strong hopeful positive stance that shouts “we are still here!”

Readers learn about the continued presence and persistence of the Native Nations as they respond to pressures for assimilation, allotment of land, Indian child welfare, and more. Each of 12 topics is presented as if it were a presentation by a child on a project on an Indigenous Day People’s Day project. The information is important and the illustrations support the text. The format, though, is repetitive and gets tiresome. Interesting back matter includes a timeline, glossary, list of sources, and author’s note.

I love everything about this book. I love the pictures, the format of the story and the message! This made me stop and think that in America we do not know much about the Native Americans. I do not know much about their culture, and their life today. I wish I did know more. This book is an important book for children to read! I loved the format of this story with the way it was delivered over student presentations. This was such a creative way to get the message across.

This book is extremely informative and contains a wealth of knowledge, but for some reason I feel like it is missing something. I can't quite put my finger on it. I do feel like this book has the possibility of expanding into a variety of editions that contain the same information but offer different ways of sharing that information. I did like the creative approach for this edition, but I feel like a clearer and less indirect approach might be beneficial to some readers as well.