The powerful narration tells of the hard truths that Indigenous tribes and cultures have faced. Presented as students giving school reports, we learn of the land theft, brutality, and continued indignities that are forced upon cultures whose land was stolen. This book is such an important book to read, and having the audio accompaniment makes for a great narration to listen in the car or listen as you read.

I highly recommend this book in both print and audio form for all ages.

This year at Thanksgiving my kindergartner brought home his little handmade storybook from class, it told a story that ended at the feast. I sat down with him and we talked about the fact that the story didn’t end there. Even though the Native Americans helped the setters, they then turned around and took their land, hurt them, and brought lots of sicknesses that killed a lot of Native Americans. I stumbled through it, but this book is what I needed!

This is a wonderful new childrens book by the authors of We Are Grateful (which we also love). In the story, a class makes their presentations for Indigenous Peoples Day, each with a different topic. It covers some of the past wrongs and the ways Native peoples have advocated for themselves to make gains. I love this book because it presents the tough parts of Indigenous peoples interaction with the government of the US in an accessible way for young kids. I will be purchasing this book for my family.

*The audiobook was well narrated and produced with a full case. This would make a great Vox book with read along narration!”

We Are Still Here!: Native American Truths Everyone Should Know introduces critical issues in a format that is readily accessible for young readers. The narrative features presentations for Indigenous People's Day on the topics of ​"Assimilation," " Allotment," "Indian New Deal," "Termination," "Relocation," "Tribal Activism," "Self Determination," "Indian Child Welfare and Education," "Religious Freedom," "Economic Development," "Language Revival," and "Sovereign Resurgence."
While the Native Nations Community School students are fictional, the history and ongoing conditions described are accurate.
Text simply yet precisely defines each concept, gives background information, offers concrete examples, and concludes with the powerful refrain "We are still here!"
Picture
Vivid folk art illustrations span each two-page spread and are representative of a particular time period. Cover art features tribal flags.
Back matter: Information, Timeline, Glossary, Sources, and Author's Note provide resources for further study.
Sorell and Lessace have created an excellent introduction to the story and ongoing struggles of Native Nations. Superb volume for classroom, school, and public libraries.

The information contained in this book is great but I think children would get far more out of it as a printed book. The audio format does not work for this topic and young readers. The section with children reading their reports was sometimes difficult to follow. I think pictures and maps would add a lot to kids’ understanding of these topics. I thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to listen to this ARC.

I got an ARC of the audiobook.

This shouldn't be an audiobook. It also doesn't work as a picture book for me either.

I loved the addition of music, chanting, and Indigenous languages in the audiobook (this is why the audiobook wasn't a one star), but the actual audiobook itself just doesn't work. The pictures are described after all the "presentations" with references to page numbers. I don't have page numbers. There was just a person reading a timeline at the end.

The words are a bit older than a picture book. I can see this being a upper middle school book or a high school book, but what four year old is going to want to hear about the US government breaking treaties and sovereignty?

This has so much important information, but it just wasn't executed well. Information makes this a five star book. Everything else was kind of a train wreck.

Thanks to @netgalley for this gem - and so appropriate for today. 4th-6th grade students present school projects of 12 truths about indigenous people, including definitions of assimilation, allotment, Indian child welfare/education and how even these efforts were harmful. It was very short - 48 minutes of audio - and the book has beautiful pictures at the end, which I would love to see. The children exclaimed “We are still here” after each subject.

I love this picture book, but I do not feel like it worked well as an audiobook. I liked the added elements of the music and different narrators, but this audiobook started out as a teacher assigning topics to students and then each student giving a report on the assigned topic. I do not feel this audiobook would keep children's attention and would become very confusing for them.

I listened to the audiobook of this story and I am not sure that it works well as an audiobook. There were musical interludes and footsteps that made me wonder what type of setting it takes place in (a classroom? A festival? A conference?). There was a teacher that gave students “assignments” of an aspect of Native American life to present on. Then, the named students would “present” on their topic. However, it sounded like people were reading a PowerPoint. Not everything was in complete sentences - it was more like bulleted lists as one would see in a PowerPoint for adult learners. While the information was good, it was rather boring and just not presented well in audio format. I wonder if it works better in print with pictures. I would not recommend this book as a stand-alone audio presentation.

This review is of the audiobook. This title covers the history of the mistreatment of Native Americans by the US government and the harmful policies they enacted. I like the addition of the music and the varied voices, but some of the readers were definitely of a different caliber than others. There was some pretty dry material, for example government policies and actions, that is difficult to make interesting and could've used stronger narration considering the target audience. Overall, I think the content was good and presented in an interesting way. A great resource for libraries and classrooms.

If you know very little about Native American history and would like to start somewhere, I think this book is very good at explaining the main issues and steps in history. However, it stays pretty high level without really exploring each subject, so if you are pretty familiar with the topics already, it might not be for you.
Not being from the US, I did learn something new, so for me, the experience was really nice, even though I'm not sure the audiobook format is the best to render a book that is structured as PowerPoint presentations. Nevertheless, the narration with a wide cast is done really well!

I would recommend it for older kids (some terms might be difficult for young children) as an easy way to get interested in Native American history, and for adults as well, why not!

"We are Still Here!" is a beautiful reminder of Indigenous heritage blended with modern Indigenous culture. Weaving together past and present, this story captures the history of a people and culture that are present today. As an audiobook a cast of voices tells this story, making it a great listen for elementary students. Another stellar book from the author of "We Are Grateful."

✨ Review ✨ We are Still Here
In this book, targeted to kids, Traci Sorrell (Cherokee) highlights concepts that impact Native peoples in the past and present. Set up as a series of student reports, the book highlights the following 11 concepts: “Assimilation,” “Allotment,” “The Indian New Deal,” “Termination,” “Relocation,” “Tribal Activism,” “Self-Determination,” “Indian Child Welfare and Education,” “Economic Development,” “Language Revival,” and “Sovereign Resurgence.” In the audiobook, each is read by a different person giving the feeling of a class presentation. The book repeatedly echoes "We are Still Here," to remind us that Native peoples exist in the modern world that surrounds us.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: picture book, OwnVoices

This book did such a great job introducing these concepts that I'd even consider using it at the college level to introduce these topics. And, yet, they were still presented in a way that older elementary or middle grades students would be able to learn a lot from this. I loved this book!

Because the concepts are complex, this seems like a good supplement to the print book, and I know I was dying to see the illustrations that went along with this. I loved the audio features though - bringing in different voices, sound effects, and musics to accompany the text. The audiobook also contains a timeline and glossary at the end (concepts that don't necessarily work as well in an audiobook as in a print book).

Thanks to Live Oak Media (@liveoakmedia) and #netgalley for this arc audiobook!

This is a really great resource! Dynamically written and beautifully performed by Indigenous artists, this picture book is a strong, clear source of information on the history of Indigenous peoples in the US. The language is accessible and didactic without being too demonstrative and condescending. It's set up as a series of presentations in a classroom, and also includes a timeline and glossary. Some of these elements don't translate all together seamlessly into the audio format, so I wouldn't recommend reading this audio alone. However, I think this is a great accessibility and general companion for the picture book, especially for kids learning how to read and those with visual and learning disabilities. The performances are compelling and unique, even as some of the volume levels don't feel entirely balanced.

Thanks to NetGalley and Publisher Spotlight Media for the ALC.