Coming Home / Tutuqaykingaqw Nima: A Hopi Resistance Story / Hopisino Pahan Tutqayiwuy Ep Yorhomti
by Mavasta Honyouti; illus. by the author; trans. into Hopi by Marilyn Parra
Primary, Intermediate    Levine/Levine Querido    48 pp.
11/24    9781646144570    $18.99

Honyouti (Hopi, Iswungwa/Coyote clan) is an award-winning carver. His low-relief carved and painted scenes serve as the desert-colored illustrations for this gently told and moving book about his grandfather’s Native American boarding school experience. Most of the illustrations have a slightly three-dimensional effect, both from the actual underlying carved wood and from subtle shading that provides a sense of realism to the highly stylized depictions of landscapes and interiors. Occasional gray and beige illustrations evoke historical photographs. This distinctive style lends itself to the account, which follows a sadly familiar trajectory, outlining the history of forced assimilation of school-aged Native American children stolen from their homes by the U.S. government. Honyouti also references the 1895 imprisonment in Alcatraz of nineteen Hopi men, dubbed “Hostiles,” who were arrested in part because they opposed the boarding schools. In addition to the carved scenes, which emulate traditional Hopi art, what sets this book apart is its bilingual text and the appended notes on history and learning, translation, and art. Parra’s translation of the text into Hopi Third Mesa dialect is a great example of Native language preservation and revitalization. The author-illustrator provides appended insights into his artistic process and inspiration.

From the ">January/February 2025 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.