This article first appeared in the Moscow-Pullman Daily News "Nearby History" column on March 9, 2024.
By Hayley Noble, Executive Director
This March, as we celebrate Women’s History Month, I was reminiscing about my childhood female role models. Of course, there were many, but as a millennial, one source of empowerment and education came from the American Girl book series. Those books portrayed fictional girls of different backgrounds from various time-periods, and certainly influenced my love of history from a young age. These books continue to be a popular way to introduce history to all children, with the American Girl company adding new girls and stories every few years. Aside from just stories, the American Girls also can be played with as dolls, complete with outfits and accessories. Growing up, I loved the books of Edwardian Samantha, pioneer Kirsten, WWII home-front Molly, and 1800s Latina Josephina. In 2002, Kaya'aton'my shortened to Kaya, a Nimíipuu girl, was introduced as the latest character, with her stories taking place in the 1760s, before Lewis and Clark’s expedition through the Northwest. By that time, I was a little too old for the American Girl books, so I missed out on her novels. But as an adult, I was curious how Kaya’s development occurred and what her impact was at the beginning of the 21st century.
Prior to developing the doll and books in 1996, American Girl started the process to obtain approval from the Nez Perce tribe’s executive council and familiarize the tribe with the company. The developers then formed an advisory board to make sure that Kaya was as historically accurate and representative of Nimíipuu culture as possible. The board was comprised of Lillian A. Ackerman, Vivian Adams, Rodney Cawston, Constance G. Evans, Dianne Mallickan, Ann McCormack, Frances Paisano, and Rosa Yearout. American Girl and the advisory board wanted not just Kaya, the doll to be accurate, but her books to reflect the Nimíipuu culture and history as well. Even the doll’s development was altered with a different face mold to better depict Nimíipuu face-shape compared to the rest of the American Girl dolls.
Regionally, Kaya was a great success. With her introduction as a doll and in books, the Nez Perce tribe gained central focus on a national scale. That attention led to programming opportunities with the Nez Perce Tribe and members of the advisory board. In August 2004, the Tribe held an event at the 1912 Center in Moscow where the public could learn about Kaya and her development process from Ann McCormack. Even 15 years after her debut, Kaya continued to draw crowds, notably in Lapwai in September 2017. That event consisted of a read-a-thon and dolls for attendees. A new generation of children had the chance to learn about Kaya and connect with her. Their interactions with her demonstrate how vital representation is in play and media.
Are the Kaya books perfect? No, of course they have flaws, but the larger picture is that children are introduced to Kaya as a person, and a kid just like the intended reader. She has the same trials and feelings as all children but may introduce a new time-period in history and a new culture to those who are unfamiliar. Characters like Kaya provide much-needed indigenous representation in the media we consume. Reading and consuming media about people who are different from us builds our capacity for empathy and compassion, in addition to gaining perspective and understanding of various cultures. Another American Girl, Addy, begins her story enslaved on a North Carolina plantation, educating readers about the horrors and devastation of American slavery in an age-appropriate way. Kaya’s books exhibit the Nimíipuu as a thriving culture before contact with white people, and subsequent books about her connect her past era to 21st century traditions, showing the tribe’s evolution. As books for children, these aren’t going to be as nuanced or detailed as adult history books, but stories like these open doors for further study, piquing the interest of potential future historians and anthropologists. Kaya, as a doll and book series, introduced the Nimíipuu to a larger audience and provided tribal representation aimed specifically at children. Diverse role-models, even fictional one like Kaya, demonstrate the power of representation and how vital their stories are to our shared history.
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