ABOUT AICL’S YEAR IN REVIEW: 2025

We usually begin our list by pointing to significant moments. While we aren’t presenting a list this year, I do want to share a few of those significant moments.

In November, Canadian media published news items about Thomas King’s claim to being Cherokee (you can also find articles in the New York Times and the Washington Post). Do a search on his name and you’ll find many articles, essays, and opinions to read. I recommend you study them. For decades, King has been writing books, stories, and essays as if he is Cherokee. The news that King is not Cherokee was devastating to many who had been friends and colleagues and felt betrayed by the trust they had placed in him. For those who had been skeptical of his claims, there was relief that it was now public knowledge. There was anger, too. In June, I wrote that I no longer recommend his children’s books. In addition to the news stories, make time to read Cherokee Dispossession Through Claimant Self-Declaration: Cherokee Heritage Claims in the 2020 U.S. Census by Daniel Heath Justice if you or someone you know claims to be Cherokee. It is especially important that editors and agents who are working with someone who claims to be Cherokee read the article. Do you work with someone who says they’re Cherokee? Heath’s article may provide you with a way to ask the questions you need to ask. And I urge you to order and study — perhaps with a group of friends — The Cherokee: People, Culture, and History by Twila M. Barnes. It is a picture book in a new series of non-fiction published by Capstone.