Collaborating to tell a family’s true story has connected two local creatives who didn’t previously know each other in a way that’s everlasting like the Kiowa people.
Lawrence author Dustin Stumblingbear, 45, member of the Oklahoma Kiowa Tribe, will soon release his first self-published book, “I Am Kiowa.” The children’s story reflects his own experience as a kid sharing his family’s heritage and culture with classes in the Lawrence school district.
“Who we are is current,” Stumblingbear said. “We live now. Especially as Native Americans, we’re not a remnant of the past. We live in the here and now amongst everyone else.”
In 1988, when Stumblingbear was in fourth grade, his mother, Debbie Stumblingbear, began taking him and his younger brother, Andy, to do presentations in Lawrence elementary schools. Stumblingbear was a student in the district for a portion of his public education years, most prominently spending fourth through sixth grades at Schwegler Elementary School.
The trio continued their presentations until 1990. “I Am Kiowa” follows their visit to a fifth grade class at Sunset Hill Elementary School.
His mom would start presentations by telling Saynday stories. Saynday is a character in Kiowa fables used to teach children, Stumblingbear said.
Wearing their traditional regalia, Stumblingbear and his brother would then show their dance styles in front of the classroom before inviting folks to join a Two Step dance. The Two Step is a follow-the-leader style as several couples form a line behind the lead couple.
Their confidence flowed from his mom, Stumblingbear said, and they were largely met with enthusiasm and gratitude from schools. He said she taught them to “look for those people in the crowd who really want to dance, because that’s the person that’s going to be the most fun.”
“And I kind of looked forward to when it was kindergarten, first graders, because I knew we were going to eat some frybread,” Stumblingbear said.
A new relationship
As he began imagining the visuals for the book, Stumblingbear knew he wanted to find an Indigenous artist to do illustrations. He connected with artist and community organizer Moniquè Mercurio, Ohlone Costanoan Esselen Nation, at the former Art Love Collective.
Mercurio introduced him to artist Tokeya Waci U Richardson, Oglala Lakota / Haliwa-Saponi.
“It was awesome to help a Native out,” Richardson said.
“As Native American people, we always look and refer back to our community. And he just happened to walk into an art shop and saw my work. And he felt connected that he wanted me to be the one to illustrate his book. It was really humbling that, you know, we’re just human beings and that we’re just these entities that have a story to say.”
Richardson worked closely with Stumblingbear for around four months on concepts that would become tangible.
“As the person who lived this story, who did this, he brought my memories to life in such a way that when I read the pages of this book, I feel like I am reliving those moments,” Stumblingbear said of Richardson. “That is how powerful and how good his artwork is.”
This wasn’t Richardson’s first time illustrating a children’s book, he said. His art form, Native American ledger art, is rooted in storytelling and is “crude in nature,” he said. And Richardson could relate to Stumblingbear’s upbringing in that he and his family were dancers, too.
“My ultimate goal is to unlock that level of creativity and imagination within kids who may not be able to read the book, but they could definitely read a picture,” Richardson said. “And then seeing the amazement in (Stumblingbear’s) face pop up where it’s like, ‘Whoa, this is exactly what I remembered,’ it was a very beautiful and nice reminder that I’m doing something with my art. It was beautiful to have that reassurance that my art is going to live forever. My art is going to outlast me in some way.”
Stumblingbear said he imagined the idea for his book in October 2023 and this past weekend received his first proof copy. He credits his wife, Rachel Stumblingbear, for much of the “behind-the-scenes work,” such as research and technical formatting.
Ultimately, his hope is that children can identify with “I Am Kiowa.”
“The hope is that kids will read that, and in whatever way, will want to share what’s special about them with their classmates, with their family,” Stumblingbear said. “And hopefully others will step up and do something similar.”
“I Am Kiowa” is set to be released on Tuesday, Oct. 1 at downtown Lawrence’s Raven Book Store, both in store and online. Stumblingbear said he and the Raven are still ironing out timing and other details, including a potential book signing event.
Each copy costs $10.
The book will also be available through the IngramSpark distribution list and on Amazon. Online pre-ordering is currently available on the Barnes & Nobles website, via barnesandnoble.com.
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Maya Hodison (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at mhodison@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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