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Eagle Books Exhibitions

Miss. Rabbit standing with array of fruits and vegetables

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Link to top of page About the Eagle Books

The Eagle Books are a series of four children’s books for Native American children and others interested in healthy living. The books promote diabetes education and encourage a return to traditional ways, including physical activity and healthy eating. The series was developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Diabetes Translation, in collaboration with the Tribal Leaders Diabetes Committee and the Indian Health Service, in response to the burden of diabetes among Native Americans and the lack of diabetes prevention materials for children.

The series, written by Georgia Perez (who served as a Community Health Representative for 19 years in Nambe Pueblo, New Mexico) and illustrated by Patrick Rolo (Bad River Band of Ojibwe, Wisconsin) and Lisa A. Fifield (Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin), includes four books:

  • Through the Eyes of the Eagle
  • Knees Lifted High
  • A Plate Full of Color
  • Tricky Treats

Over 2 million books have been distributed throughout Indian Country, the rest of U.S., and internationally. To expand the reach of these vital health messages, artwork from the Eagle Books will be exhibited through two outreach efforts.

Link to top of page Smithsonian Exhibition

Through the Eyes of the Eagle: Illustrating Healthy Living for Children will be on display October 3, 2008 through January 4, 2009 at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. and New York, N.Y. Original watercolors featured in Through the Eyes of the Eagle and Plate Full of Color will be on display in Washington, D.C. Artwork from Knees Lifted High and Tricky Treats will be exhibited in New York, NY.

Programs and activities, inspired by the Eagle Books and intended for children, families, and school groups, are available at both museums. For more information about programming at the National Museum of the American Indian, visit: www.AmericanIndian.si.edu.*

Link to top of page Community Outreach Campaign

In addition to the Smithsonian exhibition, CDC is launching an Eagle Books Community Outreach Campaign for the next four years. From 2008 through 2012, American Indian and Alaska Native communities throughout Indian Country will have an opportunity to host a week-long series of events celebrating the Eagle Books and their culturally-relevant messages about physical activity and healthy eating.

Highlights will include large panels of images of the Eagle Books pages, storytelling, diabetes talking circles, healing art workshops, school events, viewings of the animated Eagle Books on DVD, and seasonal events that coincide with local activities.

The first community outreach campaign is co-sponsored with Keweenaw Bay Community College, and scheduled for Keweenaw Bay Indian Community in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Dates of the community campaign are October 24-November 2, 2008, to coincide with the Smithsonian exhibition in Washington, D.C. and New York, N.Y. One of the highlights planned is a Tricky Treats Dance on Halloween night to celebrate the harvest season.

Keweenaw Bay Indian Community was chosen as the pilot site for the Eagle Book Community Outreach Campaign because of the community’s widespread use of the Eagle Books in their local schools and the role of Keweenaw Bay Community College in integrating the Eagle Books into the Health is Life in Balance Diabetes Education in Tribal Schools Curriculum (DETS).

Health is Life in Balance is a culturally-based diabetes science K-12 curriculum developed for American Indian and Alaska Native students by eight tribal colleges and universities and three federal agencies (National Institutes of Health as the lead agency, CDC and the Indian Health Service). The DETS curriculum will be available in Winter 2008. All K-4 DETS curriculum lessons come with a set of the Eagle Books and animated DVD.

Link to top of page Ordering the Eagle Books

For more information and to order copies of the Eagle Books, please visit: http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pubs/eagle.htm.

Link to top of page Animated Series

Newly released animated versions of the four books bring the characters to life. The full-feature DVD includes English, Chickasaw, Paiute, Shoshone, and Spanish languages, as well as closed captioning (English language only). Narration is provided by author Georgia Perez and children and adults from the Standing Rock Sioux tribal nation voice the characters featured in the series. The animated versions provide an interactive tool for engaging children in activities and discussions about healthy eating, and the joy of being active. The animated versions are available for viewing online at www.cdc.gov/cdctv.

For ordering information, visit www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pubs/eagle.htm.

Link to top of page Traveling Exhibit

Beginning February 2009, the original watercolors featured in the Eagle Books will be available as a traveling exhibition. For more information about booking the exhibition, refer to the online traveling exhibition prospectus: www.cdc.gov/gcc/exhibit/cdc_traveling_exhibitions.htm.

Link to top of page Health is Life in Balance Diabetes Education in Tribal Schools Curriculum

Information on the Health is Life in Balance DETS curriculum will be available at: http://www3.niddk.nih.gov/fund/other/dets/.

* Links to non-Federal organizations are provided solely as a service to our users. Links do not constitute an endorsement of any organization by CDC or the Federal Government, and none should be inferred. The CDC is not responsible for the content of the individual organization Web pages found at this link.

 

Page last reviewed: September 29, 2008
Page last modified: September 29, 2008

Content Source: National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Division of Diabetes Translation

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