Jewish and Native American: «Two Tribes», with Emily Bowen Cohen
ENGLISH CORNER, CON LINDA JIMÉNEZ – This week’s trivia question: How old is the protagonist of Two Tribes and who was the book written for?
Emily Bowen Cohen is Jewish and a member of the Muscogee Nation. She grew up in rural Oklahoma where her father was the Chief of Staff at their tribal hospital. Her mother is Jewish and from New Jersey. Emily’s father passed away when she was nine years old and the family moved back to New Jersey, where her life was radically different from what it had been in Oklahoma. Years later, as an adult, she reunited with her father’s family and became closer to her Native culture.
Emily graduated from Harvard University, where she specialized in Animation through the Department of Visual and Environmental Studies. She creates comics that explore intersectional identity, using personal experience to tell stories that examine contemporary American and Jewish culture.
Two Tribes, which is her debut graphic novel, was named one of the best graphic novels of 2023 by School Library Journal.