Kaya’aton’my
Present day OR – 1764
Kaya, short for Kaya’aton’my, is a Native American/Indigenous girl from the Nimíipuu, or Nez Perce, tribe. Her stories are set prior to permanent colonization of the area by European-Americans. Kaya is a very active young girl. She loves riding horses and taking care of animals. She swims in the river each morning with the other girls. Oftentimes, she acts before she thinks, which can get her into trouble with the elders. Kaya is prone to boasting and bragging, but she hopes to become a strong, courageous leader of her people, for she cares deeply about her family and friends.
When Pleasant Company began developing Kaya’s character, they consulted with an eight-member advisory board. She took five years to develop, so while development initially began in the last ’90s, she wasn’t introduced officially until 2002, after the company was purchased by Mattel and became officially known as American Girl.
Pleasant Company/American Girl made a unique head mold for Kaya, known as the Kaya mold. In the Nez Perce tribe, showing teeth is a sign of aggression, so the new head mold did not show any teeth, and instead shows a closed-mouth smile. This mold has only been used on one other character: Logan Everett. This was a big controversy at the time, as it implied that by using Kaya’s mold for a boy character, either Kaya or Indigenous characters looked more masculine, or that showing teeth is a necessity for girliness. Going forward, all boy dolls receive modified versions of other face molds. See here for more information.
And yes, the BeForever artwork of Kaya frequently shows her teeth. This is just one of the reasons that AG fans disliked and criticized BeForever.
Books
Central Series
- Meet Kaya
- Kaya’s Escape!
- Kaya’s Hero
- Kaya and the Lone Dog
- Kaya Shows the Way
- Changes for Kaya
Short Stories
- Kaya and the River Girl
- Kaya and the Beavers
- Kaya and the Flood
- Kaya and the Injured Dog
- Kaya and the Grandmothers
Mysteries
- The Silent Stranger
- The Ghost Wind Stallion
More Information
When BeForever was introduced in 2014, they turned Kaya’s six Central Series books into two books: The Journey Begins: A Kaya Classic Volume 1 and Smoke on the Wind: A Kaya Classic Volume 2. The first volume included the first three books of the Central Series, and the second volume included the last three books. In addition, they released a special choose-your-own-adventure book, The Roar of the Falls: My Journey with Kaya.
When BeForever ended in 2019, they repackaged the stories again into two books: The Journey Begins and Smoke on the Wind. The first book included just the first two of the Central Series, while the second book includes the last four, but two of them are truncated.
For more details about Kaya’s books, or see additional versions of books, please see the Official Fandom Page for Kaya’s books.