What to read if you want to read books by, for, and about Indigenous folks (for all ages!)
I’ve been asked a few times for books by and for Indigenous folks, so I’m putting them all on this list so I can share it instead of trying to recreate it from my head every time. I’ll update it from time to time when I have more. I also started to add books on my TBR (to be read) list, too, but then this post was WAY TOO LONG, and now you have a cliff-hanger. I promise I’ll post that, too, relatively soon. It has a lot of I-know-they-will-be-phenomenal books on it and they are patiently waiting for me to read them. The list below is Indigenous, and I want to read more diverse Indigenous voices, too (including two spirit and Black and Indigenous folks). Please share any suggestions with me!
As many links as possible are to buy from an Indigenous owned bookstore, Birchbark Books. If not available, then I’m linking to Bookshop (the link is to my affiliate account, and I would receive a small commission; see the entire lists at bookshop here and here.)
START WITH any book I bolded below!
Adult (by genre)
Image of hand holding Maud’s Line, a book by Margaret Verble, with little free library in the background.
Literary Fiction
There There by Tommy Orange (Cheyenne Arapaho) - this was one of my favorite books I read in 2018, and I think partly because I saw myself in the book and kept underlining so many sentences. (Not only was it in my top 10, it made the NYTime top 10 list that year, too.) It is beautifully written with real characters, and a plot hurtling toward the Oakland Powwow. Just read it. Content warning: gun violence.
Maud’s Line by Margaret Verble (Cherokee) - this is a Pulitzer Prize finalist that WAY TOO MANY people haven’t read. Please pick it up and read the story of a strong Cherokee woman during the time of allotment in Oklahoma. You won’t forget Maud.
Crooked Hallelujah by Kellie Jo Ford (Cherokee) - this is the story of a strong and stubborn Cherokee mother and daughter pair, who have to fight everything life throws at them.
The Round House by Louise Erdrich (Turtle Mountain Band Ojibwe) - I could write many posts about the violence against Native women (and I probably will at some point), but this novel tells the truth better than the stats (as fiction often does). A white man rapes a Native woman and determining the location of the rape determines if the perpetrator will be held accountable (was it on or off the reservation). Content warning: sexual assault.
LaRose by Louise Erdrich (Turtle Mountain Band Ojibwe) - after a hunting accident, two close families struggle to find justice and restoration. I cried a TON during reading this, and it was still so worth reading. Content warning: gun violence.
Even as We Breathe by Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle (Eastern Band Cherokee) - during World War II, a nineteen year old leaves the reservation to work at an Asheville resort, which is where diplomats from Axis nations are being held as prisoners of war. I love books that take place during this time period, and was thrilled to read one from a Native perspective. (Now I need to find a novel about the code talkers - if you know of one, please send my way!)
Where the Dead Sit Talking by Brandon Hobson (Cherokee) - this is a National Book Award finalist and is a coming of age story set in Oklahoma. A 15-year-old boy, Sequoyah, is placed in the foster system and tries to navigate his trauma alone, and then with a fellow child. It’s heartbreaking and worth reading.
Mystery/Thriller
Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden (Sicangu Lakota) - if you need a mystery that you won’t be able to put down, then pick this up. It takes place within the whirlpool of opioid addiction, and I didn’t know who I could trust. Just so so so good. Content warning: drug abuse; maybe violence? It wasn’t that graphic in my memory.
Horror
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones (Blackfeet) - okay, I wouldn’t normally pick up a horror novel, but I’m so glad I did. I remember one really graphic part, but the rest just felt like a thriller I couldn’t put down. Definitely read during the day time, though.
Fantasy
Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse (Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo and African American descent) - I couldn’t put down this Hugo award finalist. The “big water” result of climate change means that most of the coastal US is gone, and what remains is the Navajo Nation. Maggie goes to help find a missing girl and uncovers a much bigger mystery. First in a series (I have the second on my TBR)!
Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich (Turtle Mountain Band Ojibwe) - a very different book than her others, but another good dystopian novel.
Non-fiction
The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present by David Treuer (Ojibwe) - confession, I haven’t finished this doorstop of a book, but what I have read is so thorough. Treuer picks up where most history books leave off. (Another sad fact, if you google “are native americans…” some of the things that pop up are “…still alive” and “…US citizens”; which, YES and yes.)
Memoir
Heart Berries by Terese Marie Mailhot (Seabird Island Band) - this book is so real and so sad. It’s the Mailhot’s story of PTSD,, hospitalization, and writing her way out of trauma. Roxane Gay said the “exquisite book is brilliance both raw and defined,” if you need an additional reference :) Content warning for sexual assault and suicide ideation.
Poetry
An American Sunrise by Joy Harjo (Mvskoke) - Harjo is SOMEHOW the first Indigenous poet laureate in the US. Start with the title poem. “Forty years later and we still want justice. We are still America. We.”
Humor
Bury My Heart at Chuck E. Cheese’s by Tiffany Midge (Standing Rock) - fun fact about Native folks - we’re really fucking funny. This essay collection is as hilarious as the title suggests.
Young Adult (YA)
Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley (Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians) - once I started this, I couldn’t put it down. I think you’ll fall in love with Daunis and root for her as she finds herself in an impossible situation.
The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline (Métis) - the story is a result of climate change, but the allegory to the shameful boarding school history is brilliant and terrifying. I couldn’t put it down.
Middle Grade
Mary and the Trail of Tears: A Cherokee Removal Survival Story by Andrea L. Rogers (Cherokee) - I was searching for an appropriate book to share with my children the horrors of the Trail of Tears, and I also wanted a book written by a Native author. This is honest (about the violence and harsh conditions) and also has a story of hope (just as our people do).
The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich (Turtle Mountain Band Ojibwe) and the whole series. This is the antidote to the Little House on the Prairie books, telling the story of Native folks as “us” rather than a “them” or “savages.” (There’s also The Game of Silence, The Porcupine Year, Chickadee, and Makoons in the series.)
Indian Shoes by Cynthia Leitich Smith (Mvskoke) - this is a slight book with big heart, sharing stories of Ray and his Grandpa Halfmoon living in Chicago and visiting “back home” in Oklahoma. I loved the pets part during the Christmas blizzard :)
Picture Books
We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell (Cherokee) and illustrated by Frané Lessac. The antidote to all of the horrible Thanksgiving stories that erase/revise history. Gratitude has always been an Indigenous value!
The First Strawberries retold by Joseph Bruchac (Nulhegan Abenaki) and illustrated by Anna Vojtech. This is the Cherokee retelling of how strawberries came to be. My kids LOVE this one and can retell it to me (which is kind of the point - keeping our storytelling tradition alive)!
Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story by Kevin Noble Maillard (Seminole) and illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal. This book shares all the meanings of fry bread to many Native people (and includes a recipe!). It’s a Caldecott honor winner.
First Laugh — Welcome, Baby! by Rose Ann Tahe (Diné) and Nancy Bo Flood and illustrated by Jonathan Nelson (Diné). In Diné (known to Americans as Navajo) culture, the first person to make a baby laugh then hosts a First Laugh Ceremony celebrating the arrival of the newest community member.
SkySisters by Jan Bourdeau Waboose (Nishnawbe Ojibway) and illustrated by Brian Deines. This quiet book about sisters who get to go out in the snow to look for the SkySpirits’ dance is just magical.
We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom (Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe) and illustrated by Michaela Goade (Tlingit & Haida). I used this book to talk to my children about Standing Rock and the importance of protecting our resources. 2021 Caldecott Award winner.
Birdsong by Julie Flett (author & illustrator; Cree-Métis). Another quiet book about loneliness and love across generations and seasons of life. So lovely.
Jingle Dancer by Cynthia Leitich Smith (Mvskoke). Loved sharing this beautiful book about the tradition of jingle dancing and regalia with my little dancer.
Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer by Traci Sorell (Cherokee) and illustrated by Natasha Donovan (Métis). This was such a cool story about Ross going from being the only girl in math class to excelling in engineering.
How the World was Made: A Cherokee Story by Brad Wagnon (Cherokee) and illustrated by Alex Stephenson. A traditional Cherokee creation story.
The Land of the Great Turtles by Brad Wagnon (Cherokee) and illustrated by Alex Stephenson. A traditional Cherokee creation story.
Board Books
May We Have Enough to Share by Richard Van Camp (Tłı̨chǫ Dene). A friend shared this wonderful book with me, and I love that the abundance comes from community and love, not “things.”
Sweetest Kulu by Celina Kalluk (Inuit) and illustrated by Alexandria Neonakis. Same friend shared this gem to us, filled with animals sharing gifts with a newborn baby.
PREORDERS! (These help Indigenous authors make sure publishers order and stock in more bookstores!) Listed in date order
We All Play by Julie Flett (Cree-Métis) - OUT ON May 25, 2021 - Picture book
My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones (Blackfeet) - OUT ON August 31, 2021 - Horror
When Two Feathers Fell From the Sky by Margaret Verble (Cherokee) - OUT ON October 12, 2021 - Literary Fiction*
The Sentence by Louise Erdrich (Turtle Mountain Band Ojibwe) - OUT ON November 9, 2021 - Literary Fiction
NOT ON THIS LIST
You’ll notice that a prolific Native writer, Sherman Alexie, and his works are NOT on this list, which is on purpose. He harassed women writers, and I’m not reading or buying his books.
*The only Amazon link on here, because I want Margaret to benefit from preorders! As soon as this shows up on bookshop, I’ll change it.
