Native American Heritage Month
Native American Heritage Month explores, acknowledges and celebrates Native American heritage independent of dominant culture's motifs and stereotypes. The following list of books and resources depart from fictitious "Thanksgiving" narratives typically highlighted in November and allow children and adults explore the rich, real, nurturing, complex, contemporary and multifaceted reality of native lives. Most of these children's books are #ownvoices—featuring Native authors.
When reading children's books about Native peoples, please keep in mind these criteria proffered by Dr. Debbie Reese (Nambe' Pueblo), founder of American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL). AICL supports children, families, educators, and community members to grow in understanding and appreciation of accurate representation of Native people in children's and young adult books.
- Is the book by a Native author or illustrator?
- Does the book, in some way, include something to tell readers that we are sovereign nations?
- Is the book tribally specific, and is the tribally specific information accurate?
- Is it set in the present day? If it is historical in structure, does it use present tense verbs that tell readers the Native peoples being depicted are part of today's society?
New Books 2023-2024
The following books are available in CLERC collections at the Bend, Redmond or Madras campuses. Please click on title links to check locations.
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Berry Song
by
As a young Tlingit girl collects wild berries over the seasons, she sings with her Grandmother as she learns to speak to the land and listen when the land speaks back.
Call Number: CLERC | PZ7.1.G614 Be 2022 -
Classified : The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer
by
Mary Golda Ross designed classified projects for Lockheed Air Corporation as the company's first female engineer. Find out how her passion for math and the Cherokee values she was raised with shaped her life and work.
Call Number: CLERC | TL540.R655 S67 2021 -
Firekeeper's Daughter
by
Follow the journey of 18-year-old Daunis Fontaine as she finds herself living two disparate lives: One as a loving daughter, and one as a confidential informant to the FBI. After witnessing a murder, she must ultimately choose between protecting the people she loves or protecting her tribal community.
Call Number: CLERC/YA | PZ7.1.B6784 Fir 2021 -
Fry Bread : a Native American Family Story
by
Children help a Native American grandmother make fry bread, delves into the history, social ways, foodways, and politics of America's 573 recognized Indian tribes.
Call Number: CLERC | PZ7.1.M34682 Fr 2019 -
The Frog Mother
by
In book four of the Mothers of Xsan series, young readers learn about the life cycle of the Columbia Spotted Frog, the special significance of this species to the Gitxsan, and how Nox Ga'naaw and her offspring are essential to the balance that is life.
Call Number: CLERC | QL668.E27 H87 2021 -
Ga's / the Train
by
Ashley meets her great-uncle by the old train tracks near their community in Nova Scotia. He tells her of the day years ago when he and the other children from their community were told to board the train before being taken to residential school where their lives were changed forever. In English and Mi'gmaq
Call Number: CLERC | PZ7.C1424 G26 2021 -
Hearts Unbroken
by
Louise Wolfe’s senior year, she’s paired up with photojournalist Joey at the school newspaper. In no time, they themselves with a major story to cover: The school musical director's inclusive approach to casting The Wizard of Oz that has been provoking backlash in their mostly white, middle-class Kansas town. As tensions mount at school, so does a romance between Lou and Joey.
Call Number: CLERC/YA | PZ7.S64464 He 2018 -
I Sang You down from the Stars
by
A Native American woman describes how she loved her child before it was born and, throughout her pregnancy, gathered a bundle of gifts to welcome the newborn.
Call Number: CLERC | PZ7.1.S7147 Iah 2021 -
An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People
by
Going beyond the story of America as a country 'discovered' by a few brave men in the 'New World,' Indigenous human rights advocate Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz reveals the roles that settler colonialism and policies of American Indian genocide played in forming our national identity.
Call Number: CLERC/YA | E76.8.R44 2019 -
Jingle Dancer
by
enna loves the tradition of jingle dancing that has been shared by generations of women in her family, and she hopes to dance at the next powwow. But she has a problem -- how will her dress sing if it has no jingles?
Call Number: CLERC | PZ7.S64464 Ji 2000 -
Johnny's Pheasant
by
When Johnny wants to take an injured pheasant home, Grandma tries to tell him that it might have been hit by a car. But maybe she could use the feathers for her craftwork?
Call Number: CLERC | PS3613.I645 J64 2019 -
Josie Dances
by
As she prepares for her first powwow, an Ojibwa girl practices her dance steps, gets help from her family, and is inspired by the soaring flight of Migizi, the eagle.
Call Number: CLERC | PZ7.1.L233 Jos 2021 -
Keepunumuk : Weeâchumun's Thanksgiving Story
by
Wampanoag children listen as their grandmother tells them the story about how Weeâchumun (the wise Corn) asked local Native Americans to show the Pilgrims how to grow food to yield a good harvest--Keepunumuk--in 1621.
Call Number: CLERC | PS3607.R452537 K44 2022 -
Notable Native People
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Celebrate the lives, stories, and contributions of Indigenous artists, activists, scientists, athletes, and other changemakers in this illustrated collection. Also offers accessible primers on important Indigenous issues, from the legacy of colonialism and cultural appropriation to food sovereignty, land and water rights, and more.
Call Number: CLERC | E89.K44 2021 -
On the Trapline
by
A boy and his moshom take a trip into the northern wilderness to visit the trapline where many years ago his grandpa and family lived off the land. Along the way, they talk about lots of things and sometimes not at all. On the Trapline is a poignant story that explores the deep connection a boy and his grandpa have with the land and each other.
Call Number: CLERC | PR9199.4.R582 O52 2021 -
Phoenix Gets Greater
by
Phoenix loves to play with dolls and marvel at pretty fabrics. Most of all, he loves to dance. Sometimes Phoenix gets picked on and he struggles with feeling different, but his mom and brother are proud of him. With their help, Phoenix learns about Two Spirit/Niizh Manidoowag people in Anishinaabe culture and just how special he is.
Call Number: CLERC | PZ7.1.W5833 Ph 2022 -
Powwow Day
by
Because she has been very ill and weak, River cannot join in the dancing at this year's tribal powwow, she can only watch from the sidelines as her sisters and cousins dance the celebration--but as the drum beats she finds the faith to believe that she will recover and dance again.
Call Number: CLERC | PZ7.1.S6777 Po 2020 -
The Range Eternal
by
A young Native American girl who considers her family's wood-burning stove to be the heart of her home in the Turtle Mountains must adapt when it is replaced.
Call Number: CLERC | PS3555.R42 R36 2020 -
The Sea-Ringed World
by
Presents a collection of stories from nations and cultures across our two continents, the Sea-Ringed World, as the Aztecs called it, from the edge of Argentina all the way up to Alaska.
Call Number: CLERC | GR100.G37313 2021 -
Sharice's Big Voice
by
Tells the remarkable story of Sharice Davids, one of the first Native American women elected to Congress and the first LGBTQ congressperson to represent Kansas.
Call Number: CLERC | E901.1.D375 A3 2021ISBN: 9780062979667 -
Surviving the City. Vol. 2: From the Roots Up
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Dez’s grandmother has passed away. Grieving, and with nowhere else to go, she’s living in a group home. On top of everything else, Dez is navigating a new relationship and coming into her identity as a Two-Spirit person.
Call Number: CLERC | PZ7.1.S7147 Sp 2020 -
We Are Water Protectors
by
Water is the first medicine. It affects and connects us all. When a black snake threatens to destroy the Earth and poison her people's water, one young water protector takes a stand to defend Earth's most sacred resource.
Call Number: CLERC | PZ7.L6623 We 2020
Children's Literature and Equity Resource Center Books
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Bowwow Powwow
by
When Uncle and Windy Girl attend a powwow, Windy watches the dancers and listens to the singers. She eats tasty food and joins family and friends around the campfire. Later, Windy falls asleep under the stars. Uncle's stories inspire visions in her head: a bowwow powwow, where all the dancers are dogs.
Call Number: CLERC - Main Floor | E98.P86 C58 2018 -
A Boy Called Slow: The True Story of Sitting Bull
by
Anxious to be given a name as strong and brave as that of his father, a proud Lakota Sioux grows into manhood, acting with careful deliberation, determination, and bravery, which eventually earned him his proud new name: Sitting Bull.
Call Number: E99.D1 S567 1998 -
The Boy Who Loved Morning
by
Only after he has learned the difference between honoring morning and changing it to suit his own pride can Boy find the perfect name for himself.
Call Number: CLERC - Main Floor | PZ7.J152537 Bo 1993 -
Charles Albert Bender: National Hall of Fame Pitcher
by
Charles Albert Bender invented the slider. He was a World Series-winning pitcher and the first Minnesotan inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He grew up poor on a farm where he worked in the fields. He lived far away from his home and family while attending an Indian boarding school in Pennsylvania.
Call Number: CLERC - Main Floor | GV865.B36 F47 2020 -
Dance of the Sacred Circle: A Native American Tale
by
A Blackfoot legend about a young boy who goes looking for the Great Chief of the Sky in hopes of finding help for his starving tribe and is rewarded with a special gift, the first horse.
Call Number: E99.S53 R63 1994 -
The Eagle Mother
by
An engaging look at how the animals, people, and seasons within an ecosystem are intertwined. To the Gitxsan people of Northwestern British Columbia, the eagle is an integral part of the natural landscape. Together, they share the land and forests that the Skeena River runs through, as well as the sockeye salmon within it. Follow the eagle mother as she teaches her eaglets what they need to survive on their own.
Call Number: CLERC - Main Floor | GN476.7 .H87 2020 -
Elatsoe
by
America has been shaped dramatically by the magic, monsters, knowledge, and legends of its peoples, those Indigenous and those not. Seventeen-year-old Elatsoe lives in this slightly stranger America. Her cousin has just been murdered, in a town that wants no prying eyes. But she is going to do more than pry. The picture-perfect façade of Willowbee masks gruesome secrets, and she will rely on her wits, skills, and friends to tear off the mask and protect her family.
Call Number: CLERC - Main Floor | PZ7.1.L57812 El 2020 -
Ella Cara Deloria: Dakota Language Protector
by
Ella Cara Deloria loved to listen to her family tell stories in the Dakota language. She recorded many American Indian peoples' stories and languages and shared them with everyone. She helped protect her people's language for future generations and also wrote stories of her own.
Call Number: CLERC - Main Floor | E99.D1 W55 2020 -
Everything You Wanted to Know about Indians but Were Afraid to Ask
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This young readers edition of the original book for adults includes new material for the younger lens. Organized by dozens of different questions, some weighty and some minor, but all the time funny, insightful, personal, and interesting.
Call Number: On Order -
Fatty Legs (10th Anniversary Edition)
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The beloved story of an Inuvialuk girl standing up to the bullies of residential school, updated for a new generation of readers.
Call Number: CLERC - Main Floor | E96.5 .J67 2020 -
Fry Bread
by
Fry Bread is an evocative depiction of a modern Native American family, vibrantly illustrated by Pura Belpre Award winner and Caldecott Honoree Juana Martinez-Neal.
Call Number: CLERC - Main Floor | PZ7.1.M34682 Fr 2019
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A Girl Called Echo
by
Echo Desjardins, a 13-year-old Métis girl adjusting to a new home and school, is struggling with loneliness while separated from her mother. Then an ordinary day in Mr. Bee's history class turns extraordinary, and Echo's life will never be the same.
Call Number: CLERC - Main Floor | PZ7.7.V4764 Pem 2017 -
Good Luck Cat
by
Because her good luck cat Woogie has already used up eight of his nine lives in narrow escapes from disaster, a Native American girl worries when he disappears.
Call Number: CLERC - Main Floor | PZ7.H2229 Go 2000 -
Healer of the Water Monster
by
Brian Young's (Navajo) debut novel, inspired by Navajo beliefs, features a seemingly ordinary boy who must save the life of a Water Monster-and help his uncle suffering from addiction-by discovering his own bravery and boundless love.
Call Number: CLERC - Main Floor | PZ7.1.Y6795 He 2021 -
Hiawatha and the Peacemaker
by
Hiawatha, a Mohawk, is plotting revenge for the murder of his wife and daughters by the evil Onondaga Chief, Tadodaho, when he meets the Great Peacemaker, who enlists his help in bringing the nations together to share his vision of a new way of life marked by peace, love, and unity rather than war, hate, and fear.
Call Number: CLERC - Main Floor | PZ7.1.R635 Hi 2015 -
I Will See You Again
by
When the author learns of the death of her brother overseas, she embarks on a journey to bring him home. Through memories and dreams of all they shared together, she follows Dene teachings to find comfort and strength. The lyrical art and story leave readers with a universal message of hope and love.
Call Number: CLERC - Main Floor | E99.T56 B63 2020 -
In My Anaana's Amautik
by
Nadia Sammurtok lovingly invites the reader into the amautik--the pouch in the back of a mother's parka used to carry a child--to experience everything through the eyes of the baby nestled inside, from the cloudlike softness of the pouch to the glistening sound of Anaana's laughter.
Call Number: CLERC - Main Floor | PR9199.4.S2568 I52 2019 -
Johnny's Pheasant
by
An encounter with a pheasant (which may or may not be sleeping) takes a surprising turn in this sweetly serious and funny story of a Native American boy and his grandma.
Call Number: CLERC - Main Floor | PS3613.I645 J64 2019
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Jingle Dancer
by
Tink, tink, tink, tink, sang cone-shaped jingles sewn to Grandma Wolfe's dress. Jenna's heart beats to the brum, brum, brum, brum of the powwow drum as she daydreams about the clinking song of her grandma's jingle dancing. Jenna loves the tradition of jingle dancing that has been shared by generations of women in her family, and she hopes to dance at the next powwow. But she has a problem -- how will her dress sing if it has no jingles?
Call Number: CLERC - Main Floor | PZ7.S64464 Ji 2000
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Kamik: An Inuit Puppy Story
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Inspired by the real-life recollections of an elder from Arviat, Nunavut, this book lovingly recreates the traditional dog-rearing practices that prevailed when Inuit relied on dogs for transportation and survival.
Call Number: CLERC - Main Floor | PZ7.U355 Kam 2012 -
Kamik Takes the Lead
by
Jake and Kamik are finally ready to run their first dog sled race with a full team! But there is a lot to do to prepare, and Jake must follow his uncle's lead if he and his dogs are going to be ready for the early spring race.
Call Number: Display Shelves - Main Floor | PZ7.1.B3517 Kam 2019 -
Look, Grandma! ni, Elisi!
by
Bo wants to find the perfect container to show off his traditional marbles for the Cherokee National Holiday in this exploration of volume and capacity
Call Number: CLERC - Main Floor | PZ7.1.C6758 Lo 2021 -
Mission to Space
by
Go on a Mission to Space with Chickasaw astronaut John Herrington, as he shares his flight on the space shuttle Endeavour and his thirteen-day mission to the international Space Station. Learn what it takes to train for space flight, see the tasks he completed in space, and join him on his spacewalk 220 miles above the earth.
Call Number: CLERC - Main Floor | TL789.85.H47 M58 2016 -
My Heart Fills with Happiness
by
The sun on your face. The smell of warm bannock baking in the oven. Holding the hand of someone you love.
What fills your heart with happiness? This beautiful board book, with illustrations from celebrated artist Julie Flett,
serves as a reminder for little ones and adults alike to reflect on and cherish the moments in life that bring us joy.
Call Number: PZ7.1.G73 M9 2016 -
Nimoshom and His Bus
by
This simple story about the author’s Nimoshom (grandfather) teaches children many different Cree words and phrases. Nimoshom is friendly with the children he drives to school, but stern when necessary. He loves teasing the kids with silly stories that he promises are true.
Call Number: CLERC - Main Floor | PZ7.1.T46557 Ni 2017 -
Peggy Flanagan: Ogimaa Kwe, Lieutenant Governor
by
Peggy Flanagan is the first Native woman to hold such a high elected statewide office in the United States. Her whole life she knew that the school system doesn't tell American Indian stories in a true way. Peggy is working hard to change how Native peoples' stories are told and to make life better for all Minnesotans.
Call Number: CLERC - Main Floor | K6153.L5 E54 2020 -
The Reluctant Storyteller
by
Chooch is reluctant about many things. He is reluctant to be a storyteller like the rest of his Cherokee family, and he is reluctant to spend spring break in the small town of Greasy, Oklahoma, with Uncle Dynamite. But Chooch will find out there's more than one way to tell a story.
Call Number: CLERC - Main Floor | PZ7.1.C6758 Re 2020 -
Rez Dog
by
Follow the adventures of Rez Dog as he finds a home, a new name, and a wonderful new family.
Call Number: CLERC - Main Floor | PZ7.1.B7572 Rez 2019 -
Rez Dogs
by
Told in verse inspired by oral storytelling, this novel about the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the ways Malian's community on a Wabanaki reservation has cared for one another through plagues of the past, and how they keep caring for one another today.
Call Number: On Order -
Rock and Roll Highway
by
Canadian guitarist and songwriter Robbie Robertson is known mainly for his central role in the musical group the Band. But how did he become one of Rolling Stone's top 100 guitarists of all time? Written by his son Sebastian, this is the story of a rock-and-roll legend's journey through music, beginning when he was taught to play guitar at nine years old on a Native American reservation.
Call Number: CLERC - Main Floor | ML3930.R614 R63 2014 -
Saltypie: A Choctaw journey from darkness into light
by
In 1915, when Tingle’s father was a toddler, his family moved from Oklahoma to Texas. The first morning that Tingle’s future Mawmaw stepped onto her porch, an unknown boy threw a stone that hit her in the eye. Six-year-old Tingle wants to know why. His uncle tells him the boy probably threw it just because his grandmother was Indian, and “that was enough back then.”
Call Number: CLERC - Main Floor | E99.C8 T55 2010 -
Sharice's Big Voice
by
This inspiring picture book autobiography tells the remarkable story of Sharice Davids, one of the first Native American women elected to Congress and the first LGBTQ congressperson to represent Kansas.
Call Number: CLERC - Main Floor | E901.1.D375 A3 2021
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A Snake Falls to Earth
by
Fifteen-year-olds Nina and Oli come from different words--she is a Lipan Apache living in Texas and he is a cottonmouth from the Reflecting World--but their lives intersect when Oli journeys to Earth to find a cure for his ailing friend and they end up helping each other save their families.
Call Number: Browsing - Main Floor | PS3612.I87677 S63 2021 -
Sweetest Kulu
by
This beautiful bedtime poem, written by acclaimed Inuit throat singer Celina Kalluk, describes the gifts given to a newborn baby by all the animals of the Arctic. Lyrically and tenderly told by a mother speaking to her own little "Kulu," an Inuktitut term of endearment often bestowed upon babies and young children, this visually stunning book is infused with the traditional Inuit values of love and respect for the land and its animal inhabitants.
Call Number: CLERC - Main Floor | PZ7.1.K35 Sw 2014 -
We All Play
by
Call Number: CLERC - Main Floor | PZ7.F63585 We 2021 -
We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga
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Otsaliheliga is a Cherokee word that is used to express gratitude. Journey through the year with a Cherokee family and their tribal nation as they express thanks for celebrations big and small. This book presents a look at modern Native American life as told by a citizen of the Cherokee Nation.
Call Number: CLERC - Main Floor | E99.C5 S657 2018 -
We Are Still Here!
by
Call Number: On Order -
When We Are Kind / Nihá'ádaahwiinít'íigo
by
This dual-language beautiful picture book looks at how the simple act of being kind, to others and oneself, affects all aspects of a child's life. In English and Diné.
Call Number: CLERC - Main Floor | PZ90.N38 S65 2020 -
Wild Berries
by
Clarence and his grandmother pick wild blueberries and meet ant, spider, and fox in a beautiful woodland landscape.
Call Number: CLERC Main Floor | PZ7.F5488 Wi 2013 -
The Wolf's Trail: an Ojibwe Story, Told by Wolves
by
The Wolf's Trail tells of Zhi-shay', an elder wolf, and a litter of young wolves living somewhere on the side of a hill overlooking the river that flows through Nagahchiwanong in northern Minnesota. Replete with universal lessons, The Wolf's Trail is the story of the Ojibwe, told by wolves, of what they were and have become, and the promise of their becoming.
Call Number: CLERC - Main Floor | PS3616.E226 W653 2020
Resources
- American Indians in Children's Literature
Established in 2006 by Dr. Debbie Reese of Nambé Pueblo, American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL) provides critical analysis of Indigenous peoples in children's and young adult books.—Blog - Webinar—A Discussion of Native American Children's Books
The Open Book Blog—A Blog on Race, Diversity, Education and Children’s Books - A Culturally Responsive Approach to Discussing Thanksgiving in the Classroom
The Open Book Blog—A Blog on Race, Diversity, Education and Children's Books - National Museum of the American Indian
