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 2022-2023
Everything You Wanted to Know about Indians but Were Afraid to Ask by
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
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
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
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
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
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
We Are Still Here! by Call Number: On Order
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
We All Play by Call Number: CLERC - Main Floor | PZ7.F63585 We 2021
Children's Literature and Equity Resource Center Books
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
Fatty Legs (10th Anniversary Edition) by
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
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
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
Kamik: An Inuit Puppy Story by
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
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
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
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
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 Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga by
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
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
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 - No Smiling Pilgrim and Indian Books for Thanksgiving Please
Responsive Reads—Blog - National Museum of the American Indian
