Books that celebrate Native American and Indigenous heritage and stories.
Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction
A book list for older kids: Middle Grade and YA Titles
Board Books
This eye-catching, interactive board book is sure to keep toddlers engaged. Count one through ten as you make your way through the day of the powwow, looking for colors, family members, jingle dresses, musical instruments, and tribal citizens in this introduction to a traditional Native event.
The word "otsaliheliga" (oh-jah-LEE-hay-lee-gah) is used by members of the Cherokee Nation to express gratitude. This picture book chronicles a full year of Cherokee celebrations and experiences.
In this adorable book to be shared with babies and toddlers, mothers explore their love for their babies as experienced through the five senses. From the sound of a baby's giggles to the smell of a kunik, this book celebrates the unique bonds shared between mothers and babies.
The rich Native American tradition of carrying babies safely, comfortably and close to their mothers in cradle boards endures to this day. Cradle Me celebrates Native American families and shows how they carry their babies.
Board books for babies and toddlers that celebrates every child and the joy babies bring into the world.
Mi'kmaq artist Alan Syliboy's daily drum artworks paired with a different day of the week in an accessible and beautiful baby board book.
These board books, written without text, were created by the Taos Pueblo's Tiwa Language Program to preserve the Tiwa culture and revitalize the unwritten Tiwa language by teaching it to younger generations. Many other Indigenous languages also need to be revitalized, so it is the hope of the Taos Pueblo's Tiwa Language Program that other American Indian nations will find the books useful to teach their languages to their children.
Picture Books
When Russell tries to share exciting news with his large, Native family, he struggles with being heard, but after he ventures out on his own he realizes how much he loves his family.
Two-year-old Chooch seeks to help everyone, often with disastrous results, in this tender familial picture book from Cherokee creators Rogers and Kunz. The child's older sibling, Sissy, relates how "Chooch helped" as Elisi paints a mural, Etsi sews pucker-toe moccasins, and Edutsi makes grape dumplings, among other events. Delicately hued, layered mixed-media images that utilize Cherokee iconography, meanwhile, reveal Chooch painting a line across the mural, tearing at the moccasin leather, and pouring flour onto the kitchen floor. When Sissy attempts to make a clay pot, and Chooch's desire to help wreaks havoc with the project, emotions run high until, in response to Sissy's tears, "Chooch helped."
On an island at the edge of a wide, wild sea, a girl and her grandmother gather gifts from the earth. Salmon from the stream, herring eggs from the ocean, and in the forest, a world of berries. Salmonberry, Cloudberry, Blueberry, Nagoonberry. Huckleberry, Snowberry, Strawberry, Crowberry. Through the seasons, they sing to the land as the land sings to them. Brimming with joy and gratitude, in every step of their journey, they forge a deeper kinship with both the earth and the generations that came before, joining in the song that connects us all. Michaela Goade's luminous rendering of water and forest, berries and jams glows with her love of the land and offers an invitation to readers to deepen their own relationship with the earth.
A picture book homage to community and contemporary Native pride-intimately set in the comfort of an urban Native community center that is celebrating the inauguration of Deb Haaland as Secretary of the Interior on March 18, 2021.
While playing a social game of Cherokee stickball, Vann learns that helping his team win is just as important as being the star player.
After generations of short hair in her family, a little girl celebrates growing her hair long to connect to her culture and honor the strength and resilience of those who came before her.
On a day filled with anticipation, a young Cherokee girl bids farewell to her familiar city life and documents the changing landscape through drawings as her family moves to their ancestral land and embraces their new home.
In this heartwarming story with vibrant artwork, Molly takes readers to the intertribal community center where she introduces the people she knows and loves, sharing how each person makes her feel--and reminding us that love is love.
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.
Becca loves spending time with Grandma. Every time Becca says, "Let me try," Grandma shows her how to make something beautiful. Whether they are beading moccasins, dancing like the most beautiful butterflies, or practicing basketball together, Becca knows that, more than anything, she wants to be just like Grandma. And as the two share their favorite activities, Becca discovers something surprising about Grandma.
An extraordinary book that celebrates skateboarding, family, and community. Every day, a little boy watches kids pass by on skateboards, and dreams of joining them. One day, his mother brings a surprise: her old skateboard, just for him! haw êkwa! Let's go! Together, they practice on the sidewalk, at the park, in Auntie's yard--everywhere. But when it comes time to try the skatepark, the skateboarders crash down like a waterfall. Can he find the confidence to join them?
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.
This picture book by Laurel Goodluck (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Tsimshian) and illustrated by Madelyn Goodnight (Chickasaw) is a joyful and colorful introduction to the annual celebration of Rock Your Mocs DayNovember 15because moccasins and Native pride shouldn't be saved just for ceremonies and powwows but celebrated all year round!
Picture book adaptation of US Poet Laureate Joy Harjo's iconic poem, Remember.
Elementary Fiction
When twelve-year-old Summer visits her family on a reservation in Alberta, Canada, she begins experiencing vivid dreams of running away from a residential school like the one her grandfather attended as a child and learns about unmarked children's graves, prompting her to seek answers about her community's painful past.
The Mighty Muskrats are ready for another adventure! When a sled-dog race at the annual Trappers Festival turns into a mysterious whodunit, the four cousins must solve the case and help the lead dog to victory!
In preparation for winter, a skilled young hunter embarks on a perilous journey up the mountain to gather obsidian, where he encounters the fearsome eagle god Savik and is presented with a life-altering choice.
Maggie Lou's grandpa doesn't call her Firefox for nothing. She's always finding ways to make life more interesting -- even if this means getting into big trouble. A heroine for today, Maggie Lou discovers that with hard work and perseverance she can gain valuable new skills, without losing one iota of her irrepressible spirit.
With lyrical verse and powerful emotion, Dawn Quigley (Ojibwe) tells the story of urban Native kids who find strength in connection with those who came before and in the hope that lets them take flight.
Mia is still getting used to living with her mom and stepfather, and to the new role their Jewish identity plays in their home. Feeling out of place at home and at her Jewish day school, Mia finds herself thinking more and more about her Muscogee father, who lives with his new family in Oklahoma. Her mother doesn't want to talk about him, but Mia can't help but feel like she's missing a part of herself without him in her life. Soon, Mia makes a plan to use the gifts from her bat mitzvah to take a bus to Oklahoma--without telling her mom--to visit her dad and find the connection to her Muscogee side she knows is just as important as her Jewish side.
Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction
Fifteen thousand years before Europeans stepped foot in the Americas, people had already spread from tip to tip and coast to coast. Like all humans, these Native Americans sought to understand their place in the universe, the nature of their relationship with the divine, and the origin of the world into which their ancestors had emerged. The answers lay in their sacred stories.
At the age of eight, Aslan arrived in North Dakota to help stop a pipeline. A few months later he returned - and saw the whole world watching. Read about his inspiring experiences in the Oceti Sakowin Camp at Standing Rock. Learn about what exactly happened there, and why.
A group of Native American kids from different tribes presents twelve historical and contemporary time periods, struggles, and victories to their classmates, each ending with a powerful refrain: We are still here!
The descendant of Cherokee ancestors who had been forced to walk the Trail of Tears, Wilma Mankiller experienced her own forced removal from the land she grew up on as a child. As she got older and learned more about the injustices her people had faced, she dedicated her life to instilling pride in Native heritage and reclaiming Native rights. She went on to become the first woman Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation.
An accessible and educational illustrated book profiling 50 notable American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian people, from NBA star Kyrie Irving of the Standing Rock Lakota to Wilma Mankiller, the first female principal chief of the Cherokee Nation. 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. An indispensable read for people of all backgrounds seeking to learn about Native American heritage, histories, and cultures, Notable Native People will educate and inspire readers of all ages.
Indigenous Peoples' Day is about celebrating! The second Monday in October is a day to honor Native American people, their histories, and cultures. People mark the day with food, dancing, and songs. Readers will discover how a shared holiday can have multiple traditions and be celebrated in all sorts of ways.
Corn. Chocolate. Fishing hooks. Boats that float. Insulated double-walled construction. Recorded history and folklore. Life-saving disinfectant. Forest fire management. Our lives would be unrecognizable without these, and countless other, scientific discoveries and technological inventions from Indigenous North Americans. Spanning topics from transportation to civil engineering, hunting technologies, astronomy, brain surgery, architecture, and agriculture, Indigenous Ingenuity is a wide-ranging STEM offering that answers the call for Indigenous nonfiction by reappropriating hidden history. The book includes fun, simple activities and experiments that kids can do to better understand and enjoy the principles used by Indigenous inventors. Readers of all ages are invited to celebrate traditional North American Indigenous innovation, and to embrace the mindset of reciprocity, environmental responsibility, and the interconnectedness of all life
The autobiographical story of Billy Mills, an Oglala Lakota orphan who achieved his dream of winning a gold medal as a runner in the 1964 Olympics despite racism, poverty, and debilitating health challenges.
From the copper canyons of Mexico her swift footsteps echo. Clip clap, clip clap. Experience a 60-mile run with indigenous athlete Lorena Ramirez, who captured the world's attention when she won an ultramarathon in Mexico wearing a skirt and rubber sandals-the traditional clothes of the Rarámuri, "the light-footed people."
Nisôhkisinân (We are strong) . . . ninikamonân (We are singing) . . . mîna nika-âhkamêyimonân (And we will continue) . . . Whenever young Carol sang along to her family's music, her heart felt light and full of joy. Learning from her grandfather, Moshum, Carol listened closely to the drums' heartbeat until one day, Moshum made her a drum of her very own. As Carol grew up, she passed down her songs to her children, grandchildren, and many women in her community, just as Moshum taught her-even as women and children became increasingly excluded from sitting at the drum. Despite those who disapproved, she formed her own drumming group called Chubby Cree. Today, Carol and her group share their music to advocate at climate events, to honor residential school survivors at special ceremonies, and to spread healing for anyone who needs it. Powerfully written and joyfully illustrated, The Heartbeat Drum is a radiant celebration of preserving Indigenous traditions, finding your voice, and speaking out.