*#bookaday was created by Donalyn Miller & was the inspiration for my creating #ClassroomBookADay sharing a picture book read aloud every day of the school year.
I am once again sharing a new list of picture books I recommend for Native American Heritage Month (and all year long!). I shared 30 titles last year (see below) and have a new, no duplicates set of 30 for this year. Indigenous representation has consistently been a small percentage in the overall span of children’s literature each year, and yet we are starting to see more with new imprints (Heartdrum) and a focus on representing more accurate, authentic history.
The National Congress of American Indians says this about Native American Heritage Month:
“The month is a time to celebrate rich and diverse cultures, traditions, and histories and to acknowledge the important contributions of Native people. Heritage Month is also an opportune time to educate the general public about tribes, to raise a general awareness about the unique challenges Native people have faced both historically and in the present, and the ways in which tribal citizens have worked to conquer these challenges.”
A bit about my background:
For four of my seventeen years in education, I taught 7th & 8th grade ELA at the Indian Community School of Milwaukee, a 4K-8th grade intertribal private school for urban Native youth. During that time, being brought into teachings, getting to know so much more about Native culture and tribal nations who were the first peoples on these lands, and participating in ceremonies / powwows / culture mentoring / Menominee language classes, my understanding of the need for authentic and accurate Native representation in children’s books became even more urgent. When completing my MLIS and taking a Multicultural Children’s Literature course, I had a 20 page research paper assignment for which I needed to select a topic. Still feeling urgency around Native representation, I chose to dive deeper into specifics through my Critical Analysis of Native American Representation in Picture Books (I ended up writing 23 pages!). That knowledge and experience comes with me into any booklist I create recommending books with Native authors/characters, while also acknowledging that I am a white person from outside Native communities who will make mistakes and still miss things that could be problematic that cultural insiders would notice. But it is crucially important to keep growing in our knowledge and provide this type of representation that centers contemporary Native culture and historical accuracy for all kids to benefit from.
Previous posts on Native books which include more context on my background / stance and some additional resources:
November 2021:
Native American Heritage Month – A Picture Book for Each Day (that you should share all year, too!)
October 2019:
Picture Books for #ClassroomBookADay During November & All Year Long
September 2018:
Picture Book Recommendations First/Native Nations
What I learned from my research led to compiling this resource for critical considerations of Native Representation in any books we are recommending, sharing with, or handing to kids. I hope this helps you build your capacity for critically analyzing kidlit with Native representation.
Before getting to my recommendations, I’d first like to share voices of Native scholars / organizations / sites that are my go-to resources for finding Native perspectives and guidance on evaluating books with Native peoples and content. After that I have included a list of book resources for educators to deepen their knowledge. Please visit/follow them, get the books, read their work, and use their recommendations to guide your book selection. They have all informed my work, practice, & understanding of Native Nations’ cultures and representation.
A Broken Flute is a book of reviews that critically evaluate children’s books about Native Americans written between the early 1900s and 2003, accompanied by stories, essays and poems from its contributors. The authors critique some 600 books by more than 500 authors, arranging titles A to Z and covering pre-school, K-12 levels, and evaluations of some adult and teacher materials. This book is a valuable resource for community and educational organizations, and a key reference for public and school libraries, and Native American collections.
How do you help young children learn more about Native Americans than the cultural stereotypes found in children’s books and in the media?
Lessons from Turtle Island is the first complete guide to exploring Native American issues with children. The authors—one Native, one white, both educators—show ways to incorporate authentic learning experiences about Native Americans into your curriculum. This book is organized around five cross-cultural themes: Children, Home, Families, Community, and the Environment. The authors present activities, from children’s books they recommend, to develop skills in reading and writing, science, math, make-believe, art, and more. The book provides helpful guidelines and resource lists for selecting appropriate toys, children’s books, music, and art, and also includes a family heritage project.
From the acclaimed Ojibwe author and professor Anton Treuer comes an essential book of questions and answers for Native and non-Native young readers alike.
Ranging from “Why is there such a fuss about nonnative people wearing Indian costumes for Halloween?” to “Why is it called a ‘traditional Indian fry bread taco’?“ to “What’s it like for natives who don’t look native?” to “Why are Indians so often imagined rather than understood?”, and beyond, Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask (Young Readers Edition) does exactly what its title says for young readers, in a style consistently thoughtful, personal, and engaging.
Spanning more than 400 years, this classic bottom-up history examines the legacy of Indigenous peoples’ resistance, resilience, and steadfast fight against imperialism.
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.
The original academic text is fully adapted by renowned curriculum experts Debbie Reese and Jean Mendoza, for middle-grade and young adult readers to include discussion topics, archival images, original maps, recommendations for further reading, and other materials to encourage students, teachers, and general readers to think critically about their own place in history.
Be a Good Ancestor
May We Have Enough to Share
Thunder and the Noise Storms
The Water Walker
Runs with the Stars
Unstoppable: How Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team Defeated Army
First Laugh–Welcome, Baby!
It’s a Mitig!
Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer
Forever Cousins
A River’s Gifts: The Mighty Elwha River Reborn
My Heart Fills With Happiness
Chester Nez and the Unbreakable Code: A Navajo Code Talker’s Story
Powwow Day
When We Were Alone
Mashkiki Road
Finding My Dance
Berry Song
Ojibway Animals
SkySisters
Where Wonder Grows
Tallchief: America’s Prima Ballerina
Still This Love Goes On
Keepunumuk
We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga
Dancing with Our Ancestors
Young Water Protectors: A Story About Standing Rock
The Good Luck Cat (out of print – look for it at your local library!)
Together We Drum, Our Hearts Beat as One
I Hope
Find title details & shop this list at Bookshop.org.
2021 List
I Sang You Down From the Stars
Jingle Dancer
Nimoshom and His Bus
The Train
The Forever Sky
Wilma’s Way Home
Sus Yoo The Bear’s Medicine
Birdsong
Mission to Space
Look, Grandma! Ni, Elisi!
At the Mountain’s Base
Wolf Cub’s Song
We All Play
We Are Water Protectors
Mii maanda ezhi-gkendmaanh / This Is How I Know
The First Blade of Sweetgrass
Sharice’s Big Voice
When We Are Kind
Greet the Dawn the Lakota Way
The Girl and the Wolf
A Day with Yayah
Shaped by Her Hands: Potter Maria Martinez
When Turtle Grew Feathers
Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story
Hungry Johnny
We Are Still Here!: Native American Truths Everyone Should Know
Josie Dances
On the Trapline
The Water Lady
Bowwow Powwow
