RecommendedReads: IndigenousPeoples’ “OwnVoices”Books
ThisLand
AshleyFairbanks(Anishinaabe)
PFAIR, A
This engaging story about native lands invites kids to trace history and explore their communities.
It’sPowwowTime!
MarthaTroian(Ojibwe)
PTROI, M
This lyrical and joyful picture book celebrates new experiences and community traditions when a young boy learns to dance at his first powwow.
What’sinaBead?
Kelsey
Borgford(NbisiingNishnaabe)
PORBORG, K
There are many stories in a bead. We must listen to the stories they tell us. Tessa loves how her grandmother always smells of campfire stories. Mom says it's because Kohkom spends her days sewing beautiful beads onto smoked hides. Inspired, Tessa asks Kohkom to teach her beading, but first she must listen and learn about the many stories held in a bead.
WhoAmI?
JulieBuchholtz(Chippewa)
PORBUCH, J
A young Indigenous girl explores the ways she's connected to the Earth and to those who came before her.
AlohaEverything KaylinMeliaGeorge(NativeHawaiian)
PORGEOR, K
Aloha Everything is a magical story that will take you on a thrilling journey through the breathtaking islands of Hawaiʻi!
WhyWeDance:AStoryofHopeandHealing DeidreHavrelock
(Cree)
PORHAVR, D
A young Indigenous girl's family helps calm her nervous butterflies before her first Jingle Dress Dance and reminds her why she dances.
CanYouHearthePlantsSpeak?
NicholasHummingbird(Cahuilla&Apache)
PORHUMM, N
Indigenous plantsman Nicholas Hummingbird calls on the legacy of his great-grandparents to remember how one drop of rain, one seed, one plant can renew a cycle of hope and connection--for him and for each of us.
TanaCookswithCare
StacyWells(Chocotaw)
YFWELL
, S
Tana's friend Ana is nervous about auditioning for the school play, so Tana helps her practice and makes Ana's favorite snack. Includes recipes for Little Corn Stew and Turkey and Cream Cheese Rollups.
WeStill ChristineBelong Day(UpperSkagit)
JDAY, C
Wesley's hopeful plans for Indigenous Peoples' Day (and asking her crush to the dance) go all wrong--until she finds herself surrounded by the love of her Indigenous family and community at the intertribal powwow.
EagleDrums Nasug̊raqRaineyHopson(Inupiaq)
JHOPS, N
Piŋa must travel up the mountain to collect obsidian for knapping, the same mountain where his two older brothers disappeared. But when he reaches the mountaintop, he is confronted by a terrifying eagle god, who gives the boy a choice: Follow me, or die like your brothers.
AncestorApproved:IntertribalStoriesfor Kids
JANC
Edited by award-winning and bestselling author Cynthia Leitich Smith (Muscogee Creek), this collection of intersecting stories by both new and veteran Native writers bursts with hope, joy, resilience, the strength of community, and Native pride.
TwoTribes
EmilyBowenCohen(MuscogeeCreek)
JGNBOWE, E
In her poignant debut graphic novel inspired by her own life, Emily Bowen Cohen embraces the complexity, meaning, and deep love that comes from being part of two vibrant tribes.
Borders ThomasKing(Cherokee)
JGNKING, T
A boy and his mother refuse to identify themselves as American or Canadian at the border and become caught in the limbo between nations when they claim their citizenship as Blackfoot.
WeAreStillHere! TraciSorell(Cherokee)
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!
Using rhyming lyrics from a previously written rap song, Midewin author, Manitoba politician, and creator Kinew tells the stories of diverse Indigenous heroes both historical and contemporary from the U.S. and Canada.